Live Football

The international break in football continues into the coming week as crucial World Cup qualifying draws to a close. England will host Croatia in group six play on Wednesday, September 9th. England is looking to stay perfect in World Cup qualifying as they are 7-0-0 through their first seven games of group play, allowing only four goals while scoring 26 of their own. The match kicks off at 20:00 local time at Wembley Stadium in London, UK. Live from ITV1 TV Channel.

Both sides come into Wednesday's match up riding winning trends. England was victorious Saturday at Wembley as they hosted Slovenia. A 31st minute penalty from Frank Lampard and a solid strike from Jermain Defoe in the 68th minute gave England a 2-0 lead. Slovenia pulled back a consolation goal in the 85th minute, as England held on for the 2-1 victory. Croatia was in action Saturday as well, keeping their World Cup dreams alive with a 1-0 victory over Belarus.

England is very close to wrapping up a bid to South Africa and the 2010 World Cup. England sits atop the group with 21 points from seven games. Croatia sits in second place with 17 points through eight games. Europe's group winners get automatic bids to the World Cup while the eight best second place squads enter a playoff for the final four spots from Europe.

Croatia badly needs a victory over England to keep their hopes alive. England has two games left in qualifying, on October 10th at Ukraine and October 14th at home versus Belarus. Croatia has only one game left on October 14th at Kazakhstan. If Croatia wins they'll keep their World Cup dreams alive, but will still need to secure second place in the group. A victory for England all but assures victory in the group.