Was the ref for today's game the one that sent off Nani in "that" CL game?
Day 26: England vs Croatia Waist Coat Semi-Final
- Thread starter K2K
- Start date
Seriously? Then about 1000 newspapers all over the world would have been sued?
Next you'll be telling me, contrary to all google evidence, that the NK disarmament talks are not working
Well this proved to the case. Obviously it's understandable people look for any slight advantage but as the game went on, there was only one team who didn't look tired or fazed by the occasion.
Ultimately though, the best team won. They had more experience at the top levels of the game, they were confident. The dust settles and England have done well, not the miraculous endeavours that some have been proclaiming but they've beaten the teams they 'should' be beating, on paper and I'm kind of okay with that, you have to be.
Congratulations to Croatia - well played - your experience and quality showed through in the end.
I have to say that England should have won that game but for a number of key tactical errors though.
Well done to Southgate for not playing safe and going for an extra midfielder to shore things up.
I think that England should have capitalised on the great start and should have got another goal. Chances that fell to Kane, Lingard and Sterling should have been put away.
Sterling again always seemed to pick the wrong option / stand in the way / lose possession just as England committed extra men forward and this gave Croatia some quick counter attacking opportunities that gave them more confidence and brought them into the game.
Even without the missed chances - if England could have maintained possession and threatened Croatia they would not have responded so well in the second half.
Replacing Sterling for Rashford. This did not work as a substitution as Rashford played deeper and did not have the opportunity to stretch the Croatian defence. I think Rashford ended up player deeper because Alli again offered little or nothing in attacking terms and carried little threat.
Substituting Dier for Henderson. - Can't understand this one - we were already overloaded in the middle - changing who was overloaded did not help. Alli should have come off and another midfielder put on to support Henderson. I feel this should have been done at half time while England were still leading.
I'm trying not to be over-critical of Southgate because he was working with very meagre resources and some of the players (particularly the substitutes) were not really up to the task. England need to create a ball holding midfield that is not just dependent on one person in Henderson. I think we need to see if Alli has plateaued or if he can move to a higher level, and we need strikers to be more methodical and ruthless in and around the box.
I'm confident that England's strikers will improve with age and experience - the midfield issue may be trickier to resolve
I have to say that England should have won that game but for a number of key tactical errors though.
Well done to Southgate for not playing safe and going for an extra midfielder to shore things up.
I think that England should have capitalised on the great start and should have got another goal. Chances that fell to Kane, Lingard and Sterling should have been put away.
Sterling again always seemed to pick the wrong option / stand in the way / lose possession just as England committed extra men forward and this gave Croatia some quick counter attacking opportunities that gave them more confidence and brought them into the game.
Even without the missed chances - if England could have maintained possession and threatened Croatia they would not have responded so well in the second half.
Replacing Sterling for Rashford. This did not work as a substitution as Rashford played deeper and did not have the opportunity to stretch the Croatian defence. I think Rashford ended up player deeper because Alli again offered little or nothing in attacking terms and carried little threat.
Substituting Dier for Henderson. - Can't understand this one - we were already overloaded in the middle - changing who was overloaded did not help. Alli should have come off and another midfielder put on to support Henderson. I feel this should have been done at half time while England were still leading.
I'm trying not to be over-critical of Southgate because he was working with very meagre resources and some of the players (particularly the substitutes) were not really up to the task. England need to create a ball holding midfield that is not just dependent on one person in Henderson. I think we need to see if Alli has plateaued or if he can move to a higher level, and we need strikers to be more methodical and ruthless in and around the box.
I'm confident that England's strikers will improve with age and experience - the midfield issue may be trickier to resolve
Just saw how england tried to score goal while croatia players celebrated et goal. You cheeky bastards
Ouch.
Just seen it myself!Just saw how england tried to score goal while croatia players celebrated et goal. You cheeky bastards
Now this is very out of topic but it seems the Caf has quite a few Croats lurking about. Considering Croatia is such a small country, how popular are United there?
England gave a solid account of themselves, but this was the first truly good team they faced. However, considering how badly they were expected to do, by their own fans and pundits, before the tournament....a good innings.
That's a tidy team and a good manager, they'll be back.
That's a tidy team and a good manager, they'll be back.
