Mladen Petlic ends England's Euro 2008 qualifying dreams

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November 21, 2007: England drew with Croatia at home and qualified for the European Cup. The Three Lions equalized from 2-0 down, but Mladen Petrich's long-range strike in the final quarter of an hour meant the end.

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The starting position is clear: a win or draw against Croatia and England in the final qualifying rounds will ensure their participation in Euro 2008. This should be possible as the Croatian has already booked his ticket to the European Championships before this match.

But the English play poorly. They trailed 2-0 at half-time – not least because Scott Carson contributed his own chapter to the long and painful history of England's goalkeeper errors. Niko Krancjar shot from nearly 30 meters to make the score 0-1.

Less than a quarter of an hour into the game, at a packed Wembley Stadium, the Croatian team already led 2-0. “You can't believe it!” complained a BBC reporter, while goal scorer Ivica Olic celebrated with his teammates.

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England manager Steve McClaren reacted at half-time. Along with David Beckham and Jermain Defoe, he brings two striking aces. Ten minutes after the break, Frank Lampard was awarded a questionable penalty – Defoe went down after a minor contact in the penalty area.

Subsequently, “Stork” Peter Crouch received a pass from Beckham and tied the score at 2-2. All goes well and ends well? If this form continues, England will play Switzerland and Austria.

Beckham celebrates: His cross helped the team equalize the score.Image source: Associated Press

Here comes Petrick, scoring the goal

But there's one man who takes exception: Mladen Petric. The Swiss-Croatian dual national who grew up in Aargau came on as a substitute in the 69th minute to prove to his coach that he belonged in the starting 11.

By the time Petrick pulled himself together, the game was 76 minutes and 35 seconds old. He shot with his left foot from outside the left corner of the penalty area. He caught goalkeeper Carson with a powerful shot, who again didn't look too good. 3:2 Croatia, England had to give up their European Championship tickets again.

It wasn't until the final whistle that the Three Lions really got a chance. The 2-3 defeat and the fact that England missed out on Euro 2008 remained.

To Gerrard's dismay: in the summer of 2008 he only spent his holidays in the Alps.Image source: Associated Press

Goaltender Carson is the only scapegoat…

“It's actually a shame that England didn't play in the Euros because I myself enjoy watching them and England belong to a big tournament,” winning goalscorer Mladen Petrik said after the game. “But it's not just my fault that they were eliminated.” Petrick described the goal as the most valuable of his career.

Goalkeeper Scott Carson is only 22 years old, but he has to be used as a scapegoat. His short international career is over and things are going well at club level. His only trip abroad did not take him to the major leagues, but to Bursaspor in Turkey. He played for West Bromwich Albion for several seasons, before spells at Wigan, Derby County and Manchester City, and now makes a living as third-choice goalkeeper.

Carson continued a tradition of UK goalkeeping mistakes.Image source: Associated Press

…Coach McLaren is the second big loser

Respected football journalist Henry Winter wrote of his frustration in the Daily Telegraph. “Steve McClaren will definitely be sacked this morning and he absolutely deserves to be sacked. No one will cry for him. The whole country has lost its identity at a rainy Wembley Stadium,” the journalist said at the final whistle Said after ringing.

The image of McLaren standing on the sidelines holding an umbrella became a symbol of failure. “It's my responsibility that we let our country down,” said the national team coach, who refused to resign voluntarily. Since he was fired as scheduled, he received millions in severance pay.

To the Daily Mail, McLaren would simply be known as “the idiot with the umbrella”.Image: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Mladen Petrik: From hero to zero

England again qualified for the following matches. However, the Three Lions were far from successful; the wait for better times continued. More than 30 years after winning the 1966 World Cup, the Lightning Seeds sang “Football Comes Home” at the stadium with comedians Baddiel and Skinner in 1996.

For Croatia, the ending of Euro 2008 was even more dramatic than for England. After three wins in the group stage, the Balkans lost to Turkey in the quarter-finals. Ivan Klasnic scored in the 119th minute and should have won 1-0. But in overtime, with desperate courage, the Turks evened the score, while the Croatians failed miserably in the penalty shootout. The decision was taken after Mladen Petric's shot went wide.

Turkish goalkeeper Rustu celebrated as Petrik sneaked away – and Croatia was eliminated.Image source: Associated Press