Croatia v England
UEFA European Championship Qualifying Group E
5pm, Wednesday 11 October 2006
Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb
England 0-0 Macedonia Archive Details - Click Here

10 October 2006
VIDEO: John Terry press conference
John Terry tells the media that the players are raring to go after stuttering against Macedonia.
John Terry has outlined the huge potential of the England team as they prepare for a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia today.

England’s new captain is calling for a much improved performance in Zagreb following last weekend’s frustrating goalless draw against Macedonia.

But he has no doubts about the strength of the side or its potential.

He said: "When you look through the whole side you see the togetherness of the team. The way we play, we've got so many great passers in the team who can open up defences.

"You can also look at individuals and pick out four or five world class players from that team who can change the game on their own."

England will need to be at their best to beat a Croatian team that hasn’t lost a home qualifier in 12 years, but with Terry preparing a humdinger of a pre-match speech they should certainly be inspired.

The Chelsea star said: "I will give a speech before the game - which will be between me and the rest of the players. But it will certainly be strong.

"It will be very similar to a ‘stand up and be counted’ message. I haven't given a speech for the last couple of games but this time I want to do it."

Terry is determined that England will be back to their best in Zagreb and having studied the opposition he is ready for anything.

He said: "We've watched videos and Croatia are a team who like to get at you rather than a team who sit back which we've had in the last few games.

"If Croatia come at us hopefully that will open up things for us to break them down. So if we can go out there and keep a clean sheet, we've got to rely on our strikers and midfielders to get goals for us."

England Head Coach Steve McClaren is pondering whether to use a new 3-5-2 formation for the match and worked on it in training yesterday. But whatever the system, Terry says England will be fully prepared.

"We want kick-off now, we want to get the game started because we believe we can get the win," he said.

"Croatia have an amazing record, 12 years without losing, which is a great achievement. But for us to bounce back it’s a great place to come and do that. Everyone is up for it. I’ll be pumped up and so will the other lads."

Stay with TheFA.com for all the build up to the game on Wednesday night.