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FOOTBALL: England

It was the worst day I have ever experienced as a fan of football, possibly even as a fan of sport. As the rain poured down at Wembley and on England's Euro 2008 qualifying ambitions, Croatia celebrated in the cold November night. England had many chances to qualify for that tournament, the most harrowing being the game against Russia in Moscow where England were a whisker away from qualifying before capitulating to the team that would ultimately take their place at Europe's showpiece. It was a truly terrible qualifying campaign and even defeat in Moscow wasn't the end as Israel beat Russia to ensure that England's fate remained in their own hands. England didn't deserve a place at that tournament, poor performances coupled with disappointing results against the likes of Macedonia and Andorra ensured that a team more used to spectacular, gallant failure endured a painful, pathetic end to a torrid attempt to qualify.

Nearly two years on from those painful memories, England, now under the stewardship of Fabio Capello, are a different team. Qualifying has seemingly been a breeze for the Three Lions and are now just one victory away from the World Cup finals in South Africa next year. A victory against Croatia on wednesday would surely banish any lingering memory of that defeat and will allow England to move forward.

England are a completely different outfit from the solid, if unspectacular days of Sven Goran Eriksson and certainly from McClaren's hapless spell in charge. No player is sure of his place, players such as Carlton Cole are being blooded and may well force their way into the reckoning should England qualify. Gone are the days where reputation preceeded form as a criteria for selection as Capello moulds a team rather than a collection of eleven, although talented, individuals.

England are far from the finished article as Saturday's friendly against Slovenia showed, but they are drastically improved. Defensive options beyond Terry and Ferdinand are unproven and as yet unconvincing and although Capello's recent squads have been relatively settled, the names of the 23 members of the potential World Cup squad remain a mystery.

Hopefully England can clinch a place at South Africa 2010 and take their place at a tournament where they have an outside chance of victory, especially with the likes of France, Portugal and Argentina struggling to book their place to the first World Cup in Africa.

Brave New England

England 2 - 1 Switzerland

This was the first game in Fabio Capello's reign as England manager and it was capped by a victory. The big stories leading up to the match were the exclusion of potential England centurion and the reports of Capello's strict discipline. Gone were the players phones and Playstations and the players were expected to sometimes train twice a day. Wednesday night was going to be an indication of what England fans can expect for the next couple of years, so what did the friendly show?

The morning's papers had predicted a team that would include Ashley Young and Owen Hargreaves, but Capello fooled them all by including Gareth Barry and Jermaine Jenas, the latter of whom justified their selection by scoring the first goal. The formation was 4-5-1 with Gerrard the No.10, as there was no place for the Michael Owen. It represented a change in system for the England side with the team so used to variations of 4-4-2. Capello's change from the system represents a different direction for the team and in the first half, the players seemed unable to adapt to the new formation. Things were better in the second half, Rooney, Gerrard, Cole and Jenas thriving . The performance wasn't great, but a winning start is always welcome. Upson occasionally looked out of place at times and Ashley Cole's mind seemed elswhere at times. With the exception of the Switzerland goal and a few nervous moments at the back, England looked solid.

With Beckham out of the squad, David Bentley was given his chance on the right-hand side of midfield, and produced a competent performance. As one of the suitors for that position, he may have earned himself another crack at securing his place in the team. Beckham is believed to still be in Capello's plans, but found himself stuck on 99 caps. Capello has made it known that sentiment will not play a part in his selection process, so Beckham will have to earn his 100th cap. There was also no place for Michael Owen, who may become the first victim to England's new style. However, his goal record at international level is unrivalled by any other England player, so surely he must remain in and around the squad.

England's performance wasn't spectacular, but it was solid and something for the new manager to build on. Hopefully the players will become used to the way England play and the team will be able to put the misery of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign behind them.

You can see SvenSport's photos from the game on the right hand side.