2018 FIFA World Cup XXI

[Jagartrott]

Yeah, should be a walk in the park for France, but they thought much the same two years ago. If France don't score early, they'll get more and more nervous. Still, they hold all the cards of course. No injuries, no extra time played, physically a very strong team, smart coach, and the best defense in this tournament.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Re:

Yeah, should be a walk in the park for France, but they thought much the same two years ago. If France don't score early, they'll get more and more nervous. Still, they hold all the cards of course. No injuries, no extra time played, physically a very strong team, smart coach, and the best defense in this tournament.

Which is why Croatia will win.

 

[Flamin]

Re:

Yeah, should be a walk in the park for France, but they thought much the same two years ago. If France don't score early, they'll get more and more nervous. Still, they hold all the cards of course. No injuries, no extra time played, physically a very strong team, smart coach, and the best defense in this tournament.

True, though France is better than 2 years ago.

Anyway, I have to admit Croatia's mental toughness and physical strength despite having played 2 120' games, surprised me yesterday. Nevertheless, it would be absolutely incredible if they pull this off.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So England played 5 matches, all against teams ranked lower than them, and a "B team friendly" against Belgium. Of those 5 matches, they won 3, drew one (against a team missing its talisman) and lost one.

So essentially their world ranking of 12th is about right, possibly generous.

But they rode their luck and gave supporters a bit of fun which, essentially, is the only thing professional sport is about.

 

[Pricey_sky]

A frustrating night as an England fan but no complaints, From the second half onwards Croatia were the better team. We gave up the initiative after an excellent first half performance where we could and should have scored a second goal.

Still a lot of positives for this young side who have performed well, with all the rubbish going on politically and with Brexit they’ve brought a nation back together, especially after the embarrassments of 2014 and 2016.

Pickford, Maguire, Trippier and Stones the standouts, After a lot of success with the junior teams last summer, winning the U17 and U20 world cups, I hope this is the start of something good.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

So England played 5 matches, all against teams ranked lower than them, and a "B team friendly" against Belgium. Of those 5 matches, they won 3, drew one (against a team missing its talisman) and lost one.

So essentially their world ranking of 12th is about right, possibly generous.

But they rode their luck and gave supporters a bit of fun which, essentially, is the only thing professional sport is about.

I pay very little attention to the World rankings, they can easily be manipulated. For example Poland didn’t play a single friendly from the last Euros until after the World Cup draw so they didn’t lose any ranking points and gained a top seeded spot. We all know how good they really are.

It also shows Switzerland in sixth and both Peru and Denmark above England, which isn’t correct from what we’ve seen on the pitch.

FWIW id probably put England just inside the top 10. On current form France, Belgium and Brazil are the top 3. After those a number of teams with little between them, some on the way up, some on the way down: Croatia, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, England

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

You rate Germany much too highly.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

So England played 5 matches, all against teams ranked lower than them, and a "B team friendly" against Belgium. Of those 5 matches, they won 3, drew one (against a team missing its talisman) and lost one.

So essentially their world ranking of 12th is about right, possibly generous.

But they rode their luck and gave supporters a bit of fun which, essentially, is the only thing professional sport is about.

I pay very little attention to the World rankings, they can easily be manipulated. For example Poland didn’t play a single friendly from the last Euros until after the World Cup draw so they didn’t lose any ranking points and gained a top seeded spot. We all know how good they really are.

It also shows Switzerland in sixth and both Peru and Denmark above England, which isn’t correct from what we’ve seen on the pitch.

FWIW id probably put England just inside the top 10. On current form France, Belgium and Brazil are the top 3. After those a number of teams with little between them, some on the way up, some on the way down: Croatia, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, England

England is a bit overrated, if we are to be completely honest. They played well against Panama and Tunisia, but...it was against Panama and Tunisia...They then went up against the Belgium subs and lost. Ok, so Southgate and co were always gonna be ok with the second place finish in the group, given the opening of that side of the draw, avoiding top teams early, but they barely held on against Colombia that was without James, was average against average Sweden and lost to Croatia. Croatia are absolutely capable of better football than they actually showed last night. Pundits like Shearer and Wright are absolutely correct in saying that this particular England side should be very happy to have made to the Semis. Under normal circumstances and a more balanced draw, England would find it difficult to move past the round of 16. Croatia are a much better side on paper and the've showed more in this tournament than England. They had to go through two brutal matches, against Denmark and Russia and they still ran England rugged for much of the second half and extra time. The better team won last night. Kane had a nice opportunity as did Maguire but you can't win matches with so few shots on goal. Once Perisic equalised, you sensed that England were gonna be on the back foot.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

You rate Germany much too highly.

