World Cup 2018 | 11th July | SF: Croatia vs England Match Thread, KO 19:00 (BST)

[SpiritofBurnden]

You're right about the England midfield. Useless.

We could have been 3-0 up at half-time.

Were you saying they were useless then?

#hindsightgenius

 

[SpiritofBurnden]

22 minutes but a million miles away - as you tend to need efforts on goal to score.

Another one who didn't see the first half.

 

[Briggs1969]

What cost the match was 1) the small number of chances made and 2) our inability to put those small number of chances away. 3) being unable to respond when Croatia took total control of the midfield in the second half.
Thought Stones and Walker were fantastic last night.

Not according to Sue Smith on Sly Sports. Walker and Stones were at fault for both goals she reckons. That fact that it all seemed to go backwards after Sterling went off, is unsurprisingly not mentioned!

 

[razman]

taking sterling out was stupid !

 

[HellYeah]

We could have been 3-0 up at half-time.

Were you saying they were useless then?

#hindsightgenius

But we weren't 3 nil up

#pointlesscomment

 

[Newman123]

Anyone think Wilshere could have done a job against the Croatian press?

 

[Blue_eyes]

I think Southgate is a good manager for this young team, but is inexperienced. His plan B is to take off the only player providing movement and bring on another pacy forward who has less to his overall game, then hoof balls over the top. I would have been happier if he had taken say walker off and gone 4-1-4-1 with Rashford and Raz as wingers , tieing thier fullbacks up as well as crossing for Kane with Ali/Lingard arriving late. Overall England have surpassed my expectations and hope that this gives em confidence for future tournaments.

 

[roj]

The photographer that got caught up in the piley on :)

Happy for Croatia. Hope they win but it's France's to lose imo.

 

[MeatnSpudsMCFC]

Sterling staying on the pitch wouldn’t have changed anything and no player on the bench could change that game. I was also probably bit too critical of Kane myself last night. The only way we were winning that game was by somehow miraculously holding onto a 1-0 lead or catching another goal via a set piece.

Seen a video of Souness after the game and he got it bang on in his analysis. England’s problem lies in the midfield as there’s no one good enough to hold onto the ball like Modric and Silva. We did more or less wing it getting this far. Lingard and Alli are not midfielders that can control a midfield, instead they like to run onto it. Gerrard and Lampard were both the same. The lack of chances and goals from open play backs all of this up.

We really do have a problem in this country with producing players that can hold onto the ball in the midfield. That said, we look far better than we did four years ago, especially in defence. Can’t remember our back line looking so comfortable on the ball in a long time. I expected us to bomb out in the group stages but it turned out to be one of the more enjoyable world cups.

Roll on Euro 2020 and lets hope we find some holding midfielders...

 

[Don Karleone]

Last night if St. Harry had passed the ball 6 yards.

Greedy twat