How has Vida only ever played at second tier clubs? Grant it I've never watched him at club level but he's been fantastic this WC.
Being generally very patriotic, the clubs that have or had Croatian players are usually the more popular ones. There is definitely a United fan base here. I'd guess Arsenal has the biggest one tho (i know, right)Just seen it myself!
Now this is very out of topic but it seems the Caf has quite a few Croats lurking about. Considering Croatia is such a small country, how popular are United there?
A lot of patriotic Englishmen put money in England, I guess.
We faced a team with grit throughout who were prepared to die for the cause. The passion in Lovren symbolizes one key factor seperating the teams. Having said that we bottled it imo. We were on top in the 1st half and should have gone into half time with a comfortable lead and even sewn it up then. Sterling was giving their defenders a dogs life and we were continually pressing them regaining possession again and again. Kane unfortunately was not getting himself into dangerous positions where he could have been clinical when we needed him most. On the whole our 2 key midfield players Alli and Lingard were one level under what is required in such a big game. Alli does nothing but annoys and his highly overrated imo. Lingard is just not there yet. However if we'd have cashed in in the 1st half and got ourselves a comfortable lead we could have shut up shop in the 2nd half and played the game out and maybe nick another one or two on the counter.
Croatia were there for the taking and we missed out. So disappointing!
Croatia were there for the taking and we missed out. So disappointing!
Liverpool is most popular i guess. But english clubs don't have much support in croatia. Usual phrase that i get from my friends all my life is " how can you support those arrogant englishmen".Just seen it myself!
Now this is very out of topic but it seems the Caf has quite a few Croats lurking about. Considering Croatia is such a small country, how popular are United there?
Croatian people love german clubs and german nt. But it is another topic not based on sport.
Any links to this, sounds funnyJust saw how england tried to score goal while croatia players celebrated et goal. You cheeky bastards
bitterly disappointed just lost of words...
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
Simply put, we weren't good enough. The worries I voiced weeks ago about the centre backs became reality last night: I can't believe the number of people who think Stones (who isn't anywhere close to being first choice at City) and Maguire are anywhere near world-class. Better than the humorous book: Small, Jones and the Schoolboy Error, yes. But worldies, don't make me laugh. On top of this, we continued to miss chances - both good and Half-chances, and Kane faded as the tournament went on. I have no idea which genius tol him to pretty much "play in midfield" yesterday but Southgate did nothing to stop it and like os many other managers, seems to have no Plan B. If we are to do better next time, or at the Euros, we need to find a truly wold-class midfielder
only allowed if ALL their players are of the field. Keeper was clearly on the field
It is not a rule. Rule is that opposition player can't be on your half
That's a pretty fair assessment. Croatia were a similar level to us, it showed that we took it to ET and it came down to a small error leading to the goal.
I'd argue that Sweden and Columbia were good teams, Croatia are slightly better than just good this tournament. At the end of the day, the England national team were an embarrassment 2 years ago and an even bigger one 4 years ago, this campaign has changed the mood completely. Bring on Euro 2020.
That, and England have been overhyped by people with an agenda
And when Mourinho predicted Croatia wouldnt even pass the groups. Thats a little embarassing right now.
On post match interview our manager Dalić said when he wanted to substitute someone, nobody wants to get off the pitch , no one is tired. He couldnt decide which play to substitute. They are all running all fighting.
Mandzo said they still dont realise what they have done. To play this world cup with heart and desire. We enjoy playing now. We were like lions.
Our captain Luka said we dont give up, we dont surrender. We didnt give big speaches after latest games, we were humble going step by step. I have never seen so much faith among us.
On post match interview our manager Dalić said when he wanted to substitute someone, nobody wants to get off the pitch , no one is tired. He couldnt decide which play to substitute. They are all running all fighting.
Mandzo said they still dont realise what they have done. To play this world cup with heart and desire. We enjoy playing now. We were like lions.
Our captain Luka said we dont give up, we dont surrender. We didnt give big speaches after latest games, we were humble going step by step. I have never seen so much faith among us.
That game was a conflict of intentions.
