England failed to get the point they needed to qualify for Euro 2008 despite a stirring second-half fightback as they lost 3-2 to Croatia on a dramatic night at Wembley.
Croatia were gifted an early lead when Scott Carson, on his competitive debut, allowed Niko Kranjcar's long-range effort to slip through his fingers, and the goalkeeper's howler set the tone for a disastrous first half.
Ivica Olic rounded Carson after 14 minutes to make it 2-0 after Eduardo da Silva slipped through a ball that left England's entire backline rooted to the spot in anticipation of an offside flag, although replays showed the assistant referee was right to let the goal stand.
England did not recover until after half-time, when Steve McClaren brought on David Beckham and Jermain Defoe.
Both substitutes made an impact, with Defoe winning a penalty in the 56th minute that was converted by Frank Lampard, and Beckham crossing for Crouch to lash the ball home after 65 minutes for what appeared to be the all-important equaliser.
However, Mladen Petric shot past Carson from distance in the 77th minute and after the final whistle sounded England's hearts were broken by news that Russia had beaten Andorra1-0.
Disastrous start
It will hurt McClaren all the more that the first seeds of England's downfall were sown by Carson's monumental early blunder.
The youngster, plunged into the biggest game of his life in place of Paul Robinson, just five days after his international debut in Austria, could not have endured a more miserable evening, letting Kranjcar's hopeful 25-yard effort slip through his fingers and into his own goal with just eight minutes on the clock.
It was the kind of error that would have had a park keeper wishing the ground would open up and swallow him. On this stage, at this level, there is simply no excuse. Not the rain. Not a swerving ball. Nothing.
And, stood on the sidelines, red and blue brolly protecting him from the elements, McClaren must have felt just like Chancellor Alistair Darling in the wake of the Child Benefit data crisis, blameless for the blunder but culpable all the same.
England might well have gained instant redemption had Shaun Wright-Phillips, the man who got the nod over Beckham, been able to finish when Joe Cole, one of the few home players exempt from criticism, and Crouch combined to set him up.
The angle was tight but Wright-Phillips could have finished. Instead, he blasted straight at Stipe Pletikosa and not long afterwards, England found themselves two adrift.
This time the architect was da Silva, a bit-part player for Arsenal so far but clearly blessed with impeccable dribbling skills as he drove at the heart of England's desperately back-pedalling defence.
For some inexplicable reason, Wright-Phillips, finding himself in an unaccustomed right-back slot, tried to play Olic offside. The ill-advised move merely allowed the striker to stroll through, round Carson and tap into an empty net.
A capacity Wembley crowd was shell-shocked, barely able to grasp the nightmare unfolding in front of them.
At no point did Steven Gerrard or Lampard get hold of the game, at no point did Crouch look a threat and at no point did England's defence look capable of resisting Croatia for the remainder of the game.
Half-time turnaround
As he delivered potentially his last half-time team-talk, the boos of his own fans once again ringing in his ears, McClaren's belief could have been reinforced only by the knowledge that twice in his Middlesbrough days, his teams somehow engineered comebacks from three goals behind against Steaua Bucharest and Roma.
It must have been in his mind as he sent on Beckham and Defoe. And it must have been coursing through his veins when Beckham lined up a 50th-minute free-kick from roughly the same position he netted that famous injury-time goal against Greece that saw England reach the 2002 World Cup.
This time, Beckham could only strike the wall. But his introduction had invigorated England and, for the first time, unsettled Croatia.
Josip Simunic, the man booked three times by Graham Poll at the last World Cup, was panicked into a penalty box tug on Defoe. The foul was spotted by an eagle-eyed assistant and up stepped Lampard to send Pletikosa the wrong way.
Now, the crowd were right behind England, forgetting just how badly they had been let down before.
And who should respond most positively of all but Beckham. His fitness may be lacking but his right boot remains lethal.
With one deft chip, he picked out Crouch, who controlled on his chest before rattling home his 14th international goal.
None have been better received and none have been as important.
As Crouch raced away, pursued by ecstatic team-mates, McClaren darted off the bench, punching the air in utter jubilation.
It seemed McClaren's version of the Great Escape would reach a memorable and totally satisfactory conclusion.
Instead, just as Steve McQueen was recaptured and jailed, so England were snared again as substitute Petric belted home from 20 yards to knock them out.
Debate Mansion
Book Talk
Cricket
