Jermain Defoe has admitted England would be happy with a draw in Croatia tomorrow.

The Croats completed the double over England to knock them out of Euro 2008 at the qualifying stage, and Saturday's 2-0 win over Andorra hardly suggests Fabio Capello has drawn a massive improvement from his players since succeeding Steve McClaren.

Croatia have never lost a competitive fixture at the Maksimir Stadium so while coach Capello and captain John Terry continue to stress the desire for three points, Defoe concedes parity would be regarded as a positive outcome.

"A draw would be a great result in Croatia," said the Portsmouth striker.

"We have to be strong and believe we're going to win because it is a massive game. But the most important thing is to get a result."

A draw would be welcome as Croatia's general record in qualifying suggests they will not drop many points before the two sides square up again at Wembley in a year.

Slaven Bilic's team seem able to grind out victories from tricky away games, as they did in Israel during the Euro qualifiers, something England failed to do.

And with only the group winners sure to reach South Africa and one of the nine runners-up not even reaching the play-offs, the margin for error is not great.

Defoe did not do enough in a disappointing 45 minutes against Andorra to confidently predict he will keep his place in the team but he hopes to get the chance to inflict revenge on Bilic's side.

"We owe Croatia one," he said. "Our two results against them cost us in the end. They were both huge disappointments and it does not matter what sport you play, if you lose to someone, you want to beat them next time round. We will be ready this time."

Joe Cole, who scored both goals against Croatia, is convinced that Capello is the man to get the best out of the team.

The Chelsea star admits they have struggled in recent years because the players, used to the blood and thunder of the Premier League, have been unable to adopt a more methodical approach.

Cole, though, believes Capello can make England more flexible and claims the players will reap the rewards of the Italian's work.

"Fabio Capello is not only the right man for this job, he's evidently the right coach for this moment and the test we face in Zagreb," said the 26-year-old.

"Fabio Capello will make us all better footballers, individually, but most importantly he'll make England a better team.

"I think that for a long time now our flaw is that we've been caught up in playing the 'English Way' and being a bit too mobile from box to box.

"Sooner or later you end up playing a crucial match in 100 degree heat and trying to play at 100 miles per hour, and we simply haven't been clever enough.

"Our difficulty is not the question of 'passion and desire' it's a question of international intelligence that we've suffered from.

"Now we are under the direction of a man who is so experienced in those terms. He can take this group on to the next level."

Rio Ferdinand missed the Andorra match due to a neck injury but should return to bolster England's defence.