Germany's problem was that they were over-confident, almost cocky, which is very unlike Germany. Even after struggling in the past 18 months to play good football on a consistent basis, they were confident that things would turn around with the snap of the fingers during the WC. It doesn't work like that. Neuer was out for 9 months, got back on the team literally during the WC, as Löw preferred him over Ter Stegen. No Leroy Sane on the squad, that was a big surprise for most people. The Ozil and Gundogan photos with Erdogan were a distraction and the lethargic play was the nail in the coffin. Even without distractions, the injuries and the right mindset, this particular German squad would have found it difficult to repeat. Were they capable of it? Sure, but a lot happens in four years and in this German's squad's case, a lot happened in less than year.

I find this WC much more satisfying because the big teams struggled and all but France lost earlier than expected. Even France struggled and while they had spurts that showed how talented they are, they still looked very dodgy in some of their games. Croatia has been steady, not too high but definitely not a game where they were really poor. They earned their place in the final. On paper, the French had tougher opponents during the knockout rounds, playing Argentina, Uruguay, and Belgium to get to the Final, whereas Croatia had Denmark, Russia, and England.

Hope Croatia wins this. It would be HUGE for the country and I believe for the world of football.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

England is a bit overrated, if we are to be completely honest. They played well against Panama and Tunisia, but...it was against Panama and Tunisia...They then went up against the Belgium subs and lost. Ok, so Southgate and co were always gonna be ok with the second place finish in the group, given the opening of that side of the draw, avoiding top teams early, but they barely held on against Colombia that was without James, was average against average Sweden and lost to Croatia. Croatia are absolutely capable of better football than they actually showed last night. Pundits like Shearer and Wright are absolutely correct in saying that this particular England side should be very happy to have made to the Semis. Under normal circumstances and a more balanced draw, England would find it difficult to move past the round of 16. Croatia are a much better side on paper and the've showed more in this tournament than England. They had to go through two brutal matches, against Denmark and Russia and they still ran England rugged for much of the second half and extra time. The better team won last night. Kane had a nice opportunity as did Maguire but you can't win matches with so few shots on goal. Once Perisic equalised, you sensed that England were gonna be on the back foot.

Some very good points, and I agree with you that Croatia deserved to go through, even though they weren't at their best.

The frustrating thing for England is that they played well in the first half and were the better team. It was probably inexperience that found them out in the end. They are a relatively young group and just weren't street-wise enough in the second half to see it out. Obviously you have to give credit to Croatia for getting past two very close games to reach the semi-finals, but the same credit must also be given to England. To actually win a penalty shoot-out after so many heartbreaks was a superb achievement, plus they were comfortable against Sweden considering it was a world cup QF.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re: Re:

England is a bit overrated, if we are to be completely honest. They played well against Panama and Tunisia, but...it was against Panama and Tunisia...They then went up against the Belgium subs and lost. Ok, so Southgate and co were always gonna be ok with the second place finish in the group, given the opening of that side of the draw, avoiding top teams early, but they barely held on against Colombia that was without James, was average against average Sweden and lost to Croatia. Croatia are absolutely capable of better football than they actually showed last night. Pundits like Shearer and Wright are absolutely correct in saying that this particular England side should be very happy to have made to the Semis. Under normal circumstances and a more balanced draw, England would find it difficult to move past the round of 16. Croatia are a much better side on paper and the've showed more in this tournament than England. They had to go through two brutal matches, against Denmark and Russia and they still ran England rugged for much of the second half and extra time. The better team won last night. Kane had a nice opportunity as did Maguire but you can't win matches with so few shots on goal. Once Perisic equalised, you sensed that England were gonna be on the back foot.

Some very good points, and I agree with you that Croatia deserved to go through, even though they weren't at their best.

