Croatia stuns England in soccer

Even the second-half heroics of David Beckham could not save England on Wednesday.

The English spotted Croatia a two-goal lead and battled back to equalize only to see their Euro 2008 hopes extinguished on Mladen Petric's 77th-minute goal en route to an agonizing 3-2 loss at Wembley Stadium.

Coupled with Russia's 1-0 victory at Andorra - Dmitry Sychev scored on a 39th-minute header - England, which needed only a tie to qualify, wound up in third place in Group E behind the Croatians and the Russians.

It was the first time in 14 years - or since the English failed to reach the 1994 World Cup - that they did not qualify for a major tournament. It also meant that no United Kingdom team made Euro 2008.

A blunder by goalkeeper Scott Carson, who replaced No. 1 Paul Robinson, gave Croatia a seventh-minute goal. Niko Kranjcar scored on a 25-yard attempt that bounced off the ground and then went into the net off Carson's arm. Ivica Olic made it 2-0 in the 14th minute.

Frank Lampard cut the lead in half with a 56th-minute penalty kick. Beckham, who made his 99th international appearance and perhaps final cap as a second-half sub, set up Peter Crouch's tying goal in the 65th minute with a right-wing pass that the 6-7 striker trapped with his chest and volleyed home.

The English Football Association will meet this morning to discuss the fate of coach Steve McClaren, who said he won't resign.

"I'm not stepping down," he told BBC News 24. "Ultimately I take responsibility and I accept that. It was my job to get us qualified and I failed to do that."

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Beckham said he is not considering retiring from international play.

Elsewhere, Turkey clinched a berth with a 1-0 triumph over Bosnia in Istanbul on Nihat Kahveci's goal to finish second in Group C. Kim Kallstrom's 57th-minute goal lifted host Sweden into the tournament with a 2-1 Group F win over Latvia. And Portugal booked a spot with a Group A scoreless tie with visiting Finland.

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