British PM laments England result

British PM Gordon Brown voices his disappointment at the England team's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 football championships.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown voiced disappointment Thursday at the England team's failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 football championships.

HT Image

"It is desperately disappointing that there will be no British teams at the European Championships," he said after England lost 3-2 to Croatia in their final qualifier Wednesday evening.

"In some cases that's down to bad luck. In some it's bad results," Brown, a Scot, added, saying that he had watched some of the game.

"We have the Olympics to look forward to next summer," he said, referring to the Beijing Games. "I know every football fan in Britain was looking forward to a summer of football next year so it's very disappointing."

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also all failed to qualify for the tournament.

Brown, speaking shortly before heading for Uganda for a summit of the Commonwealth, noted that some people had called for a one-off revival of home football internationals.

"That's something for the football associations and clubs to consider. I would certainly enjoy that," he said.