Carson the scapegoat but the coach is to blame

England's European Championship journey ended in extraordinary circumstances and so, it would seem, did McClaren's brief but difficult tenure at the Football Association.

He might curse his luck after Scott Carson followed Paul Robinson in committing another calamitous goalkeeping error. He might point to the absence of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand from a defence that was punished by a classy Croatia side for its inexperience.

He might bemoan the fact that he did not have Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney to score the goal England so desperately needed in retaliation. He might even demand to know who allowed two American football teams to tear up the pitch three weeks ago.

But this qualifying campaign was contested over 12 matches and too often McClaren was exposed as an overconfident coach who was horribly over-promoted.

A coach who should never have even been considered for the biggest job in English football and never should have been entrusted with a socalled golden generation of players.

McClaren again proved indecisive in waiting until half-time to make a change after seeing his side concede two goals inside the first 14 minutes. Ultimately, he will be remembered, forever, for watching his team self-destruct while standing under a golf brolly.

His record in a group Sven Goran Eriksson considered easy tells his employers all they need to know as they prepare for an emergency board meeting at Soho Square this morning. After defeats in Croatia and Russia and draws away to Israel and at home to Macedonia, this was the final nail in his international coffin.

After the unexpected reprieve that came in the wake of Israel's victory over Russia last Saturday, all McClaren had to do was guide his side to a draw and so prove he was the man for the big occasion.

But England were a rudderless mess, disabled by poor preparation, poor technique, poor individual performances and a lack of leadership from the bench.

David James turned to fellow substitute Ashley Cole and pointed to Beckham long before McClaren removed his holding midfielder and his right winger and sent on the former England captain and another striker in Jermain Defoe.

Someone like Jose Mourinho would have acted far earlier than the interval.

Croatia had approached this game just as their coach Slaven Bilic said they would. They gave it a go for the first 15 minutes and they got two goals for their efforts, Niko Kranjcar cashing in on Carson's first-night nerves and Ivica Olic exploiting the shortcomings of a naive back four.

In Beckham and Defoe, however, England appeared to have their saviours. Defoe earned the 56thminute penalty that enabled Frank Lampard to reduce the deficit and Beckham delivered the inch-perfect ball that Peter Crouch controlled magnificently on his chest before converting with a wonderful volley.

Now it no longer mattered that Russia had scored against Andorra. Now England were through to Euro 2008. Now Crouch was going to be remembered for more than that 'silly dance'. Now Beckham was going to get his 100 caps.

But again, McClaren failed his team as well as England's supporters. Time to get Owen Hargreaves on. Time to recognise that, once again, Lampard and Steven Gerrard form an unhappy midfield marriage. Time to make the necessary change.

In the end, it was the unfortunate Carson who was left to shoulder the blame.

In all honesty, he really should have got closer to Mladen Petric's 77th-minute shot.

But England were in disarray as Petric lined it up, the Croatia substitute exploiting the space and time he had been given with a decent but not unstoppable finish.

There could only be sympathy for Carson. Thrust into the spotlight for his first competitive international after McClaren decided he could not risk another blunder from Robinson, the 22-year-old suffered for the fact that he had not had a save to make in Vienna last Friday.

Kranjcar was more than 30 yards out when he unleashed an eighth-minute shot more in hope than expectation but Carson failed to get his body behind the ball and allowed it to bounce up, spin off his left arm and into the back of the net.

Carson threw his arms out in despair, a broken man after little more than 90 minutes of international football.

If McClaren thought his side had made the worst possible start, he was very much mistaken. Six minutes later and Croatia had struck again, this time thanks to some quite horrific defending.

While McClaren watched from under his umbrella, Eduardo Da Silva made light of the conditions and mincemeat of England's back four.

He turned inside the hapless Wayne Bridge and threaded a pass between Sol Campbell and Joleon Lescott and into the path of the advancing Olic, who was played onside by Bridge and Shaun Wright-Phillips. England looked for a flag but it never came, Olic dragging the ball wide of Carson before tapping into an empty net.

England had chances to respond in the first half, Wright-Phillips and Crouch both failing to score from close range. But when McClaren finally reacted and Defoe took a tumble after the lightest of tugs on his shirt by Josip Simunic, England were suddenly thrown another lifeline.

When Lampard scored from the spot and Crouch followed that with a finish worthy of a place in history, McClaren celebrated with his staff. He was once again alive, resuscitated by players he has discarded and largely ignored.

He insisted he was still alive after he saw Bilic jump into the arms of his coaching colleagues at the final whistle, refusing to resign and reminding those he encountered in the post-match press conference that he was still booked on a flight to South Africa for the World Cup draw tomorrow night.

At Soho Square this morning, however, that ticket is sure to be cancelled.