ENGLAND fired coach Steve McClaren on Thursday, a day after failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championship by losing at home to Croatia.

Football Association (FA) chairman Geoff Thompson said McClaren’s contract had been terminated with immediate effect, along with that of assistant Terry Venables.

It was the first time since the 1994 World Cup that England had failed to qualify for a major championship and first since 1984 that the team will miss the Euros.

McClaren said after the game that he would not be quitting, but the 12-man FA board called an emergency board meeting Thursday morning to decide on his dismissal.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, Russia’s Guus Hiddink and Italy’s World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi are among the names considered possible replacements.

(SD-Agencies)