STEVEN GERRARD believes the Wembley crowd can be England’s 12th man as they look to overturn Croatia and clinch a place in the Euro 2008 finals at Wembley tonight.

Gerrard knows the importance of having supporters behind the team when the going gets tough from his experiences with Liverpool and the lift given by The Kop.

Now he wants the England followers in the capacity 90,000 crowd to make it an intimidating atmosphere for Croatia who are already through to Austria and Switzerland next summer.

Gerrard said: “There have been so many times at Anfield where we have been in difficult situations and the crowd have baled us out.

“They are famous for being known as the 12th man, and as a player it gives you a massive boost out there when things are not going well.

“The crowd really do help you to deliver a performance – and we will certainly need our fans to play a massive part at Wembley on Wednesday.

“Hopefully at the end we can all celebrate together by being through to the finals.”

Gerrard knows England will have no excuses if they fail now to go through after being handed a lifeline by Israel’s shock win over Russia at the weekend.

But he is not expecting an easy ride and knows the important of the players remaining united if the going gets tough at any stage during the 90 minutes.

He said: “The players have got to give everything they’ve got. You can’t afford any excuses on Wednesday night. This team needs to deliver.

“These are big games, when it really matters, and the rewards are massive.

As a player you realise what is at stake going into the game.

“There are going to be times tomorrow when it is not going to be perfect, when it does not all go to plan. That is when you’ve got to stick together. When times are hard. That’s when the big players have got to stand up. If mistakes happen and we do go a goal behind, the game is not over to the end and we have to keep fighting to get the right result.”

Gerrard also admitted he was relieved that England’s destiny is now back in their own hands and said: “Watching the Israel-Russia game on Saturday was difficult when our destiny was out of our control and it wasn’t in our hands. Now it is back in our hands, we’ve got to make the most of it – and make sure after the game on Wednesday we are not feeling how we did after the Russia game a month ago.”

Peter Crouch is likely to operate as the lone central striker with Gerrard and Frank Lampard offering support from midfield.

Gerrard said: “If Peter is picked to start, and is on his own, it is important he is not isolated, that he gets support, and we get crosses into the box early.

“Peter thrives on good delivery into the box and it is up to everyone in the team to do that. We can create Croatia problems with aerial balls into the box.”

Meanwhile, Steve McClaren is preparing to take the biggest gamble of his managerial career by plunging international rookie Scott Carson into the hot-house tonight,of England’s make-or-break Euro 2008 qualifier with Croatia at Wembley, while dropping David Beckham.

Despite refusing to either outline his team, or detail his selection policy for the encounter, from a game in which England need a point to reach next summer’s finals, it has emerged McClaren has told Villa’s Carson he is in and Beckham he is out.

The decision to omit Beckham is big news, even though it has been obvious over the past week his fitness levels, after a lengthy injury- enforced absence followed by a series of exhibition matches for LA Galaxy, are not at the levels required for a 90-minute examination at the highest level.