LONDON (AP) — England coach Steve McClaren called the win over Israel in a European Championship qualifier his best result since taking over last year.

If his team loses to Russia on Wednesday, however, Saturday's victory may mean very little.

"That performance sets the bar," McClaren said after his team beat Israel 3-0 at Wembley. "It is not just the score — I would take taken 1-0. It is the fact that we had a lot of injuries, yet players have stepped in and done the job."

England played on Saturday without the injured David Beckham, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Owen Hargreaves. Instead, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards stepped up, along with Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry.

"Given the pressure beforehand and the fact it was our most important game so far, one we had to win, then yes, it probably was my best result as coach," McClaren said.

"And all of a sudden, we have competition for places, which has to be healthy."

England is third in Group E with 17 points, one point behind Russia and three behind leader Croatia, which plays Andorra on Wednesday. Only the top two teams advance to the final tournament in Switzerland and Austria next year.

McClaren took over England after the team lost to Portugal on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of last year's World Cup. He has now won six games, drawn four and lost three since taking over from Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Wright-Phillips, who got his start in the absence of Beckham, looks set to keep his place for Wednesday's game after scoring the opening goal against Israel.

"The goal was a key thing for Shaun because, while we knew we would get crosses in, we wondered who would get the goals from midfield if Steven Gerrard did not get them," McClaren said. "Shaun is a nightmare to defend against when he is playing like that."

Michael Owen scored the second goal, giving him 38 in 84 international appearances.

"It's always nice to score, but more important to win," said Owen, who has lost much of the last two years to injuries. "It's not just about me, but about everyone. Still, it was one of my better goals from outside the box."

Owen played up front with Heskey, who last started an international game in November 2003. Heskey regularly partnered with Owen in England games until the emergence of Rooney.

Barry replaced Hargreaves for his first start since 2000 and helped set up the goals for both Owen and Richards. He could also keep his place against Russia.

"Barry has quality and showed he could handle the stage, the big occasion," McClaren said.

Gerrard played for 71 minutes despite a broken toe, and should be ready for Wednesday.

"The toe is fine," Gerrard said. "All I had was a bit of cramp. I haven't trained much for the last two or three weeks. I will be a lot stronger on Wednesday for getting that 70 minutes in."

Lampard and Hargreaves are not expected to be ready, but England also has striker Peter Crouch back from suspension.