Steve McClaren has been sacked as England head coach following their failure to qualify for the European Championship finals next year, Sky Sports News reports.

The Football Association had still not made an official statement but McClaren's 19-month reign in charge appeared over following the 3-2 defeat by Croatia at Wembley.

England needed just a draw against Croatia to seal a place in Euro 2008 but defeat means they will be missing from a major finals for the first time since the 1994 World Cup.

A 12-man FA board met from 0830 GMT for an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss McClaren's future. The under-fire coach had said on Wednesday he would not resign.

McClaren took over from Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson after last year's World Cup finals in Germany where England reached the quarter-finals.

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