In many ways, the image itself has become more symbolic than the actual result. Knowing his days as England manager were coming to a premature end, Steve McClaren stood pitchside with an umbrella in one hand and an FA-branded coffee cup in the other, watching on as his dejected players slumped to a 3-2 defeat.

Things could have turned out so differently for the former Manchester United assistant, of course, particularly if Scott Carson had not made two decisive errors in goal. As it was, the Three Lions' hopes of reaching Euro 2008 had come to a halt at Wembley Stadium on this day in 2007, leading to the inevitable sacking of McClaren.

The Football Association came to a "unanimous decision" less than 24 hours after the latest debacle on the road to Austria-Switzerland, bringing to an end one of the national side's bleakest periods on the field. McClaren's position had simply become untenable, having seen his side finish behind both Croatia and Russia in the Group E standings.

It had all started going somewhat sour for England on the third matchday when, after picking up six points from six in their opening two games, a hugely disappointing home draw against Macedonia stopped the Three Lions right in their tracks. Then came an infamous defeat to Croatia in Zagreb, capped by Gary Neville's rather comical own goal to put the hosts in early command of the qualifying group.

From that point on the 1966 World Cup winners collected 16 points from a possible 18 heading into their final fixture, blemishing what was otherwise a perfect record in the second half of their campaign when being held to a goalless draw away at Israel. It meant that hope had been restored and, while it would hardly be in the manner supporters would have liked, a place in the following summer's Euros was still there for the taking.

The task for England was simple; a point would be enough to take them through to the finals thanks to their superior record against Russia over their two games. The caveat to all this was the fact that Russia were facing off against Andorra, a side that had conceded 39 goals in qualifying up to that stage in proceedings, so defeat for the Soviet Union state was never likely to be in the equation.

McClaren simply wanted his team to go for the win, looking to keep a packed Wembley support firmly behind his side with a fast start to the contest. The tone was very much set early on, though, when with less than eight minutes on the clock Nico Kranjcar's strike from distance somehow found a way through.

England's head coach, who has since been dubbed the 'Wally with a Brolly' as a result of his decision to use an umbrella to protect himself from the damp conditions, made two big decisions prior to kickoff. One was to drop David Beckham from the starting lineup, while the other ultimately proved more costly in deciding that Carson was up to the task.

The 22-year-old would no doubt have wanted the pitch to swallow him up after fumbling Kranjcar's shot, but things were to get even worse for both him and his side. Just six minutes later, with the home of English football now silent, Ivica Olic was slipped in and coolly rounded Carson to double the visitors' advantage.

England, on the brink of an embarrassing failure, did manage to show some real character to battle back and make it 2-2 at one stage. Having been booed off at the interval, McClaren had little choice but to drastically change things by bringing on Jermain Defoe and inspirational captain Beckham for cap number 99.

A tug on substitute Defoe provided the Three Lions with a lifeline, which Frank Lampard duly accepted with what was essentially his first meaningful kick of the game. With many expecting Beckham to perhaps muster up one more moment of magic in England colours, the midfielder stepped up to the plate when picking out Peter Crouch, who did the rest by chesting the ball down and finding the bottom corner.

It was now all square and there is no denying which side had the momentum heading into the final 25 minutes. The new Wembley Stadium had just witnessed arguably its most iconic moment with real scenes of joy, but there was still more drama to come. With time ticking down, an energetic Croatia side edged back in front thanks to Mladen Petric - another goal to question McClaren's decision to drop Robinson from the squad.

That would prove to be it. Defeat for England, coupled with Russia's slender 1-0 win in the Pyrenees, meant that the Three Lions would not be participating in a major competition for the first time in 14 years. The inquest immediately began, lasting for merely a matter of hours before the decision was made to part company with the manager.

The following morning's headlines said it all for McClaren. "The night when English football sank in a mire of its own making," read The Guardian's leading splash, while The Mirror simply went with "The End!". It was The Sun, however, that perhaps best epitomised the thoughts of a football-mad nation, with its front cover carrying the picture of a deflated football on an empty street.

McClaren would be forced to try his luck abroad to regain a reputation that had fallen to a real low on the back of the dire campaign. Mixed success followed, with title success at FC Twente being the pinnacle and a real collapse at the end of last season with Derby County the nadir. That did not stop Newcastle United come calling this summer, but it remains to be seen whether the once-respected coach can ever fully recover from that infamous night at Wembley.

Certain results truly define a career. In McClaren's case, this was one of those occasions.

England XI: Carson; Richards, Campbell, Lescott, Bridge; Wright-Phillips (Beckham-46), Gerrard, Barry (Defoe-46), Lampard, J. Cole (Bent-80); Crouch

Croatia XI: Pletikosa; Corluka, Simic, R. Kovac, Simunic, Srna; Modric, N. Kovac, Kranjcar (Pranjic-75); Olic (Rakitic-84), Eduardo (Petric-69)