Semi Final: England v Croatia

We look to be cruising in the first half, that Kane change came to haunt us in the end.

Sigh.
 
What a 3 week though. The nation was swept up in the joy. We play Belgium in another dead rubber.
 
Ultimately on reflection I think I have these things to say. Some won't be popular but that's how I see things.

This team brought a nation together at a time when the countries future is uncertain. With everything going on in the world of politics we needed a lift and this team gave that to us.

They overachieved and gave us genuine hope for the first time in a long long time. Some of those players raised their game to new levels and they should be proud. And we should be proud of them.

But this isn't the dawn of a new era for England football. This is a limited team who overachieved and got a favourable draw. This is a team who are still technically not good enough and who get found out. The defense is shaky, we knew that, the midfield is workmanlike but not good enough to create.

Alli and Sterling are not good enough at this level. They aren't the first to be really good for their clubs but be unable to replicate that at international level and they won't be the last either.

We had a glorious opportunity that unfortunately we couldn't take. We should be proud in defeat but know that we aren't likely to get a better chance. So people shouldn't think 2022 is a great chance.
 
What a 3 week though. The nation was swept up in the joy. We play Belgium in another dead rubber.
That 3rd/4th place play off is so pointless. No team wants it and they are usually nothing affairs.

Ultimately on reflection I think I have these things to say. Some won't be popular but that's how I see things.

This team brought a nation together at a time when the countries future is uncertain. With everything going on in the world of politics we needed a lift and this team gave that to us.

They overachieved and gave us genuine hope for the first time in a long long time. Some of those players raised their game to new levels and they should be proud. And we should be proud of them.

But this isn't the dawn of a new era for England football. This is a limited team who overachieved and got a favourable draw. This is a team who are still technically not good enough and who get found out. The defense is shaky, we knew that, the midfield is workmanlike but not good enough to create.

Alli and Sterling are not good enough at this level. They aren't the first to be really good for their clubs but be unable to replicate that at international level and they won't be the last either.

We had a glorious opportunity that unfortunately we couldn't take. We should be proud in defeat but know that we aren't likely to get a better chance. So people shouldn't think 2022 is a great chance.
We certainly did have a favourable draw but you can only beat what is in front of you. However we showed more heart and togetherness than an England team has shown in many a year. I think that will give us a good basis in the future. I don’t think this team is amazing but sometimes being a team counts for a lot.

I still refuse to believe that Alli was not carrying an injury. He was awful in the majority of the games and again he was missing last night. As for Sterling, I’ve shared my views on him for a long time, he’s got quality but he’s brainless and in front of goal he has no composure. Sadly his replacement Rashford shares similar traits so I can see why Gareth persisted with him.

Overall it was nice to see us go far and we need for this to be the start of being proud of our team again. We need to find more quality in midfield and then we could be contenders in the future again.
 
We certainly did have a favourable draw but you can only beat what is in front of you. However we showed more heart and togetherness than an England team has shown in many a year. I think that will give us a good basis in the future. I don’t think this team is amazing but sometimes being a team counts for a lot.

I still refuse to believe that Alli was not carrying an injury. He was awful in the majority of the games and again he was missing last night. As for Sterling, I’ve shared my views on him for a long time, he’s got quality but he’s brainless and in front of goal he has no composure. Sadly his replacement Rashford shares similar traits so I can see why Gareth persisted with him.

You can only beat what's in front of you and we did that. Though it was far from comfortable in most games. My point is, in any other tournament you'll face a better team earlier on and this team would be found out. They did extremely well, they just aren't good enough to win it.

Alli may have been carrying an injury. To me I feel that's an excuse. He's not played well for England at any point. And if he was carrying an injury then you don't play him.

Sterling is brainless and yes I agree our lack of options really gave Southgate little choice. But it still doesn't take away from the fact that he's not good enough at international level.
 
Alli was awful again and should have been subbed early. Kane was really disapponting too for the second game on the trot and Henderson had his worst game of the tournament.

Really deflated, they wont get a better chance to reach a final.

We need to get more English players into the top level clubs, all the lads at under 20's etc need to play, Maguire needs a move, Pickford etc so they can play CL semi's etc.

But what this really needs is to find someone for the Henderson role who can really pick a forward pass
 
We need to get more English players into the top level clubs, all the lads at under 20's etc need to play, Maguire needs a move, Pickford etc so they can play CL semi's etc.

