The second semi-final sees England take on dark horses Croatia. The last time we were at a semi-final my parents were still teenagers
The game is live on ITV. Please use this thread for speculation, pre and post match chat on the England v Croatia game.
How do you see this going?
1-0 to England. Hoping England play well. If they manage to beat Croatia with a large lead I'd be more confident in them being able to win against Belgium or France in the final.
I’m interested to see how England line up and whether we set up as normal or we go to flood the midfield with either Delph/Dier with Henderson. Personally I feel it will be another really tight game. I suspect Croatia will tire quicker than we will, which could be a massive factor in the latter stages of the game.
I can still scarcely believe we're here. I really have no clue on this game at all, theoretically we should be much fresher than Croatia so if it goes the distance once again we should be favourites but can't allow myself to read too much into that.
There's no way this isn't gonna go to penalties!!
Oh god we have Ian Wright Lee Dixon Glenn Hoddle and Clive Tydsley to listen too!!
Yep, the only good game Walcott ever played for England too that one!^
Thing is I don't really want Croatia succeeding via another pen shootout as it'll look like they have fluked their way to a final!
There's a lot riding on this game. Peru went into the World Cup as the holders of the Unofficial World Cup. They lost to Denmark who subsequently lost to Croatia. Therefore, Croatia are the current Unofficial World Champions and Wednesday will be their first title defence.
https://www.ufwc.co.uk
Aha I forgot all about that side competition! Over 18 years since we held the honour.
This will be a very close game and it could go to extra time, maybe even penalties. I've got a feeling that Croatia will win this though probably with a goal in the last few minutes of the match. Hopefully England will win instead as this kind of opportunity to get to a World Cup final might not come around for decades after this, I don't want anyone from Group D winning the World Cup as well
Also the England Women's team got to the semi final of the World Cup and the European Championship in recent years but lost both times so it would be nice to see a change for England.
Honesty not sure.
But this will be one of the most watched matches for a long time.
Who would you say has been the best player for England so far?
I sincerely hope we win this since we have come this far, I've never expected to see them in the Semi's I think the score will be 2-1 to England, it just seems too good to be true, sometimes I have to pinch myself and the underdogs in this competition. We need to win this now, if we end up losing in the final to France, I don't mind that at least we got there.
Potentially more than 20m will be the figures for this game. I think England have the best chance that we may get for many years to reach a final.
Whatever happens, we will finish in the top 4 - something no-one would have predicted at the start of the WC!
How will England be ranked by the FIFA rankings as it stands?
At least this one won't be boring
England always mess up
A chance for Sterling to get his act together.
The loss against Belgium is irrelevant - both teams were playing their 2nd set of players.
I said before the SFs that England are destined to play Belgium again... Belgium went out so I guess that's what I'm expecting now for a 3rd/4th Playoff Place match up - I hope I'm wrong! I have faith to be honest, I think we can beat Croatia. I don't think we can beat France though
Feeling tense and wouldn't surprise me if this game went to extra time. Croatia have got the classier players, especially in midfield, but I think we may just edge it. Reckon Sterling will have a big game - he's the player who worries defences the most I reckon and can run at the tired Croatian defence.
This game just proves that international football is so much bigger than club football - even the Champions League. Definitely doesn't feel like 'just another game' the way the big Premier League games can do.
I can see this being a narrow win for Croatia by about a goal to nil.
I still think England will win tonight, I think Gareth will tell the boys to go for it, Croatia will push forward, England need to dig deep and defend.
Where will you be watching the match?
I'll be watching at home too.
I like England to do it but I'm not sure if they will.
Fingers crossed I've been on edge all day!!! Either way, we have not got this far in the WC since I was 2 so I'm really proud of the team, but I would love love love to get to the final.
Theoretically we should win against Croatia, but that means nothing in this World Cup, it's been such a unpredictable World Cup. Either way I win tonight as Croatia are my sweepstake lol.
Yeah there's no way I'd go anywhere where I'd probably end up with beer all over me to watch a football match Home is comfortable enough.
I'm so nervous for tonight's match I'm another one who is watching at home. Keeping everything crossed! On the bright side, if England lose then it's a showdown of me vs. Mikey for the BuzzJack sweepstake crown but yeah c'mon England, it would be so incredible if we could progress to the final.
Oh MY Martin has won he buzzjack sweepstake!!
5-2 to Croatia
In the BUSIEST BAR ever in central London & there's still 90 mins till start
Bar prices in London on MATCH DAY?! No thanks!
Let's not make my new username change a short-lived one xx
I said IF they got there
I still doubt them
All of the people who hate football and live in England will be hoping that Croatia get the job done tonight
Here we go then
GET IN THERE!!!!!
Well that was quick! Keep it up guys.
It's coming home
Already!
Omg it's happening
Bloody hell Trippier.
