Well done England, they were in the easiest draw, we didn't play Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain and Portugal, losing them early was perfect for us.

 

Remind me to throw my beer in the semis when we score :lol:

Really impressive play from us today, put pressure when we needed to and created more chances and effectively dominated that match and Pickford was ofc. just perfect. The winning team tonight should definitely give us more of a problem, but if we stick like this, we've certainly got a chance of losing to France or Belgium getting to the final! *.

So impressed with Pickford's saves today! *.*

 

I remember one of the members here who said that he didn't rate Pickford at all. :lol:

 

The UK Chart last time England played in the Semi Final, 4th July 1990

 

http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singl.../19900701/7501/

Outstanding performance from Pickford there. An comfortable performance from England.

Well done to England, but England mustn't get carried away with themselves: Sweden played pretty poorly, and the next match will be harder, whether against a fast paced Croatia or a Russia with home advantage.

I think the final will be France vs England, with England winning!

8-2 to Sweden

Another wrong prediction ;)

Sweden were absolute garbage, England were very good in patches and average in others.

 

I think what is exciting is this is just the beginning for this England team. If we qualify for Euro 2020 then while the makeup of the squad will stay the same, I think there are better players coming through who are either injured right now or just missed out. First time in my lifetime we have reached the semi-finals, win or lose it's an amazing achievement.

 

Henderson was man of the match for me. Pickford made some crucial saves, but the majority were ones you would expect your keeper to make. Thought some of his kicking was horrendous.

I honestly think England could win it, and the way they’ve been playing, as an actual team, they would deserve to.

 

It’ll be a little annoying this week working in a school on the border of England and Wales being the Welsh teacher. Despite the fact I’ve made it clear that I have no objections to England doing well in the tournemant, the kids will still try to chant all sorts at me because I represent their ‘enemy’ which isn’t great since I’m holding an Eisteddfod this week but I’ll just have to grin a bear it.

 

I fully support Gareth Southgate getting England to win the World Cup, after all the grief he got 22 years ago.

We could meet Belgium again, if we beat Russia or Croatia, I think most likely it will be Croatia.

Quite incredible that we've made it to the semi finals - would've have laughed off anyone who predicted that at the beginning of this tournament! I've been quite the pessimist so far - I predicted Colombia would defeat us but our performance today along with a bit of penalty luck against Colombia has changed my mind! Think we've got a better chance than ever to reach the final. Russia and Croatia are both teams we could beat even if both are stronger than Sweden. The team did seem stronger than ever today and Pickford and Lingard were both fantastic and Sterling looked very dangerous even if he didn't finish off his chances!

 

#itscominghome

I can't believe we're in a World Cup semi-finals. This is the only time since I've been alive that we've had an England squad worth cheering about.

 

I was sceptical about Southgate originally but he's done an amazing job to create such a harmonious squad and it's paying dividends.

What a fantastic performance by the whole England team. They have a genuine chance of reaching a World Cup final which is something I never thought I would see. I was only one year old in 1966 so I remember nothing about the last one.

 

Don't forget Gareth Southgate only got the job because of a newspaper sting on Sam Allardyce. It's funny how events conspire to lead to an outcome. The easier half of the draw,no injuries (except Alli for one match) and no suspensions have all led to this situation as well.

Bit surprised at that to be honest, thought he might have swapped Dele out.

 

Good job he didn't!

 

A pretty good game to watch, though as others have pointed out Sweden weren't exactly great and apart from a few chances never really looked like scoring. We have a really strong chance at getting to the final for the first time in almost 3 decades but I don't want to jinx it. Whatever happens from now on, this performance at the WC will go down in history and that is something that the team fully deserve all the credit and support they are receiving, credit due also to Pickford who many were quick to write-off earlier in the tournament - he's certainly silenced the critics and earned his place in the squad.

 

Sterling was the only disappointment for me, he really should have scored on more than one occasion. Hopefully he is saving it as Lineker suggested for a critical moment later on.

 

Also - England are GUARANTEED* two more games whatever happens so hopefully Kane has a good shout for the golden boot! : )

 

*Third place playoff game on 14 July if they lose the semi-final.

Edited July 7, 20187 yr by Doctor Blind

Another wrong prediction ;)

 

I will be right when it counts!!

 

England v France final, France winning. Mark my words!

I will be right when it counts!!

 

England v France final, France winning. Mark my words!

 

England winning would now make my year.

What a fantastic performance by the whole England team. They have a genuine chance of reaching a World Cup final which is something I never thought I would see. I was only one year old in 1966 so I remember nothing about the last one.

 

Don't forget Gareth Southgate only got the job because of a newspaper sting on Sam Allardyce. It's funny how events conspire to lead to an outcome. The easier half of the draw,no injuries (except Alli for one match) and no suspensions have all led to this situation as well.

I said after the first two group games that, perhaps for the only time, we should be thankful to the Telegraph. Under Lllardyce we would have had to sit through a scrappy

0-0 against Tunisia followed by a 1-0 win over Panama with the goal coming in the last ten minutes.

I just hope win or lose Gareth Southgate does not leave after this World Cup, we seem to be above the rest at the moment and the whole team seem to be comfortable under Gareth as a manager, but we haven't played any of the big countries like Germany etc etc, as they were in the other draw, we haven't really been tested apart from Belgium. It seems we just had a easy route to the final and avoided all the big hitters I suppose. You just have to give them credit when due.

You can say all you like that we haven't played any of the big teams but Belgium are a big team right now and although both sides didn't play their strongest 11 it was reasonably even for long stretches.

Additionally all the so-called big nations in this tournament have been shadows of past sides. Germany have the players but didn't perform, Brazil are nothing compared to those sides of the 70s-90s, Spain are clearly in decline, Argentina and Portugal are on the way down too and too reliant on certain gifted individuals. France are certainly capable but seem to be struggling. Frankly, the Czech Republic or Croatia side of the late 90s would've beaten most of them.

 

England have dealt well with everything in front of them and made Sweden look bad, not the other way around.

 

Also, all those people saying how they weren't alive last time England made the WC semis - stop making me feel old!! And enjoy it while you can - that '30 years of hurt line' is there for a reason