Clowns, frowns and glory nights: England's record in crunch games

The national side have had mixed fortunes when it comes to decisive qualifiers. Glenn Moore charts the highs and lows

Omar Golan's injury-time goal for Israel on Saturday night may prove to be the most significant of the qualifying campaign. Russia's defeat left England needing to take only a point against Croatia on Wednesday to qualify and in every previous comparable situation they have never failed to achieve such a modest target.

But when England have needed to win their last match they have struggled, failing to do so on all four occasions. Twice they still went through, but only because of results elsewhere.

The most infamous failure was in 1973, when Jan Tomaszewski kept at bay an England team who needed to win. A more accurate historical parallel to Wednesday is 1981, when England, having been given a lifeline by Switzerland's draw with Romania, needed a point against already qualified Hungary. England won. Here is the full story of those successes, and failures.

Republic of Ireland 1 England 1 (World Cup 1958 Qualifier)

England had beaten the Irish 5-1 at Wembley 11 days earlier but were stunned by Alf Ringstead's third-minute goal. A qualifying play-off loomed, then John Atyeo headed in Tom Finney's 90th-minute cross. Four members of the England side would perish in the Munich air disaster and, without them, the team would struggle at the World Cup.

England 2 Portugal 0 (WC 1962 qualifier)

Luxembourg's shock win over Eusebio's Portugal left England needing a point. Early goals from John Connelly and Ray Pointer ensured they got both points.

Scotland 1, England 1 (EC 1968 qualifier)

Scotland's famous 1967 Wembley win over the world champions had made them favourites to qualify but a defeat to Northern Ireland left England needing only a point in Glasgow. Martin Peters silenced the 134,000 crowd, still a competition record, after 20 minutes and, though John Hughes levelled, England held on.

Greece 0 England 2 (EC 1972 qualifier)

England, needing only to avoid losing by four goals or more, eased to victory with goals by Geoff Hurst and Martin Chivers.

England 1 Poland 1 (WC 1974 qualifier)

Brian Clough derided Jan Tomaszewski as a "clown" before the game. The Polish goalkeeper made a string of great saves while Peter Shilton let Jan Domarski's low shot beat him. Allan Clarke levelled from the spot but when Kevin Hector's header was cleared off the line in the final seconds England were out. Sir Alf Ramsey survived for six months, but was still sacked.

Portugal 1 England 1 (EC 1976 qualifier)

England needed a win but trailed after 20 minutes. Mick Channon levelled but Don Revie was left hoping Cyprus could hold Czechoslovakia in their final qualifying game. They could not.

England 1 Hungary 0 (WC 1982 qualifier)

The match was televised live, very rare in those days, and a nation gathered to see if England could reach their first World Cup since 1970. Just a point was required and it was sealed when Paul Mariner turned in Trevor Brooking's mishit shot. Steve Coppell suffered the knee injury which would ultimately end his career.

Yugoslavia 1, England 4 (EC 1988 qualifier)

One of England's finest performances. Needing a draw in Belgrade, they were 4-0 up in 24 minutes. Peter Beardsley, John Barnes, Bryan Robson and Tony Adams were the scorers.

P oland 0 England 0 (WC 1990 qualifier)

Sixteen years on Peter Shilton found redemption against the Poles, denying them in Katowice to earn England the required point. Even so, he was grateful to see Ryszard Tarasiewicz's last-minute, 35-yard shot hit the bar.

Poland 1 England 1 (EC 1992 qualifier)

To Poland once more, with a point again the order. Graham Taylor boldly gave debuts to Crystal Palace's Andy Gray and QPR's Andy Sinton. A deflected goal put Poland ahead but, with 13 minutes left, Gary Lineker swivelled in the box and levelled.

Italy 0 England 0 (WC 1998 qualifier)

England's finest performance under Glenn Hoddle, a performance so polished that Gazzetta dello Sport raved: "Today, Italy is inferior to England. The lions who once knew only how to launch the ball and run under it, tackle, cross and mix it up, now dribble with skill, take control of the action, take possession with elegance and look for the winning chance".

Poland 0 England 0 (EC 2000 qualifier)

England needed a win to qualify but were forced to settle for a draw after David Batty got himself sent off in a miserable match. A month later the Swedes saved England.

England 2 Greece 2 (WC 2002 qualifier)

England required a win but were twice behind and heading for defeat when David Beckham cracked in a superb last-minute free-kick. It was enough: minutes earlier Germany had been held at home by Finland.

Turkey 0 England 0 (EC 2004 qualifier)

David Beckham missed a penalty but it mattered not. A staunch rearguard action in a tumultuous atmosphere by an England team still brooding over Rio Ferdinand's suspension for missing a drug test was enough.