Omg
Waterloo tomorrow then in the final!!
France will win, but second place, I mean who'd have thought it!! We can be MORE than happy with 2nd.
Offside from Kane. Rats.
NOICE start though. Let’s keep it up.
We need a second goal ideally.
Oh man, Harry Kane. What a chance.
Missed a golden opportunity
Another chance squandered. Oh Lingarrd.
I do wish they wouldn’t pass all the way back so often, makes me nervous every time and Croatia seem to be much more aware of it than the other teams we’ve faced.
Could have been 3-0 up
These missed chances are going to cost us. Please get another for f*** sake.
From London To Berlin for #1 if we win the World Cup! ⚽️
So many missed chances this half, hope that doesn't come back to bite us. The Russians booing whenever Vida gets the ball is a bit unnerving.
So glad that England didn't concede a goal just before half-term - I couldn't watch! D:
(Think this is my first post in the sports forum argh)
Edit: Half-time, not half-term
The next 45 minutes are going to be nail-biting, we should have been 3 up
Passing from the back is fine.. but the problem is we usually pass it to Pickford who hoofs the ball and gives the ball back to Croatia.
We are playing ok. Croatia are completely dominating the midfield as you would expect but it's meaning we are almost a back 5 at times. It's on a knife edge at the moment, unfortunately we are playing the right way but Henderson either overhits the final pass, or the attacking players are not making the right runs.
come on England *_* Hopefully the second half will play out like the first, but without the missed oppotunities!
About as perfect a start as we could ask for, but it's been awfully tense after that and some of those missed chances were crucial. Obvs I wouldn't mind if it stayed like this, but Croatia can easily come back from this like they have in other matches so another goal from us plz~
Indeed welcome to the Sports forum, Jay.
England are playing a lot better than Croatia at the moment, Croatia have been absolute shite! The game so far is reminding me of the 1999 Champions League final and how that game started. England will hope that it doesn't end in the same way that match ended.
It's been a largely good performance - I think we need to settle the nerves a bit though, hence all the passes back to Pickford.
Sterling is looking like our weapon right now, get the ball down to him and Jesse and we'll have plenty of chances to shove the ball in the area.
The Russian fans are booing Vida after Vida said 'This is for Ukraine' after Croatia's win v Russia.
Please can we not bring politics into this, Thank you.
My first post in this forum was ruined by a typo of half-time as half-term
I'll go back to just lurking
Oh no.
NO
Damn it. Don't lose this England!
Urgh. That's what you get for missing all those chances.
f***
We REALLY needed that second goal.
Get a grip, England!!
Good save from Pickford. So close to being down 2-1.
Got to settle down now.
These last 15 minutes, get the ball up.
So many missed oppotunities this game
Oh well. 4th place is good. England ALWAYS messes up. They can't handle the pressure of the fans/ media.
Croatia will be more tired if it goes to extra time but Croatia really look like they will snatch the winner!
Are we going to win this on penalties again
C’mon Croatia! They honestly deserve it after this second half performance! All England seem to score from it set pieces too!
Croatia do seem to be getting a bit tired now compared to England. Hopefully that'll give England a chance for a goal before extra time is called.
How long will extra time be?
Ok free kick.
Extra time. At least they didn't concede one at the end there.
I think England will have a better chance in extra time. This game is so close I can barely watch.
France will be loving this, both England and Croatia wearing themselves out while they sit back and relax with their feet up at the hotel.
England could still do this I guess but Croatia seem like they're doing better.
Slightly mad at Croatia because it's 4am here and I want to go to bed, but still what a thrilling game.
In the next half an hour I'm going to start pulling my hair
Please not penalties again.
Kane has been surprisingly wasteful in front of goal.
So far, every match that has gone to extra-time has ended up with a penalty shoot-out.
This is what it must have felt like in 1990 for those who are old enough to remember that. The tension in this match is almost unbearable!
Squeaky bum time, we were lucky to get to extra time. Our full backs were getting absolutely destroyed, still in with a chance. I’d take penalties now as Croatia have been the better side.
Off the line there, what a moment for Stones.
The match has lost its zing
18 members reading a thread in the Sports Forum - that must be some sort of record
EDIT: 20 now!
Shit.
well goodbye our chances of going to the final.
Oh shit.
f***
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
I guess this will be my last post in this section for a while...
22 minutes away from a World Cup final and then we messed up.
35m people just suddenly became available for plans on sunday afternoon
Nine minutes to do the impossible...
That had been coming to be fair - a shame but they’ve still done far better than I would ever have expected
It’s coming home
Even if England don’t make it, they can be proud. This team have done something England haven’t done for decades-worked as a team. They want this so bad, for each other. Not as individuals which is a mistake previous squads made and actually put me off England. There was too much celeb culture involved. This team is young and fresh and this is just the beginning.
