England face their first big test under new manager Fabio Capello when they travel to Croatia for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against the side that snuffed out their hopes of a place in the Euro 2008 finals last November.

That defeat ended the reign of previous coach Steve McClaren and the Zagreb clash this week will go some way to determining whether Capello can be expected to turn round England’s fortunes.

England had also lost the previous encounter in Croatia 2-0 and the England players would dearly love to come out on top this time.

But David Beckham believes that England must not dwell too much on the previous matches.

"It’s not about having a score to settle," he said. "We just want to get a good result and put a good performance in, that’s the thing.

"It’s not about settling old scores and old games we’ve played against Croatia because we know they are a tough team, we know they’ve got some really good players and we know it’s very hostile there.

"We have to forget about what has gone on in the past. This is the present and we have to work towards what we want to achieve in this group."

England captain John Terry agreed.

"I don’t want to get across any kind of revenge message but, at the same time, it’s a new campaign and we are going there to pick up three points so if we can get off to a good six-point start then we will take that.

"We have to rise to the challenge. We know it’s difficult and we know they have not been beaten there for a long time. We have to go there with a clean slate and not think about the last game we played against them."

In England’s opening qualifier against Andorra on Saturday Joe Cole came off the bench to revive them with two quick goals early in the second half at the Estadi Olimpic.

Certainly Cole will hope to replace the ineffective Stewart Downing in the starting line-up while Beckham, left on the bench against Andorra as Arsenal winger Theo Walcott was handed his debut, is tipped to return in Zagreb where experience will be crucial.

Beckham said: "We will have to wait and see if I start the next game. At the end of the day it’s all about a squad, I’ve already said that. I was happy to get on and get another cap but I think the players stuck together against Andorra, and we have done all week.

"We’ve worked hard together as a unit, not just the starting 11 but everybody else that’s in the squad. Obviously I’ve got experience but there’s other players that are younger than me that have got experience just by the fact that they have played in some of the biggest games in the world.

"We’ve got that experience and we will need it on Wednesday."
From: rss.cnn.com