"Our defense can't hold!"
"Who's marking Suker?!"
"Pull yourselves together!"
The England locker room was in total chaos.
Everyone was arguing over how to handle the second half.
If they lost this match —they'd really be eliminated.
Getting knocked out of the European Championship qualifiers would be a humiliating disgrace for England.
Among the shouting and panic, head coach McClaren's face was ashen.
There was nothing he could do.
From the very first step, they had taken the wrong path — and every move since had been restricted.
One thing was clear:They had to score in the second half.
That was the only way to win. But to score, they needed to commit more to attack.And what about the defense?
Carragher, Terry, and Ferdinand had proven incapable of stopping Suker in the first half.
But if he used substitutions to bolster the defense, the attack would suffer.
Maybe switch to a back four?
That could work…But it would definitely weaken their midfield control.
The one silver lining:Croatia wasn't even trying to contest midfield — they were happy to play counterattack football.
"In the second half, Gary Neville will drop back to play full-back! We're switching to a 4-4-2!"
McClaren barked out the orders:
"Lampard can push up and look for long-range shots. Crouch plays the front man — Rooney supports from behind." (Literally Man U Tactic)
Seeing his players' skeptical expressions, McClaren's tone hardened:
"If you don't want to lose — do as I say!"
He was gritting his teeth.
This was the only plan he could think of.A setup that preserved some attack while boosting the defense.
He could only pray this time, that damned Croatian didn't catch on again…
The sides switched ends and resumed play.
McClaren watched as Suker tormented England's defense from the wing — lobbing crosses into the box, slicing into the inside channels — absolutely dominant.
McClaren's face turned pale, his fists clenched tight.
"Damn it… we got caught again!"
On the Croatian sideline, Van Štoyak gave a sly grin.
"Did you predict England would pull Gary Neville back to full-back and switch to a 4-4-2 — so you moved Suker to winger?" Bilic asked quietly.
"Easy guess.They had to improve both attack and defense without a substitution.Only way was to drop Gary Neville and reshuffle to a back four."
Bilic winced.These tactics guys—why were they all so scheming?
"What if he hadn't done it?" Bilic asked.
"Would it matter?Either way, we're still leading.Our defense still holds.We just switch counterattack formations —As long as they can't stop Suker, we're fine."
Bilic turned to the England bench.
He saw McClaren glaring back, rage in his eyes.
If looks could kill, Bilic figured he'd have died a dozen times already.
"What are you staring at?"Bilic glared back.
"It's time to end this," Van Štojak said."Bilic — it's your cue."
Bilic grinned. That was about the only thing he needed to do as head coach now.
"Strikers — ten minutes left!"
As soon as he gave the order, Croatia's offense surged.
During halftime, Van Štojak had told them clearly —only the first 15 minutes of the second half were for attacking.
Regardless of whether they scored, he'd switch to defense afterward.
With ten minutes of attacking time left, Croatia went all in.
On the pitch, Suker brought down the ball, stopped and dragged, and began cutting across the top of the box.
Just ten minutes to attack —If they wanted to win, another goal would seal the deal.
As he cut across, Suker scanned his teammates' positions.
Strangely… none of England's defenders stepped up to challenge him.
He was about to shoot — and still no pressure?
He feinted a shot with his right foot.
He dribbled forward again, made another shooting motion.
This time — he went for real.
The ball curled toward the top-right corner.
But England's keeper was locked in — he leapt and punched the ball away.
Only — it went up, not far.
"Win the ball!"Terry shouted.
But before he could jump, someone was already flying through the air.
Mandžukić, airborne, had launched early, edged Terry aside, and nudged the ball with his forehead.
The ball bounced off the turf and shot into the goal.
56th minute — Croatia scored again!
Mandžukić's second goal of the match!
Mandžukić was over the moon, sprinting toward the corner to celebrate.
As he approached the flag and began to slide—
Someone grabbed his waist.
It was Suker —hugging him tightly, stopping the slide.
Suker chuckled mischievously. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on ⓝovelFire.net
Mandžukić turned to the stands, tried to raise his arm—
Only to be locked down again.
Modrić had grabbed his wrist.
"You guys… seriously?"Mandžukić was fuming.
Two goals — and I'm not even allowed to celebrate?!
In the end, Mandžukić couldn't even do a single celebration pose.
He got tackled to the ground by Suker and the others.
Mandžukić looked so defeated.
At Wembley, the English fans were in a complete daze.
Another goal conceded in the second half.
This one hurt more than the first.
They had hoped the second half might calm things down —Instead, they got punched in the gut.
Now down two goals, panic set in.
It felt real now —They really might miss Austria and Switzerland.
"Prepare the substitutions!"Van Štojak raised a fist."Let's finish off England!"
57th minute, Mandžukić and Pranjić were subbed off.
Šimić and Dujmović came on.
Croatia fully pulled back into defense.
Already two goals up — now switching to deep defending.It was clear: Croatia was going to bury England.
England, meanwhile, panicked.
They kept attacking — kept shooting.
Desperately trying to shove that damn ball into Croatia's net.
Two goals —That's all they needed to go to Austria and Switzerland.
But Croatia refused to give them the chance.
In the stands, England fans were heartbroken.
They could feel it —They were really about to be eliminated.
At the same time, Russia erupted in celebration.
A golden opportunity!
If Croatia beat England —Russia would leapfrog them in points and claim second place in the group.
Russia would qualify for Euro 2008.
For them, Croatia winning was the best possible outcome.
Russian players were watching the match live.
Arshavin stared at the TV, shocked at how Croatia had shut England down completely.
This is how they did it?!
"In the first match, Croatia's coach made a lot of tactical errors,"Hiddink said with a sigh.
"Probably because he was newly appointed and nervous.But afterward, his adjustments were brilliant —Great tactics, sharp in-game decisions.Just from this game alone, McClaren's been completely outclassed by Bilic."
Still, Hiddink was puzzled.
Why did Bilic's tactics resemble Dutch systems so closely?
Did he study in the Netherlands?
When Russia played Croatia the second time, Hiddink had noticed it.
Very few teams could execute high pressing like Croatia did.
That pressure forced Hiddink to abandon several tactical options.
He had to admit —Bilic, this young Croatian coach, was showing the potential of a top-class manager.
Hiddink stood up, leaning on his knees.
"Coach, you're leaving?"Arshavin asked.
"No need to keep watching —We've already qualified.Congratulations, everyone."
The Russian players looked around at each other — then exploded in celebration.
"Austria and Switzerland — here we come!"