McClaren keeps players guessing
McClaren has steered a perilous course towards qualification
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Tuesday, 20, Nov 2007 10:48
England coach Steve McClaren has refused to give away any clues about his lineup for Wednesday's crunch Euro 2008 qualification tie against Croatia.
The former Middlesbrough boss is believed to be pondering selection conundrums in all areas of his team.
Reports have suggested that Scott Carson's clean sheet in Friday evening's friendly against Austria may be enough to edge him ahead of Spurs' stopper Paul Robinson in McClaren's reckoning.
While Frank Lampard's recent return to form may prompt him to choose a five-man midfield or relegate Gareth Barry back to the substitutes' bench in a bid to accommodate the Chelsea star.
Former captain David Beckham is vying for a right-sided role with Shaun Wright-Philips, while Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe are hoping to provide adequate cover for injured first-choice strike pairing Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
"I know my team and I have done since the weekend but I am not going to reveal it and I am not giving any clues," McClaren said.
"I'm not revealing the team at all. The players might have an idea but they won't know until 6:30 tonight."
McClaren is confident that his high-profile charges will not suffer from the stage-fright that caused Russia to slip to defeat in Israel at the weekend and hand the group E initiative back to England.
"They're used to big games, they play in cup finals and Champions League matches all the time," he said.
"These are experienced players and they play in big games week in, week out. This game is for qualification but we want to go even further than that. We want to play these kind of games more often."