Croatia 2 - 0 England
In retrospect, an away match against a strong team like Croatia may not have been the best time for experimenting. If McClaren's 3-5-2 system was supposed to be more attacking, it wasn't. And if it was supposed to be more defensive, it wasn't that either. Eduardo De Silva put Croatia in front just past the hour mark with a looping header, and England conceded a ridiculous own goal moments later. Gary Neville's back pass hit a divot and bounced over keeper Paul Robinson's boot as he attempted to kick the ball away.

England are now level on 7 points with Croatia, Israel, and Macedonia, with Russia two points behind with a game in hand. Israel and Croatia also have a game in hand, so England face a difficult road to qualifying with the top five clubs in Group E tightly packed in the table.

What is more troubling than the result is the fact that the coach doesn't seem to have an idea of what his best starting eleven is or what formation will maximize their chance for success. And I'm not just picking on McClaren. The same was true under Sven and the players must take responsibility too. England have talented players, but for some reason, the whole has not equalled the sum of the parts.

Perhaps everything will work itself out once Gerrard, Joe Cole, and Hargreaves return to the squad. Losing an away match is not a disaster, especially considering Croatia have never lost in Zagreb. But the way England played today, McClaren may have to revisit his decision to drop Beckham, especially with so many midfield injuries.