Jump to content

Croatia v England - semi final


banana

Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, TheScarf said:

It's the Dutch the Germans hate isn't it?

Just depends on who you ask. If you'd ask people from different parts of Germany who they see as their biggest rivals, the main answers will be the Dutch, French, Austrians & Polish. Generally the country out of these 4 that's the closest to where the person you've asked the question to is from will be the answer.

Literally no-one will answer "England"...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 2.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply
18 hours ago, dundeefc1783 said:

Mandzukic is fucking shite he might as well no be there

 

18 hours ago, Staggie_93 said:

Mandzukic is doing my fucking head in.

 

18 hours ago, Granny Danger said:

Get Mandzukic off he’s gash.

 

 

18 hours ago, Albertlegend said:

Croatia' s biggest players have been hopeless tonight.  Mandzukic perisc and rakitic have been hopeless 

 

18 hours ago, Dee Man said:

Mandzukic? Manpoopic more like. Hahahahahaha

Easy to have a laugh with the benefit of hindsight I suppose..... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, throbber said:

Are any English supporters complaining that Perisich had a high boot and his studs were showing for his goal?

The Daily Fail has a whole article about how bad the referee was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, The_Judge said:

Enjoyed the match.  Stunning opener from Trippier and straight from the start it was clear that both Vida and Lovren were shit scared of Sterling's pace.

Felt that England were the better of the two in the first half but the momentum clearly swung in the second although in extra time it went back and forward a bit too (that Stones header!).

I thought Danny Rose would have been a better pick than Ashley Young whom I felt looked uncomfortable from the off (easy with hindsight).  England needed more from Dele Alli who just couldn't influence the game and Harry Kane who, like Alan Shearer before him, is a domestic goal machine but sometimes just isn't on it. 

Modric the clear man of the match although Perisic with a goal and an assist deserves plenty of plaudits.  I don't have much love for Mandzukic but when the moment came he delivered.

 

Agree with a lot of that. It was exciting and both teams played to win it rather than contain.  I hadn't been overly impressed with England in the tournament, thinking good draws have paved over a decent but unremarkable side. At half time I began to accept they looked good, and worthy of being in the semi-final. 

But from about 5-10 minutes in of the second half, Croatia controlled the game. They pushed higher up the park, particularly in the wide areas and gradually worked their way back into the contest. Technically they were excellent, and were really patient in their build up, wearing England down with possession.  Whilst Southgate has come across really well this World Cup, I think he failed in the second half by not adapting to the Croatian tactics. They should have removed Lingaard or Alli for a more defence minded midfielder to try to get them on the ball a bit more.

Croatia were almost 3/1 in that game. Every pundit on English tv had England as  through. It was bizarre to me as it's the same old story every tournament they're in. I can understand the public getting overly carried away, but for ex-pros, some of whom have actually been involved in previous failures, not to exercise caution was crazy.

They were up against one of the best midfields in international football. Luka Modric is without doubt the best central midfielder in the world in my opinion. The guy next to him plays for Barca, others are in the top league in Germany and Italy.

 

This whole young team building for the next tournament in 2 years rarely comes to fruition. Things change so much in football.  

That was as good a chance of a World Cup final as that group of players are likely to get in their careers; they had it in the palm of their hands at HT, and blew it.

 

Really hope Croatia can win it now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...