But what this really needs is to find someone for the Henderson role who can really pick a forward pass

I actually think we might benefit from some of our younger guys going and playing abroad. Help them to improve technically. Gary Neville said after the game that although we are better than we used to be we still aren't there technically. We still rush things, run with the ball with our head down and not really having full control over the ball.

As for Henderson... He brings energy and I like that. But yeah I do feel like actually for this new formation to really flourish we need the deep lying play maker. Carrick would have been perfect in this team actually. Shame he's not a few years younger as that would have been ideal.
 
It woud be great if some of our youg players played abroad, maybe foreign clubs will now look at our young players.
 
It woud be great if some of our youg players played abroad, maybe foreign clubs will now look at our young players.

I think, and I could be wrong, but I think that some of our lads who play in the younger England age groups do actually play abroad?
 
So proud of what these lads did to get that far was a fantastic achievement think the extra ability of the Croatian players shone through in the end when both teams started to get tired, I hoped they'd punched themselves out chasing that equaliser and we might come back in extra time but it didn't happen and the better side won.

My only criticism would be why didn't he change Lingard or Alli both players were dead on their feet second half we needed either Delph or Loftus-Cheek to give us fresh legs in the midfield and try to put pressure on Modric & Rakatic. I wonder if there were a few players who were playing with injuries which is why he was reluctant to make the changes.

Why did Sterling come off was he injured? Was our best player and as soon as he went off we couldn't make anything stick again with that sub I'd have gone for Vardy or even Welbeck ahead of Rashford we just needed someone to stretch them.
 
Expect Kane to put chances like that away. Know the tactic was to have Sterling running behind but didn't manage to get Kane in those goalscoring positions enough.
 
I thought we drifted from the football we had been playing to launching balls to Sterling too.
 
I think there's been a pattern in all our games that we are a first half team we always seemed to fade in the second half of games the only game that didn't happen was Sweden because we were in total control.

I do wonder if our fitness levels were not as high as other teams the long premier league season slog, lack of winter break all that stuff. Maybe a few guys carrying injuries how fit were Henderson, Kane & Walker who all struggled through that Columbia game? Was it fair to keep asking Young to get up and down that wing every 3 days? Was it tactical did teams kind of work us out after 45 minutes and do things to stop us controlling the game?

I think at the end of it as the two teams tired themselves out the better technical ability and general experience of the Croatia players took over and England couldn't cope they did well to get it to extra time and almost rescued it with that Stones header that they cleared off the line.
 
The first goal had a strange effect on the game. Where it should have galvanised us and made us stronger it did that to Croatia! We looked like the team 1 down for 85 mins. England should look to that Croatia performance as to how to play in big games when your rocked by going a goal down in the opening minutes. Class.
 
I think we were alright up until about 30 minutes at that point I think they worked out how to stop us playing out from the back and more importantly they stopped us being able to get Sterling in behind. The ref I think could've had his cards out quicker to clamp down on the fouling on Sterling but this whole tournament has seen the refs be very leniant with yellow and red cards.
 
the ref was and linesman were awful, but I didn't want to sound like sour grapes. Twice I noticed the ball went out of play and we didn't get the corner and loads of fouls we didn't get.

I was reading about the ref before teh game yesterday, Fergie didn't like him, sent off Nani in the CL semi against Madrid. Apparantly is card happy especally towards the English teams in the CL.
 
It’s been a trait all tournament that we get worse after scoring the opening goal. Happened against Slovenia and Columbia too.
 
the ref was and linesman were awful, but I didn't want to sound like sour grapes. Twice I noticed the ball went out of play and we didn't get the corner and loads of fouls we didn't get.

I was reading about the ref before teh game yesterday, Fergie didn't like him, sent off Nani in the CL semi against Madrid. Apparantly is card happy especally towards the English teams in the CL.

I think he's just card happy period I don't think he's a anti English normally when I've seen him he's very by the book when it comes to punishing players with cards but it feels like all the refs at the world cup have been told to try avoid giving out loads of yellow cards. Maybe this is what happens with VAR. There has almost been no yellow cards for simulation despite some outrageous diving and most of the yellows seem to have been for people pestering the ref.

Personally I felt they were equally bad for both sides neither team really benefitted from it, I just think England players lost their heads a bit second half more than the croats did and to be honest if the ref was being lenient then why wasn't Modric being hacked down all the time. That is where I think we maybe failed a bit on the night if the refs letting a lot go then get stuck into them.
 
I think the tactic of playing the long ball would have been more effective if say Carrick or Scholes had been on the park. It's an area England really need to improve, that deep lying midfield role. Henderson had a good tournament but wasn't good enough to play that role last night.
 

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