Peter Crouch scored twice to help England thrash European champions Greece 4-0 in a friendly at the Old Trafford on Wednesday. John Terry opened the score in the 14th minute before Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard doubled the lead in the 30th minute. Crouch notched a brace in the 35th and 42nd minutes to hand England their first victory under new coach Steve McClaren. Germany coach Joachim Loew also enjoyed a winning start after his side beat Sweden 3-0 at Arena AufSchalke. Bernd Schneider put Germany ahead early in the fourth minute before World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose added the second four minutes later. The Werder Bremen striker completed the rout just before the interval. Elsewhere, World champions Italy, without their stars who excelled in Germany, were handed a 2-0 home defeat to Croatia. Two goals from Eduardo da Silva and Luka Modric in the first-half sealed the victory for Croatia. In other matches, France beat Bosnia 2-1, Holland thrashed Ireland 4-0, Brazil tied Norway 1-1, Senegal edged Ivory Coast 1-0, Serbia cruised past Czech Republic 3-1 and Mali defeated Tunisia 1-0.