England's going home, it's going home....
Aw darn it. Well England have done really well to get to the semis. Unless a miracle happens it looks like they're coming home.
We need a miracle now
4 minutes, anything could happen.
One shot on goal is horrific in 120 minutes
Someone bought fireworks for the final on me street, but they are setting them off now!!
And England are out of the World Cup.
What a shame. Nice to see Croatia get to their first World Cup Final anyway.
Oh well that's England out. They did so well to get to the semis, no one was even expecting them to get so far.
England vs Belgium for 3rd place on saturday.
Deserved result.
Poor performance by England from the second half onwords!
Aww, it was fun while it lasted. Well done to Croatia, I shall be supporting them to go all of the way. They played better than us in that match and fully deserved it.
We had better put out in the 3rd place match as well, but well done England for getting this far.
Ahh well we did better than anyone predicted to make the semis to be fair. No shame in this.
All the way Hrvatska to bring it home now please!
It's great that we made it this far but gutting all the same that we fell before the final hurdle
Croatia better give me that sweepstake glory now
Not to be!
I still feel really proud of them though, a really good run.
Who was the one who said it was their destiny for England to play Belgium again??
To be or not to be, it was good while it lasted, I didn't expect them to get this far, its the best we've been for a long time in a major competition.
They have done better than I expected them to get.
There’s really nothing to be discouraged about at all - we did all we could and dispelled a lot of myths and got England truly united for the first time in a long time, we weren’t at our best this game and Croatia were never to be underestimated and were clearly used to extra time playoffs! I’m really pleased with our team and just hope they keep this up for future tournaments. It makes a change not being ashamed of them for once.
Anyway, Croatia were actually a hell of a lot better than their last games and deserved to win, I’d like if they could challenge France (though I’m still rooting for them primarily to win me money ), must be absolutely SHATTERED with all their games going to extra time though!
I think I fancy Croatia to win on Sunday now, I did say at the start of the tournament they were one of my favourite teams to win, plus it be a new country that has never won a major competition.
A real shame, but Croatia were the better side. Unfortunately the game showed two things; we are not quite good enough (we made sloppy mistakes for both goals which were easily avoidable) and the squad isn’t there. We were knackered and could have done with a couple of changes pre-game.. unfortunately we still have players like Jones and Welbeck stinking out the squad. Good thing is we have some good players inured and some great ones coming through.
Kane was 100% injured tonight. But that’s a problem with the squad, as we don’t have anyone to replace him.
Hopefully France go on to win now. And I think that they would have done so regardless of who won tonight.
England should be proud of what they've achieved at this World Cup even if they took a shortcut to get there.
We should have really finished them off in the first half, we just missed 2 golden opportunities. Can I blame Sterling for that, I do find Sterling rather useless on the pitch.
I'm gutted tbh. I don't think we'll ever have a better chance of reaching a World Cup final ever again.
For all those too young to remember, I say welcome to the true reality of being an England fan - it's not about the abject failure of the last 20 years - it's about glorious failure.
WAH AIMS SODN 8!m in street on florid cursing done with this coaisjnrhs. ahhh WAH
They were unlucky there England I actually couldn't believe Croatia won as I just didn't think Croatia had enough upfront. But Modric, Brizovic, Ratikic and especillay Perisic were immense. I doubt again it will happen but I would dearly love is to have a new winner on Sunday and Croatia beat France
Deschamps has created an effective but bloody boring side in the image of himself - so many amazing players who's technical abilities are a lot of the time put in a box for the importance of the team.
So gutted
Rugby worldcup soon!
That's a big thing ... right??
Nope!
England won a couple of under age tournaments recently so there's plenty of optimism for the future!
Anyone else seen Mandzukic play live before?
I didn't watch the match (midnight in Hong Kong...) but did England just retreat to defense after they took an early lead or were they consistent on being aggressive?
Luka Modric after the match:
I disagree, I think all the coverage I saw suggested that Croatia would be tougher opponents than Sweden - correctly.
Yes, the British print media overhyped it - but they always do. Nobody takes any notice (nor buys papers anymore, except the over 50s. )
To be fair, I'd feel the same if I were him! Yes, we didn't exactly write them off per sé but it definitely felt like some media establishments were indicating we'd already "earned the right" to the final, which itself was understandable given the euphoria surrounding our World Cup run.
That said, of all the chants in the bar I was in last night, "you can stick your Luka Modric up your ass" was my personal highlight.
It was pretty deflating to go out the way we did, especially after how well we performed against Sweden, but a month ago, if you'd have told me England would be reaching a World Cup semi final for the first time in almost 30 years, i'd have laughed you out of the pub.
And on the plus side, we have a fairly young squad of players to take into Euro 2020 (albeit players who will need to deal with heightened expectations having achieved what they've achieved this World Cup), it's something to build on.
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