clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   
Anthem gaffe 'lifted Croatia'

Croatia rose to the occasion in their crucial Euro 2008 defeat of England - after an apparent X-rated gaffe by an English opera singer at Wembley.

Opera singer Tony Henry

Tony Henry belted out a version of the Croat anthem before the 80,000 crowd, but made a blunder at the end.


He should have sung 'Mila kuda si planina' (which roughly means 'You know my dear how we love your mountains').

But he instead sang 'Mila kura si planina' which can be interpreted as 'My dear, my penis is a mountain.'

Now Henry could be one of the few Englishmen at the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland as Croatian fans adopt him as a lucky omen.

They believe his mistake relaxed their chuckling players, who scored an early goal in the 3-2 win that put Croatia top of the group and knocked out England.

Henry is becoming a cult hero in Croatia,

BBC TV presenter Adrian Chiles, whose mother is Croatian, acknowledged the language could pose problems.

The Croatians have invited him to sing at Euro 2008