Croats gloat over England misery

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic and his fellow countrymen have been making the most of their side's 3-2 win over England.

The Balkan country's national press has been gleefully absorbing news of the victory after topping group E with 29 points.

And Bilic dismissed claims that no Croatian player would make the English starting line-up with a brief "wake up".

"We are simply a better team. I admire your team and your players but my team is a much better team," he said.

Croat newspaper headlines poured scorn on the English football setup. The DPA news agency quoted editorials claiming "Croatia humiliated the obnoxious Englishmen" and "We punished the English arrogance".

Agreement from an unlikely quarter comes from Roy Keane. The Sunderland manager and Ireland international has suggested the England players, rather than head coach Steve McClaren, are partly to blame for the failure to reach the European championship finals.

"From the outside looking in, I tend to think there are too many egos in there, too many big heads. If you get carried way with a little bit of success then you are in trouble," Keane told Sky Sports News.

"Watching the highlights and some of the players being interviewed last night and their body language, I don't think international football is that important to a lot of these players these days and club football has taken over, especially for a lot of top players involved in the Champions League."

Not all have completely abandoned hope for the England side, however, as ex-Real Madrid coach Fabian Capello has expressed interest in the role.

"Me to coach England? It would be a challenge, a beautiful test to overcome and I would have the right age," he said