England fail to make the 2008 finals after 3 - 1 loss to Spain at Wembley . Carson was surprisingly thrown into the deep end by McClaren in place of regular keeper Paul Robinson having only made his debut in last Friday 's friendly international in Austria . Russia qualified as group runners - up after their slender 1 - 0 victory in Moscow . England 's failure cost Steve McClaren his job as manager .
England fail to make the 2008 finals after 3 - 1 loss to Spain at Wembley . Russia qualified as group runners - up after their slender 1 - 0 victory in Moscow . England 's failure cost Steve McClaren his job as manager .