Cole issues rallying cry

England midfielder looking for mental toughness

Last updated: 8th September 2008

Joe Cole Andorra England World Cup Qualifier

Cole: Determined

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Joe Cole has called on his England team-mates to show 'mental toughness' against Croatia on Wednesday.

Cole stepped off the substitutes' bench to score both goals in England's 2-0 victory over Andorra at the weekend.

England are now preparing for their first major test of the Fabio Capello era, as they take on the Croatia side that ended their hopes of making it through to Euro 2008.

Cole can still recall the pain of the defeat to Croatia at Wembley but he senses a determination in the camp to make amends in Zagreb.

"It took a long time to get the Wembley defeat out of the system and the realisation that came with it that we weren't going to the European Championships," he said.

"It still hurts. Any disappointments you have are like that. It still hurts me that West Ham got relegated five years ago. It still hurts me that Chelsea lost the Champions League final in May.

"But you've got to put them to the back of your mind and move on. We are doing everything possible now to make sure what happened in Croatia last time doesn't happen again."

Naive

England were beaten 2-0 in Croatia during the Euro 2008 campaign and Cole accepts that it will take a much-improved performance to pick up even a point.

Cole admitted: "We all made a lot of mistakes during the last campaign. Last time we went there, we under-estimated them a bit. We were a bit naive.

"Looking at their performances in the Euro finals, Croatia are a top side with great players.

"I think you need to be solid and tough, you need to be compact and you need everyone's experience on the pitch because it is going to be a hostile environment.

"You need to show mental toughness and, with the way the team and the squad is set up, we are getting stronger. I can see that every time we meet up. There is more mental toughness in the team now."