ENGLAND take on Croatia at Wembley tomorrow looking to gain the three points they need to guarantee qualification for next year's World Cup in South Africa.
Here Press Association Sport takes a look back at some of the recent meetings between the two nations.
England 4 Croatia 2 (2004 European Championships, Lisbon)
England were the first to triumph in the nations' first competitive match in a Euro 2004 group game. After a nervous start which saw Croatia take the lead through Niko Kovac, England responded and a brace from a young Wayne Rooney, along with goals from midfielder Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard, was enough to see England home. The result also meant that England qualified for the knock-out stages of the European competition for the first time on foreign soil.
Croatia 2 England 0 (2006 European Championship qualifier, Zagreb)
Croatia extracted revenge for their defeat in Lisbon with an impressive display which made England look like school boys. Under the management of Slaven Bilic Croatia were now a force to be reckoned with and Steve McClaren's men had no answer as Croatia breezed past England with goals from Eduardo and an own goal from Gary Neville, whose back pass to goalkeeper Paul Robinson hit a divot and trickled embarrassingly into the net.
England 2 Croatia 3 (2007 European Championship qualifier, Wembley)
England fans were expecting their team to come out all guns blazing, but instead got a damp squib of a performance to match the inclement November weather. Croatia were 2-0 up inside 15 minutes as first Scott Carson let a Niko Kranjcar shot squirm through his grasp and then the England offside trap was easily breached as Ivica Olic added a second. England looked dead and buried but came back to level with goals from Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch, but another long-range shot from substitute Mladen Petric condemned England to defeat and elimination from Euro 2008, and Steve McClaren to the sack.
Croatia 1 England 4 (2008 World Cup qualifier, Zagreb)
England looked back to their very best and extinguished the memories of the Euro 2008 qualification defeats with a performance equal to that of their famous wins against Holland and Germany in 1996 and 2001 respectively. A hat-trick from boy wonder Theo Walcott and a goal from Wayne Rooney consigned Croatia to their worst defeat under Bilic. A late consolation was scored by Mario Mandzukic as England turned the tide to make it 2-2 in competitive meetings.
England 4 Croatia 2 (2004 European Championships, Lisbon)
England were the first to triumph in the nations' first competitive match in a Euro 2004 group game. After a nervous start which saw Croatia take the lead through Niko Kovac, England responded and a brace from a young Wayne Rooney, along with goals from midfielder Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard, was enough to see England home. The result also meant that England qualified for the knock-out stages of the European competition for the first time on foreign soil.
Croatia 2 England 0 (2006 European Championship qualifier, Zagreb)
Croatia extracted revenge for their defeat in Lisbon with an impressive display which made England look like school boys. Under the management of Slaven Bilic Croatia were now a force to be reckoned with and Steve McClaren's men had no answer as Croatia breezed past England with goals from Eduardo and an own goal from Gary Neville, whose back pass to goalkeeper Paul Robinson hit a divot and trickled embarrassingly into the net.
England 2 Croatia 3 (2007 European Championship qualifier, Wembley)
England fans were expecting their team to come out all guns blazing, but instead got a damp squib of a performance to match the inclement November weather. Croatia were 2-0 up inside 15 minutes as first Scott Carson let a Niko Kranjcar shot squirm through his grasp and then the England offside trap was easily breached as Ivica Olic added a second. England looked dead and buried but came back to level with goals from Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch, but another long-range shot from substitute Mladen Petric condemned England to defeat and elimination from Euro 2008, and Steve McClaren to the sack.
Croatia 1 England 4 (2008 World Cup qualifier, Zagreb)
England looked back to their very best and extinguished the memories of the Euro 2008 qualification defeats with a performance equal to that of their famous wins against Holland and Germany in 1996 and 2001 respectively. A hat-trick from boy wonder Theo Walcott and a goal from Wayne Rooney consigned Croatia to their worst defeat under Bilic. A late consolation was scored by Mario Mandzukic as England turned the tide to make it 2-2 in competitive meetings.
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