LONDON - 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 Chairman Geoff Thompson said McClaren's contract had been terminated with immediate effect, along with that of assistant Terry Venables.

Needing only a draw at Wembley to qualify for Euro 2008, England was beaten 3-2 by Croatia on Wednesday night. Croatia had already qualified, and the other spot from Group E went to Russia.

"This is one of the saddest days of my career," McClaren said. "It's a failure, but I'll learn from that and I'll move on."

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.

"I am a fan like everybody else. I want England to achieve," McClaren said at a news conference. "I'm as disappointed as everybody this morning that we failed to qualify."

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.

"Qualifying for a major tournament is probably the minimum requirement," FA chief executive Brian Barwick said at a news conference. "I think that Steve thinks that as well. Not qualifying for Euro 2008 comes up short."

Under McClaren, England won nine games, lost five and drew four. His 18-game tenure was the shortest of any full-time England coach.

Beckham's fate

McClaren's exit will trigger a mass overhaul within the England team. David Beckham hopes it doesn't include him -- again.

The Los Angeles Galaxy star wants to play in the 2010 World Cup.

"I said at the start of my career I'll always want to play for my country, and I'd never retire from playing for my country," Beckham said Thursday. "That could obviously be taken out of my hands, but I want to reach my 100 caps.

"To get those 100 caps would be a dream come true for me."

Initially discarded after the 2006 World Cup, the former captain rode to McClaren's rescue when England's European Championship hopes began to fade away.

Wednesday's loss ended Beckham's dream of playing in a sixth major international tournament.

"I'll still be available," said Beckham, who will be 35 by the World Cup. "Hopefully I'll still be playing, and playing well enough to be in the England squad in 2010.

"But who knows? Everything can change, and I have seen that in the last 12 months."

'No divine right'

Thompson had this to say on McClaren's firing: "Of course we have no divine right to play in major tournaments, but it is quite right that qualification is expected," Thompson said.

"Of course we feel embarrassed," he added. "We expect as a major nation in Europe to qualify for European Championships and World Cups. We're extremely disappointed, like all fans."

The FA itself has come in for scathing criticism, and Barwick took the unusual step of apologizing to the fans for the humiliating failure.

"I care about this passionately," he said. "This hasn't ever been just a job to me. I'm in this job because I care about football and football fans and football teams.

"Last night was a tough night to take. We don't pass it over and move on. We understand that we have let them down, and I apologize for that."

McClaren took over from Sven-Goran Eriksson after last year's World Cup. The former Middlesbrough manager had been the Swede's assistant coach for five years.

When McClaren was appointed, he appeared to be far from the first choice.

Before naming McClaren, the FA had spoken three times to Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. Russia's Guus Hiddink was another leading candidate. Both men are taking their teams to Euro 2008.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, Hiddink, Scolari, Italy's World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi, Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill and former Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello are among the names considered as possible replacements for McClaren.

"Me to coach England? It would be a challenge, a beautiful test to overcome," Capello said.