Bent will need cushion tonight

There is one standard piece of equipment that Darren Bent always takes with him to international matches and that is a cushion for sitting on the bench for 90 minutes. He will need it tonight for England's match against Croatia with out of form Wayne Rooney and man mountain Peter Crouch expected to start up front. Should Rooney fail to perform, no doubt Defoe will be brought on in his place.

England manager Steve McClaren is quoted as saying, 'We've got to change. We've got to look at different systems and we've got to look at the make-up of the team.' However, this seems to mean a 3-5-2 formation rather than any change in the forward line up.

Scott Carson did well in goal in England's under 21 victory against Germany last night. Although he was not too much troubled, a key German penalty was put wide by Castro on his own ground, no doubt daunted by Carson's reputation as a penalty saver.