To qualify for the World Cup was my first aim when I began in this job, but until we have done that we cannot think about the tournament. Qualification has been our only focus.
Croatia will be difficult opponents tonight; they will want to reverse the result from Zagreb a year ago and they will also want to give themselves the best chance to reach the World Cup. We will not underestimate them, but I have a lot of confidence in my players. The team is growing stronger with each match and I can see the number of players to choose from is increasing as well.
We have now been together as a group for ten days, and this time is important to develop the spirit in the squad. When you have a longer period with the players you can do more preparation on the training ground. They know what I expect from them and they understand their roles better having been together for longer.
In my first six months in this job I watched the European Championship Finals and England were not there. I know how important it is for England to be at the major competitions and we want to ensure that we are at the World Cup next year.
I really hope we can qualify in front of our own fans at Wembley. The supporters have been behind us throughout this campaign and we want to share something special tonight. Winning seven qualifiers is pleasing but it will please me much more to qualify for the World Cup.
There is progress after every game and I hope that will continue after tonight – we must always work to be better and to improve on what we have done in the past.
Fabio Capello, England manager
This is a big game for England, for the fans, the manager, the players and all of the staff. We are 90 minutes away from the World Cup and that is a huge incentive for us tonight.
People will look at Croatia and the previous qualification campaign, but that’s not part of our thinking. We have worked hard over the past 18 months to improve as a team and a squad and now that hard work can lead to a reward.
A place at the World Cup is up for grabs and we will be doing everything we can to achieve it tonight.
You can play your part as well – Croatia are a very strong team and we will need your support tonight. This game sold out weeks ago and the noise of 90,000 fans behind us can only push us further.
I know just how much it hurts for the supporters that they couldn’t watch England at Euro 2008 and we want to put that right. The Manager has got us playing with confidence and belief, and we are improving with every game. The players have worked extremely hard, and there’s a real focus and concentration in this squad to get the job done at the earliest opportunity.
We’ve had two games to prepare ourselves for tonight, against Holland last month and Slovenia four days ago.
It’s important to play these matches because it gives the Manager the opportunity to try things out and see if they work. There were a lot of positives from the game in Amsterdam – Jermain scored twice, Carlton was fantastic and James Milner made a big impact on his debut. Learning from playing against teams like Holland and Slovenia only makes us better prepared going into tonight’s game.
We know what Croatia can do, we have played them a number of times now in recent years and it will be a tough game but we feel ready for it. It’s a big one, and I hope that when the final whistle goers we’ll have something to celebrate.
John Terry, England captain
The squad
Goalkeepers: Ben Foster (Manchester United), Robert Green (West Ham United), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers)
Defenders: Wayne Bridge (Chelsea), Wes Brown (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Joleon Lescott (Manchester City), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham United)
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea)
Forwards: Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
