England start World Cup campaign against Andorra before the big Croatian test

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After a marathon eight-hour meeting in Zagreb, new manager Fabio Capello emerged reasonably happy with a fixture list in which his main aim - securing two September clashes with Euro 2008 nemesis Croatia - was achieved.

Capello will return to Zagreb to face Slaven Bilic's men immediately after the Andorra game on September 10 this year, with the return encounter at Wembley 12 months later.

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England will conclude their campaign on home soil against Belarus on October 14, 2009, four days after a trip to Kiev to face Ukraine.

While the arduous eight-hour flight to Kazakhstan will be undertaken in June, not an ideal time from the FA's perspective, a hoped-for evening kick-off should negate the effects of the sweltering heat, while a Wembley clash with Andorra the following Wednesday should not be too taxing for a team showing any ill-effects from the journey.

Given the impasse at the start of the meeting, it is a surprise an agreement on fixtures was reached.

At one point, the smaller teams in the group suggested there was no chance of a resolution until England, Croatia and Ukraine sorted out their differences.

In the end though, Capello had got what he wanted and was happy to let the other five nations in the group sort out the finer details themselves.

"We are reasonably pleased with how it worked out," said FA director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking, who accompanied Capello into the meeting.

"He wanted Croatia twice in September - he was really relaxed about whether we were home or away.

"It has worked out quite nicely that we have a free Saturday before the home game. He also wanted to start with Andorra.

"The two summer games weren't quite as bad as normal. It is unfortunate we are not involved in the tournament coming up, so players will have a long rest this summer. He just felt it was an opportunity to get them away for a period of time.

"We have to make sure we get an evening kick-off for the Kazakhstan game but if you are going to have to play two matches in June, they are the ones you would have chosen."

England's fixtures for the qualifying stage of the 2010 World Cup.

Andorra (a) Saturday, September 6, 2008

Croatia (a) Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Kazakhstan (h) Saturday, October 11, 2008

Belarus (a) Wednesday, October 15, 2008

No game - Saturday, March 28, 2009

Ukraine (h) Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Kazakhstan (a) Saturday, June 6, 2009

Andorra (h) Wednesday, June 10, 2009

No game - Saturday, September 5, 2009

Croatia (h) Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Ukraine (a) Saturday, October 10, 2009

Belarus (h) Wednesday, October 14, 2009