It’s not the first time, of course, that a small eastern European country has humiliated England at Wembley, giving the nation that invented the game a lesson in how to play it.

Hungary’s famous 6-3 victory over England under Wembley’s Twin Towers in 1953 is the stuff of legend.

Croatia’s win under the floodlit Wembley Arch on Wednesday night ought to serve as just as big a wake-up call to the English game as that famous victory of the Mighty Magyars did, 54 years ago this week.

For what cannot be ignored in the wreckage of England’s humiliating 3-2 defeat was that Croatia outclassed England tactically and technically – just as Ferenc Puskas and his team did when they became the first ever foreign side to beat England at home.

The wet, slippery conditions were the same for both teams — but Croatia mastered them and England could not. Their players controlled the ball better, and Croatia coach Slaven Bilic outwitted England coach Steve McClaren, pulling the largely inexperienced England defence all over the pitch. Croatia had so much space and time. Their players looked sharper and fitter. Their passing was more accurate.

McClaren’s decision to drop Paul Robinson and David Beckham back-fired spectacularly. Scott Carson, making his first competitive appearance for England, was beaten twice in the opening 14 minutes and while not at fault for the second goal, he was for the first.

The sense of incredulity at Wembley was tangible. People were looking at each other saying, “I don’t believe what is happening here.”

But Carson cannot shoulder all the blame. At the heart of the matter is the fact that there are now far too many ordinary foreign players earning their fortunes in the Premier League.

No-one begrudges the fact that some of the world’s top players are here. But so, it seems, is everyone else who can kick a ball in a straight line. As a result, the pool of English players at the top level is diminishing.

When England won the World Cup in 1966, more than half of the goalkeepers playing in the old First Division were English. Right now there are four.

English pundits never stop telling the public the Premier League is the best, most exciting in the world, but as Steven Gerrard said last week, what’s the point of having the best league in the world if the national team is not good enough to qualify for major competitions.

It took England time to learn the lessons and catch up with the developing world of football in the 1950s after losing to Hungary. Thirteen years in fact.

There are different lessons to be learnt now, and in my view the main one is this.

England’s Premier League clubs should stop importing “ordinary” foreign players. That does not mean English football needs “quotas” to limit foreign players; it can impose its own by actually playing English players.

Clubs should concentrate on developing their own local talent instead of casting the nets ever wider across the world.

But we all know there is as much chance of that happening as England winning Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

PHOTO: Steven Gerrard walks off the pitch following England’s Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia at Wembley, November 21, 2007. REUTERS/Kieran Doherty