Barry aims to avenge Croatian misery

England midfielder Gareth Barry admits he is desperate to make amends for the lowest moment of his career by helping Fabio Capello’s side secure their World Cup place with victory over Croatia on Wednesday.

Barry was part of the England team who missed out on Euro 2008 after Croatia won 3-2 at Wembley 22 months ago, but the Manchester City star is confident Slaven Bilic’s men will find it much harder in London this time.

Last time, in November 2007, Steve McClaren’s England needed just a draw to qualify for the European Championship finals in Austria and Switzerland but they fell apart in dismal fashion.

McClaren was sacked soon after and Capello took over. The Italian has quickly got England back on track and they can book their trip to next year’s World Cup in South Africa with a victory over the Croatians after winning all seven of their qualifiers.

“Everyone wants to put it to bed on Wednesday and get across the line,” said midfielder Barry, who moved from Aston Villa to Manchester City during the close-season and has been ever-present under Capello.

“A lot of players in our dressing room won’t forget that night at Wembley two years ago. There will be a few memories. But it’s a different manager and a different team now and although that might be in the back of our minds we’ll be confident we can do it this time.

“Like many others the last home match against Croatia was the lowest point of my career – being on the verge of qualifying for a championships and then all of a sudden it’s taken away from you.

“It’s not a nice feeling. This is England we’re talking about and we need to be part of these tournaments. But we can put that right on Wednesday.”

England have already gained some element of revenge by beating Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb earlier in the qualifying campaign thanks to a remarkable performance from hat-trick star Theo Walcott.

And although Walcott is unavailable for the return game because of injury there is a real sense of belief in the England squad these days.

Barry added: “We played some of our best football under this manager in Zagreb and it set us up nicely for the rest of the campaign.

“We’ve come a long way, really if you look at the results. They have all been positive, especially in competitive games and the manager knows that’s what we’ll all be judged on.”

Barry does have one word of caution for his England team-mates, however, as they prepare for a match that is likely to have something of an edge about it following previous encounters.

Croatia, too, are looking for revenge following that rare defeat in Zagreb and are still seething over the way Tottenham’s Luka Modric was ruled out of the tie after being injured in a Premier League game – just as Eduardo had been in the past.

Barry said: “In the away game I think we found out they will fire into challenges and try and make it tough but I’m sure we?ll talk about keeping our heads and keeping 11 players on the pitch.

“I think discipline was a massive thing out in Croatia and it will be big again on Wednesday. But this game is completely different. They know we can qualify on the night and the pressure is on them.”