Steven Gerrard scored twice to spare England's blushes as they stuttered to a 3-0 win over Andorra in a Euro 2008 qualifier that will turn up the pressure on beleaguered coach Steve McClaren.
Booed at half-time and the final whistle, England got the breakthrough with Gerrard's 54th minute opener against a side ranked 163rd in the world, and the midfielder coolly added his second in the 76th minute.
Substitute David Nugent, the first Preston North End player to appear for England since Tom Finney last played in 1958, celebrated his debut by tapping in the third in the 89th minute.
Having beaten Andorra 5-0 at Old Trafford in September, England had been hoping foranotherconvincing win after Saturday's 0-0 Group E draw in Israel had prompted calls from the British media for McClaren to be sacked.
Croatia are top of the group with 13 points, while Russia, Israel and England are all on 11.
The result, on a cold and rainy night, was enough to keep England's hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals alive.
But it did not completely satisfy England's frustrated fans, who continued to shout for coach McClaren to be sacked and regularly booed the performance at Barcelona's Olympic stadium where the match was played because Andorra did not have a ground large enough to host it.
England were without Frank Lampard because of a fractured wrist and fielded Gerrard in his more favoured central midfield role as a result.
DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE
He responded with a dynamic performance on what at times was a frustrating night for his side, who were roundly booed at half-time when they went in level at 0-0.
It took England's frustrated fans only 15 minutes to become restless and McClaren was clearly the object of their anger as he had been after the 0-0 draw with Israel in Tel AViv on Saturday.
But the chanting only succeeded in making life more difficult for the players they were they to support, creating an atmosphere of nervousness and tension.
Even so, England were guilty of choking in possession too often against an Andorra side who were robust in their approach, to say the least, and defended gallantly in numbers.
Centre-half Oscar Sonajee, in particular, was impressive as he kept Wayne Rooney and Andy Johnson at bay in the first half, during which England were restricted to only two shots on target.
The first came from long distance from Gerrard after 18 minutes and was deflected one-handed by goalkeeper Koldo.
The second, after 39 minutes, was created impressively on the turn by Johnson, but again Koldo was equal to it.
Fortunately for McClaren, Gerrard's tenacious approach to the game eventually paid off when Rooney laid back a ball for him to hit sweetly on the volley from 12 yards after 54 minutes.
The goal eased the pressure and Gerrard made it 2-0 with he swapped passes with substitute Defoe and finished cleverly after 76 minutes.
The scoreline then became more realistic in the final minute when Defoe's effort squirmed under the goalkeeper's arm and Nugent pounced to force the ball over the line.