McClaren gambles on Carson for final fling

DESPITE refusing to publicly name his side for the make-or-break Euro 2008 qualifier with Croatia today, England coach Steve McClaren seems set to take the biggest gamble of his career by naming Scott Carson in goal.

Carson, currently on loan at Aston Villa from Liverpool, only made his international debut in Friday’s friendly against Austria in Vienna.

While the 22-year-old kept a clean sheet, he was hardly tested by a poor Austria side, and the feeling had been Paul Robinson would return for tonight’s Wembley encounter, when England require a point to seal their passage into next summer’s finals.