JOHN Terry has urged England to take inspiration from the achievements of the country's cricketers and women footballers as they look to seal their place in the 2010 World Cup.
Terry is full of admiration for Andrew Strauss' side after their Ashes win and the women football stars who will face Germany in the final of the European Championships tomorrow.
Terry and Co can make sure of their spot in South Africa next if they defeat Croatia at Wembley tonight.
He said: "People ask if the success of the Ashes team and the women's football team puts any extra pressure on us - but to me, it's an inspiration.
"When you see them and what they have achieved, you want that same success.
"Football is the number one sport in this country.
"You saw the response the cricket team got, and it was well-deserved. It would be 10 times more than that if we went on to win something, so those images are in the minds of the players."
England will seal their place in the finals with two games to spare if they gain revenge over the Croats, who ended their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 with a 3-2 win at Wembley just under two years ago.
Terry said: "Just winning is the be-all and end-all for me and the lads.
"To finish the job early and to give the manager a great opportunity, with two or three games left, to try new players and new systems in the remaining games will be good if he chooses to do that.
"It would give him the opportunity. He could experiment a little bit.
"It could be a very good night tomorrow. But we need to realise as well, that they need to beat us. We need to be patient early on. I hope we can pick holes in their defence and score goals."
Terry is keen to make amends for England's exit from Euro 2008 at the hands of Slaven Bilic's side.
He said: "I thought this qualifying group would be tough.
"There were two or three very strong teams in the group - and you looked at Croatia being the main threat, with Ukraine behind them.
"To go to Croatia and do what we did was brilliant. Now to get them at home, with the memories of what happened last time at Wembley, is a chance to correct things.
"We're all so passionate about doing that for ourselves, for the fans and for the nation. We owe it to everyone."
Terry and Co can make sure of their spot in South Africa next if they defeat Croatia at Wembley tonight.
He said: "People ask if the success of the Ashes team and the women's football team puts any extra pressure on us - but to me, it's an inspiration.
"When you see them and what they have achieved, you want that same success.
"Football is the number one sport in this country.
"You saw the response the cricket team got, and it was well-deserved. It would be 10 times more than that if we went on to win something, so those images are in the minds of the players."
England will seal their place in the finals with two games to spare if they gain revenge over the Croats, who ended their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 with a 3-2 win at Wembley just under two years ago.
Terry said: "Just winning is the be-all and end-all for me and the lads.
"To finish the job early and to give the manager a great opportunity, with two or three games left, to try new players and new systems in the remaining games will be good if he chooses to do that.
"It would give him the opportunity. He could experiment a little bit.
"It could be a very good night tomorrow. But we need to realise as well, that they need to beat us. We need to be patient early on. I hope we can pick holes in their defence and score goals."
Terry is keen to make amends for England's exit from Euro 2008 at the hands of Slaven Bilic's side.
He said: "I thought this qualifying group would be tough.
"There were two or three very strong teams in the group - and you looked at Croatia being the main threat, with Ukraine behind them.
"To go to Croatia and do what we did was brilliant. Now to get them at home, with the memories of what happened last time at Wembley, is a chance to correct things.
"We're all so passionate about doing that for ourselves, for the fans and for the nation. We owe it to everyone."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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