Russia rallies to beat England 2-1 in Euro 2008 qualifying
England wasted a second-half lead, putting its European Championship qualifying chances in jeopardy with a 2-1 loss to Russia on Wednesday night.
England would have clinched a berth with a victory. Instead, it is in danger of missing soccer`s No. 2 tournament behind the World Cup.
"We ended up losing a game where after 70 minutes, I never thought we`d lose," England coach Steve McClaren said. "We had it. It was in our grasp, and we ended up losing it."
Wayne Rooney put England ahead in the 29th minute off a pass from Michael Owen on the artificial turf of Luzhniki Stadium. Steven Gerrard wasted a chance to put England ahead 2-0 in the 51st minute when he shot wide while unmarked close to goal.
"I can`t believe it is out of our hands," Gerrard said. "You start believing you are nearly there, that you have got one foot there, but football is a cruel game and chances and decisions and mistakes turn football matches. For England not to make the finals will be unthinkable."
Roman Pavlyuchenko, who entered in the 58th minute, tied the score with a disputed penalty kick in the 69th after Rooney brought down Konstantin Zyryanov. Replays appeared to show Rooney`s foul occurred outside the penalty area.
"It`s an absolute disgrace. It`s outside the box," McClaren said. "The linesman didn`t give it. It was the referee from a distance. Things like that turn games."
Pavlyuchenko scored the go-ahead goal four minutes later after getting between Sol Campbell and Joleon Lescott, then tapping in the rebound after goalkeeper Paul Robinson pushed away an attempt from Alexei Berezutskiy.
Croatia (8-0-2) leads Group E with 26 points and England (7-2-2) is second with 23. Russia (6-1-3) is third with 21 but has two games left to one for the English.
Russia would advance if it wins at Israel on Nov. 17 and at Andorra on Nov. 21.
"We have a perfect chance now," Pavlyuchenko said. "All is now in our hands. We must beat Israel - it will be the key match."
Midfielder David Beckham, coming back from a knee injury, hopes to return for England`s final qualifier, at Wembley against Croatia on Nov. 21.
Only the top two team in each group advance to next year`s 16-nation tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
The victory was the first for Russia coach Guus Hiddink in 10 tries against English opposition.
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