kempus Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Realistically, England making the semi final was an illusion. They played nobody of note on the way there and got exposed by the first half decent team they played. I expect a similar thing to happen to Croatia in the final. They've had a ridiculously easy run too. Lots of fun, but I think everyone can see this team is almost devoid of talent and was riding set piece prowess, which isn't sustainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankee0724 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I don't think they'll pull it off, but I've had a soft spot for Croatia ever since we signed Raktic and I first used him in fifa and saw his long shots so I really hope they can pull it off. Solid reasoning, I know. But then Umtiti... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnygsm Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 5 hours ago, UKTexans said: He was invisible. Whether it was his own fault or the tactics, the guy barely made an impression on the game. Henderson is not good enough to play that pivot role. Main reason I said it was because I don't think anyone stood out. They all had short flashes but nothing came together. All the main players were invisible for large portions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 6 hours ago, PAW said: That’s got nothing to do with fatigue though. It’s instinct and reading the game, something Stones has always struggled with. That play wasn’t an effort issue. Never said it was effort. Mandzukic was broken. And he was sharper mentally and physically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Smithers Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 hours ago, kempus said: Realistically, England making the semi final was an illusion. They played nobody of note on the way there and got exposed by the first half decent team they played. I expect a similar thing to happen to Croatia in the final. They've had a ridiculously easy run too. Lots of fun, but I think everyone can see this team is almost devoid of talent and was riding set piece prowess, which isn't sustainable. Agree. Obviously if you look before the tournament and you said England would get to Semis then that’s a big overachievement. But if you actually assess how they got there, they did about what should’ve been expected. Qualified for Knockouts in an easy group. Beat Colombia without its best player. Beat Sweden and then lose to a better team in the Semis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Just now, Kip Smithers said: Agree. Obviously if you look before the tournament and you said England would get to Semis then that’s a big overachievement. But if you actually assess how they got there, they did about what should’ve been expected. Qualified for Knockouts in an easy group. Beat Colombia without its best player. Beat Sweden and then lose to a better team in the Semis. And it took ET to lose to Croatia. I can't believe how much better they looked pressing us after two penalty shootouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kempus Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 1 minute ago, UKTexans said: And it took ET to lose to Croatia. I can't believe how much better they looked pressing us after two penalty shootouts. I was questioning myself how on earth Perisic, Modric, Rakitic and Brozovic was running so hard in the 120th minute. Physically it made no sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I know it's not popular, but I said to my mates last night the writing was on the wall at half time and certainly earlier into the second and we should have switched to a 4-2-3-1. I think that would have given us better balance. For most of the game it appeared we had no midfielders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 My ratings for tonight's game. Pickford - 7 Walker - 6 Stones - 5 Maguire - 7 Trippier - 8 Young - 4 Henderson - 6 Alli - 4 Lingard - 6 Sterling - 6 Kane - 5 Dier - 4 Rashford - 6 Rose - 6 Vardy - 4 Southgate - 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Smithers Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 hours ago, UKTexans said: And it took ET to lose to Croatia. I can't believe how much better they looked pressing us after two penalty shootouts. Yeah England couldn’t deal with their press at all. And Croatia were relentless. Modric made a good point when your this close you don’t get tired. Plus it’s not like Croatia in their two extra time games sat back and had to do all the chasing around. They had lion share of the ball. So it’s not that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 3 minutes ago, Kip Smithers said: Yeah England couldn’t deal with their press at all. And Croatia were relentless. Modric made a good point when your this close you don’t get tired. Plus it’s not like Croatia in their two extra time games sat back and had to do all the chasing around. They had lion share of the ball. So it’s not that simple. It's still 4 hours of football, plus two rounds of penalties which is exhausting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Small Town Values Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Well, not a bad run by England. Nothing to be ashamed about. Fair play to Croatia. Will be getting behind them in the final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 I want to rubbish all this talk of England having an easy route. Yes it fell kindly but it happens all the time. In 2002 Germany faced en route to the final. Saudi Arabia 8-0 Rep. Of Ireland 1-1 Cameroon 2-0 Paraguay 1-0 United States 1-0 South Korea 1-0 Brazil 0-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hitch Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, UKTexans said: It's still 4 hours of football, plus two rounds of penalties which is exhausting. Its the world cup. Biggest sporting event in the world, maybe biggest event period. The players will do anything to make it and the team doctors at this level (many of whom have pretty dodgy histories as well), will have the go ahead to do "whatever it takes" to make sure the players can play the 120 minutes. I was not surprised at all that Modric and the others had so much energy. They will have a very difficult day today too but I expect come Sunday they'll have the energy needed for one more big push. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKTexans Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 13 minutes ago, The Hitch said: Its the world cup. Biggest sporting event in the world, maybe biggest event period. The players will do anything to make it and the team doctors at this level (many of whom have pretty dodgy histories as well), will have the go ahead to do "whatever it takes" to make sure the players can play the 120 minutes. I was not surprised at all that Modric and the others had so much energy. They will have a very difficult day today too but I expect come Sunday they'll have the energy needed for one more big push. Yeah no I get all of that. Point I'm making is England looked lethargic in comparison despite playing earlier on Saturday and not back to back penalty shootouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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