Match Preview: English and Croatian lineups and tactics

First up: Croatia.

Croatia:
Goalkeeper: Stipe Pletikosa, a regular in the Croatian national team and the first-choice goalkeeper since the 2002 World Cup (although he was injured for much of Euro 2004). Hasn’t made many mistakes since his Under-21s days.

Defence: On the right, Manchester City’s summer signing Vedran Corluka will turn out for Croatia. He’s 6′4″, athletic enough to play at wing-back when needed, and skillful with the ball. On the left, Josip Šimunić, an Australian-born ethnic Croat who currently plays in Germany and has seen some interest from Chelsea. He’s best known for being the player who received three yellow cards from English referee Graham Poll during a 2006 World Cup match against Australia (but, to be fair on Poll, Šimunić does have an Australian accent and, but for his chosen citizenship, would have been playing for his country of birth). In the Croatian centre, Robert Kovač and Dario Šimić offer a great deal of experience and technical skill. The former has played at the top level in Europe, at Bayern Munich and Juventus, and is a skillful, intelligent defender who could cause England some serious problems. The latter is Croatia’s most experienced player, with 94 caps to his name, and the only current Croatian player to have appeared with the team in every major tournament it has been involved in. At 32, Euro 2008 will most likely be his final tournament.

Midfield: On the left wing will be Niko Kranjčar. Extremely talented at just 23 years old and currently playing for Portsmouth, Micah Richards is going to have his work cut out for him. Niko Kovač, the brother of central defender Robert, will play in the central midfield and captain the Croatian team. He’s been Croatia’s key player throughout their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, and is still scoring regularly for his club in Austria at the age of 36. His partner in the centre is Luka Modrić, a 22-year old Dinamo Zagreb player whose potential has attracted the attention of several Premiership and Bundesliga clubs, including Arsenal, who now have the right of first refusal on the player as part of their signing of teammate Eduardo da Silva. On the right wing will be Darijo Srna, a 25-year-old (actually a right-back for his club, Shakhtar Donetsk) who has been linked with Liverpool, Everton, and Newcastle.

Attack: First and foremost, Eduardo da Silva. Although born in Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo is a naturalised Croatian citizen and signed for Arsenal earlier this year. Since then, he’s made 8 appearances for the team, scoring 4 times and netting 5 assists, an impressive strike rate for a player outside the regular starting 11. His strike rate at previous club Dynamo Zagreb was even more impressive – 73 goals from 98 appearances. He will be dangerous. His partner in the attack will be Ivica Olic, a 28-year-old Bundesliga striker whose record isn’t quite as good as Eduardo’s, but still manages to impress.

Tactically, Croatia have tended to favour a standard 4-4-2 or modified 4-4-1-1 against stronger opposition during this qualifying campaign, using that system against Israel, Estonia, Russia and England. Against weaker opponents, they’ve experimented with a 3-5-2 (once against Russia, 0-0), a 4-3-1-2 (once against Andorra, 7-0), and a 3-4-1-2 (twice: against Estonia, 1-0, and Andorra, 6-0).

England:
Goalkeeper: Paul Robinson has been dropped in favour of Scott Carson. I’m not convinced if this is the best time to drop him, especially when you consider he’s maintained the most clean sheets of any goalkeeper in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Still, his confidence is shot to hell and the talented young Scott Carson might be a safer bet. The Guardian isn’t so sure.

Defence: Ashley Cole is out, presumably having been judged unfit. He’s replaced on the left by Wayne Bridge. The rest of the defence is as expected: Micah Richards, Sol Campbell, and Joleon Lescott.

Midfield: Bit of a surprise here, as David Beckham is (justifiably) out of the starting lineup, replaced by Shaun Wright-Phillps. Gareth Barry will play as holding midfielder rather than Owen Hargreaves, who must not have seemed fully match-fit in training. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will link up in central midfield again, for better or worse, and the always-reliable Joe Cole will play on the left.

Attack: Peter Crouch, as expected, will play as lone striker. Steven Gerrard will probably be given a fairly free role in the midfield in order to act as support.

Tactically, England have played a standard 4-4-2 in every match so far this qualifying campaign, with the exception of their 0-2 defeat to Croatia, during which they experimented with a disastrous 5-3-2. Thanks to injuries and suspensions, England will field a 4-1-4-1 formation tonight.

And the stakes if we lose? You might think it’s just national pride, but you’d be wrong: the English economy is set to lose as much as £250 million, while the English FA could lose as much as £25 million. English consumer spending swelled by around £1 billion during the last World Cup, so a defeat at Wembley tonight could have disastrous consequences.

For the last word on England’s lineup, read Simon Barnes in The Times: England’s defence will decide this match, and our back four (hell, back five) are far from a known quantity.

And if the prospect of watching our brainless wonders bumble through another game doesn’t appeal to you, consider following the England Under-21s - they’re a damn sight more fun to watch, even when they lose.

Regardless: good luck England.