We attempt to build up from the back like a possession team, yet, Henderson is the only midfielder dropping deep to pick up the ball. When you watch City, for example, when Fernandinho is pressed, either De Bruyne or Silva drop deep to pick it up deep either side of Fernandinho. Neither Alli or Lingard made those off-ball moves to accommodate this. The entirety of the buildup was lumbered on the shoulders of Henderson from deep, who found himself pressed at every opportunity.
Southgate has done well, but, he's no tactician. What he has in abundance with superb man management, he lacks in tactical nous.
We attempt to build up from the back like a possession team, yet, Henderson is the only midfielder dropping deep to pick up the ball. When you watch City, for example, when Fernandinho is pressed, either De Bruyne or Silva drop deep to pick it up deep either side of Fernandinho. Neither Alli or Lingard made those off-ball moves to accommodate this. The entirety of the buildup was lumbered on the shoulders of Henderson from deep, who found himself pressed at every opportunity.
Southgate has done well, but, he's no tactician. What he has in abundance with superb man management, he lacks in tactical nous.
Croatia players apologising to the photographer they just crushed.
That's bullshit. All players, except for the one kicking it off, have to be on their own halves, also a signal from the ref is needed. In this case, the ref didn't give a signal because the Croats were not on their own half. All this talk about it being allowed in case all players are off the field is bullshit.
Ah. Yes of course but even in ET inplay they were favs.
Seen this but he ( if its the one ) was laughing taking photies . Them photoes will be amazing and worth a lot of money I reckon.Croatia players apologising to the photographer they just crushed.
Too many runners, too little sense. Sometimes being less direct and more controlled is the answer, imo these are deeper issues in English football and the roots can be traced back to kids academies I bet where players like Modric or Rakitic simply have no chance of seeing the day light due to their physical statures as priorities sit elsewhere (winning at youth levels placed over developing matters).
Do you even know what goes on in academies to make that statement?
The English set up is not living in the dark ages anymore. Coaches are trained to look at a host of qualities in developing youth. Physical stature is important but not in terms of how tall they are. Many tall(ish) players can suffer from developmental problems of playing too much too soon. Talent,application,desire,professionalism,attitude are all considerations
So why nation this big with all the infrastructure in place and investment can't produce a single player of the similar profile to those two in decades now? I'm speculating of course but it seems very plausible to me.
Have you actually looked at the size of some of England's players last night? What a silly stuck in the past assessment.
I'm talking about players in middle of the park specifically and Lingard with Alli both have been played out of their natural more advanced positions to compensate for lack of quality in the midfield (only true midfielders were Hendo, Dier, Loftus and all of them are twice the size of Modric or Rakitic).
Well I think the creation President should win the World cup Babes vote - just so we can say we were knocked out by the world cup winners (in the event of France winning on the pitch)
You need some tactical nous at this level. Every sub made last night was like for like. A striker for a striker, a defensive mid for a defensive mid, left back for left back. England were under the cosh, they needed to change tactics esp in central mid. It showed the inexperience of the team but also the management. I know it's all valuable learning and will stand them in good stead for the future, but what a chance to make a world cup final. I'm not sure that an England team while have this chance maybe ever. I don't for one minute rate that Croatia team highly. A good team at best with some very good players but a chance missed. Too many runners in midfield and not enough creativity for England.
We have: Scholes, Gerrard,Lampard,Beckham,Ferdinand to name a few were technically gifted players but for whatever reason they failed to gel together at international level while being outstanding and even world class for their clubs. Now, that's not a coaching issue but one of terrible managerial appointments at national level resulting in poor tactics and an attitude that's it's a job not an honour to manage your country.
Since then I agree there's been a bit of a dearth of talent coming through but again that's a lack of game time for young talent. Most of the foreign players leave their own leagues to develop elsewhere. I'm not sure of the numbers but how many of the current French and Belgian crop play in their homeland for top clubs? Of the current PL managers, how many actually consistently bring through young English talent? One, Poch at Spurs. With results being paramount, most current PL managers are reluctant to promote.
Like I stated before it needs a shift in attitude from English players to say, "I'm going abroad to Dortmund,Monaco" wherever... They need gametime not sitting to rot in the U21s for 3 years or so before leaving.
That is changing. England's youth teams have enjoyed a lot of success recently - the U17s and U20s each won the World Cup last year, while the U19s became European Champions.