EURO 2008 INFO

Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves insists that the Champions League Final against Chelsea proves that English football isn't second-rate.

Hargreaves believes that the Moscow showdown will prove Steve McClaren and England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 was a fluke.

He said: "It is fabulous to have two English teams in the final, but even more so after what happened to England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

"Not going to Austria and Switzerland is a disappointment to all the fans and hopefully a European Cup Final between two English teams takes the edge off that a bit. It is a great achievement for football in this country.

"I know that it is difficult to compare club football with international football But I don't believe for a second that England doesn't have the talent to compete with other nations."

Hargreaves added: "What made our failure to qualify even more hard to take was the fact that the calibre of our players is up there with the best.

"It's not right the closest we'll get to the Euros this summer is watching it on the telly, not when you look at the players we have.

"But we just didn't put it all together in qualification. Things just didn't work out for us. We're well aware that it is no good having quality players if you don't do the business when it matters. We learned the hard way that nothing comes easy at international level."