Croatia returns to Wembley in September 2009 to try and oust England again

[Mislav]

ZAGREB, Croatia - England will get a chance at revenge in September 2009 when it hosts Croatia in a World Cup qualifying match.

The English, who failed to advance to this year's European Championship after losing to Croatia at Wembley in September, will have two more games after that meeting to be sure of finishing in the top two and at least making the playoffs.

In Monday's draw, Kazakhstan was pitted against Andorra on Aug. 20 to open Group 6. All six group teams are then in action on Sept. 6, when it's Andorra-England, Croatia-Kazakhstan and Ukraine-Belarus.

The final set of games are England-Belarus, Kazakhstan-Croatia and Andorra-Ukraine on Oct. 14.

Croatia, England and Ukraine are expected to be the front-runners for the single guaranteed qualifying spot as group winner. The runner-up will go into the playoffs in November 2009.

England is at Croatia on Sept. 10, Ukraine is at home to Croatia on Oct. 11, and England hosts Ukraine April 1, 2009.

Croatia is at home to Ukraine on June 6, England hosts Croatia on Sept 9 and then visits Ukraine on Oct. 10.

[Zvonko]

Mike Ashley, the Newcastle United owner, is backing a move to bring David Beckham to St James' Park. (Daily Mirror)

Kevin Keegan is also poised to offer Micah Richards, the Manchester City and England defender, £70,000 a week to join him at Newcastle. (Daily Mail)

Harry Redknapp wants Peter Crouch to quit Liverpool and join him at Fratton Park, despite twice selling him before at Portsmouth and Southampton. (Various)

Tottenham Hotspur have reignited their interest in Rangers full-back Alan Hutton and hope to complete an £8m move at the second attempt. (Various)

Spurs have also agreed a fee with Juventus for Tiago Mendes, the former Chelsea midfielder and will also sign Gilberto da Silva Melo, the Brazil left back, from Hertha Berlin. (Daily Mirror)

Aston Villa have rejected an offer from Birmingham City for central defender Gary Cahill. Alex McLeish has been given permission by O'Neill to speak to him about a possible switch to St Andrews, but has not met Villa's valuation of the player - believed to be around £4million. (PA)

Rangers have rejected an initial £2million bid from Fulham for striker Daniel Cousin. (Daily Mail) Fulham are hoping to sign 30-year-old former Manchester United striker Erik Nevland from Viking Stavanger (Various) while Roy Hodgson will also give a trial veteran Finnish midfielder Jari Litmanen. (PA)

Juventus have offered Aston Villa £500,000 for centre half Olof Mellberg. The defender had agreed to move on a Bosman at the end of the season but the Italian side have an injury crisis and have moved for him now. (The Sun)

Juventus could also resurrect a move for Liverpool midfielder Mohammed Sissoko. (Various)

Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, will swoop for £1.5m rated Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley to help with his side's relegation battle. (The Sun)

Nottingham Forest have made a £700,000 move for Birmingham City midfielder Neil Danns who has been told he can leave St Andrews. (The Sun)

Liverpool have failed in their attempt to sign Domagoj Vida, the Croatia Under-21 midfielder, from Osijek. (The Sun)

Steve Bruce, the Wigan Athletic manager, is open to offers for £5.3 million summer signing Jason Koumas. (The Sun)

Arsenal are considering a £7m summer move for West Ham United goalkeeper Robert Green. (Daily Express) West Ham have been linked with a move for Villarreal's £3m-rated Argentine midfielder Leandro Somoza. (The Independent)

Nicky Shorey, the Reading left-back, is set to snub the Hammers and sign a new contract that will make him the highest-paid player at the club. (Various)

[Zvonko]

An 18-year-old model has revealed that she had a sexual romp with soccer ace Alan Smith in a toilet the night before a crucial game between England and Croatia.

According to News of The World, Sophie Bovington-Kerr was one of a group of beauties who secretly partied with the squad that flopped in front of millions in the Euro 2008 qualifier 3-2 defeat at Wembley.

She said Newcastle midfielder Smith's mind wasn't on the biggest match for years-or his on-off girlfriend Holly Worthington- when he homed in to score with the 18-year-old.

"He was still wearing the England kit he'd trained in that day when he took me into the loo. He pushed me into the cubicle, pulled his shorts down and had oral sex with me. We'd swapped numbers and even after I'd left the hotel later he bombarded me with texts far into the night asking me to come back and go to bed with him," Sophie revealed

"It was the night before the biggest game of some of these players' lives and all they were after was sex with me and my friends. I couldn't believe the way they were behaving. All I could think was, 'In less than 24 hours you lot will be at Wembley with the whole country willing you on to win'," she added.

Sophie said that she and her pals had just finished a photoshoot at Watford's five-star Grove Hotel where the team were based on November 20. They sneaked into the VIP area reserved for superstars. Smith was among other bored squad players hoping some girls would turn up.

When 50,000-pound-a-week star Smith, 27, saw Sophie, he made a beeline for her.

"I'd met him in the players' lounge after the Brazil game last June and just thought he was really arrogant and rude. He was so full of himself. He'd strutted around and gave the impression he could sleep with me just because he's a footballer. But that night we talked properly and I really liked him." He then asked the pretty brunette for her phone number. "Twenty seconds later he sent me a text saying, 'Meet me in the toilets in five minutes' and he left the room. I didn't go because I know what footballers are like.

"Then I got another message saying, 'Go to the toilets' He kept going out of the room and expected me to follow him."

By 8.30pm Sophie needed the loo. When she opened the door to come out, Smith was waiting for her.

"He pushed me back in the cubicle and said, 'I want to talk to you'.

"Then he started kissing me passionately. His hands were everywhere-on my thighs and on my bum. He said I had an amazing body and how much he wanted to have sex with me. The game was the last thing on his mind.

"The thing I really remember was that he was still wearing his England kit that he'd trained in a few hours earlier.

"He pulled his shorts down and I gave him oral sex. He was pressed up against the wall and was obviously enjoying it-but I didn't feel comfortable about it."

Former Old Trafford ace Smith did not play the match against Croatia, but continued sending Sophie a string of texts during and after the match.

FA bosses have now put a stop to any photoshoots with female models the night before international matches.