England were virtually washed up in the debris of Euro 2008 failure, but the tide turned and they entered Wednesday's match against Croatia on the crest of a wave.
Steve McClaren's men needed only a draw to progress after Israel incredibly resisted the surge of a Russian red sea in the second half of Saturday's match and somehow nicked a last-gasp winner.
Suddenly the talk was no longer of Michael Owen's injury suffered in the friendly farce against Austria, mismanagement, prima donnas, and a football-free summer.
Win or draw at Wembley England and all would have been forgiven.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
|
Bookmark with:
What are these?