JOHN Terry and David Beckham have insisted three points rather than revenge will be on their minds when England tackle Croatia in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in Zagreb.
England were beaten 2-0 in the same city in October 2006 in a European Championship qualifier after a limp performance on the back of the 3-5-2 formation employed by the then coach Steve McClaren, with Michael Carrick sitting in front of the defence.
But Beckham and Terry, skippers past and present, are adamant the focus is all on the present and not on previous encounters as England look to build on their ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over Andorra in Barcelona at the weekend.
Terry said: "We owe them one – but it is a fresh campaign, a fresh start. Of course, what happened two years ago is at the back of the players' minds.
"But it is not revenge that we are looking for, it's three points again just like against Andorra. It will be two massive results if we win over there – and that is what we are aiming to do."
Beckham, who was replaced in the starting line-up for the match against Andorra by Theo Walcott, said: "We have to forget about what has gone on in the past.
"This is the present, this is 2008 not 2006, and we have to work towards what we want to achieve in this qualifying group and it is about getting a good performance and a good result in Zagreb.
"We know it is going to be a very tough game and a different challenge from Saturday tonight."
The LA Galaxy midfielder must wait to see if his experience is preferred to Walcott's pace in what will be a hostile atmosphere but he has faith in whoever is picked to handle the situation.
Beckham said: "Every player wants to play. We've got a very good squad of young players that want to play. Everyone in the squad wants to play a game.
"There are going to be disappointed players but that is the way it is in football. Do I expect a recall? We will have to wait and see. We have got players in our team that can play in any game of football whether it be out here in Barcelona, where it is not going to be as hostile as on Wednesday, or in Zagreb.
"It will be a tough game but, although we might have some young players in our team, they have played in some of the biggest games in football with their clubs. They have got that experience."
Terry admitted the players had to shut the frustration of the England fans out of their minds and not panic after a goalless first half against the Andorrans.
He said: "We totally understood their frustration because we wanted to score early. If we had done that, maybe the game would have opened up even more. We understood their frustration but, coming in at half-time, we couldn't get sucked into that and try too hard because it wouldn't have come off.
"We had to be patient ourselves even though the fans were getting frustrated but eventually they stuck with us and they got their reward."
Goalkeeper David James is "100 per cent confident" England will avoid a repeat of their defeat against Croatia.
The Portsmouth player said: "This result will give us confidence for the Croatian game. You have to take into account we were up against a very defensively-minded side in Andorra.
"We knew it was going to be difficult to break them down. We watched videos of them and it was evident they were going to be putting nine or ten men behind the ball at most opportunities. But we got away with a nice 2-0 win, I had nothing to do – which is always good – and we will prepare properly and have confidence going into the Croatia game now."
The full article contains 673 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