The frustrating thing for England is that they played well in the first half and were the better team. It was probably inexperience that found them out in the end. They are a relatively young group and just weren't street-wise enough in the second half to see it out. Obviously you have to give credit to Croatia for getting past two very close games to reach the semi-finals, but the same credit must also be given to England. To actually win a penalty shoot-out after so many heartbreaks was a superb achievement, plus they were comfortable against Sweden considering it was a world cup QF.

I think this English squad, given a couple years to gel and for Southgate to learn more about his players and other options that weren't there during this WC, can be a danger for the next Euro, WC and Euro 2024. I know that's looking years ahead, but with more match experience they could, actually, win a trophy. I just think that they were fortunate enough to get to the SF this time around.

And the penalty shootout was a nice hurdle for England to overcome, nobody can deny that. Had they lost that it would have been terrible, not just because they've had a miserable time with the shootout for the last 28 years, but because they got the easier route they were hoping for, and to lose at the first knockout stage would have given the critics (and the English themselves) plenty to laugh about.

This team is young and relatively inexperienced, but it would have been something had they somehow won the WC. The past teams with the likes of Gerrard, Beckham, Rooney, Lampard, Shearer, Sheringham, Scholes, Terry, Owen, Lineker, etc couldn't do it, the so-called 'golden generation,' then it would have almost been unfair for this lot to manage it.

 

[King Boonen]

The most promising thing about England’s performances was that there was no reliance on a single player. In the past it’s all been about getting the ball to Rooney or Beckham or will Gerrard perform. Trippier, Macguire, Lingaard, Kane, Stones and Dier were all great, Young and Henderson were both valuable players with experience, Pickford was emmense in goal and personally I though Alli and Stirling both played really well at times. Stirling just couldn’t finish it off but he looked dangerous every time he got the ball and added some much needed speed to the attack. Pretty much the whole squad performed as a squad. Yes, there were a few lapses that they need to work on and it broke down at times, but they showed a great base that they can work on.

 

[Brullnux]

Dier was great? He only really played against Belgium, badly, against Colombia a sub, where he missed about half of his longer passes (ok he scored the penalty) and against Croatia also as a sub, where he was basically anonymous. Others you mentioned, sure, but I don't see what Dier has done to deserve that.

 

[King Boonen]

Dier offered a change of pace and England held their shape much better when he was on the field. His distribution might not have been great but he was a very good option for when a solid mid-field was needed. Basically I think England finally got the squad right, rather than trying to shoe-horn players into a team out of position just because they couldn’t be left out. That’s probably more a result of the current crop of players but it works and hopefully Southgate will recognise this and persist.

 

[python]

still 3 min to play....belgium imo played smarter. incredibly sharp, gorgeous counterattacks and viscous defense which clearly was well instructed on the english tricks.

the brits imo played well. just could not get the belgium tactics and at times too linear.

 

[Jagartrott]

Contrary to the British press, I'm far from impressed by this England squad. Won 3 matches - against Tunisia, Panama and Sweden - one draw and three losses. Scored most of their goals from set pieces and looked quite sluggish in defense.

The score could've easily been 4-1 today, if Lukaku had remembered how to control a football.

By the way, that saved Meunier shot around minute 75 came after perhaps the most beuatiful attack of the tournament. Gorgeous.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The VAR system is a joke.....

 

[fauniera]

Croatia clearly better, but the ref won't allow them the win. Has already gifted two goals to France.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Harsh on Croatia this, two very debatable goals from the French in the first half. Credit where it’s due they have been clinical up front in the second half.

 

[hfer07]

Congratulations to France for her 2nd World Cup title, despite the rather controversial arbitrage....

FIFA must work very hard on the referees, because there were crucial matches decided by grave mistakes/misinterpretations made by them.

Overall I'm extremely pleased with this World Cup - Congrats to France & special Congrats to RUSSIA for hosting such magnificent even.

 

[macbindle]

Re:

Contrary to the British press, I'm far from impressed by this England squad. Won 3 matches - against Tunisia, Panama and Sweden - one draw and three losses. Scored most of their goals from set pieces and looked quite sluggish in defense.

The score could've easily been 4-1 today, if Lukaku had remembered how to control a football.

By the way, that saved Meunier shot around minute 75 came after perhaps the most beuatiful attack of the tournament. Gorgeous.

They got to the semi-finals, albeit partially via a very fortuitous draw. That hasn't happened for 28 years. Give them some credit. They were much better than any recent England team.

They just can't score goals in open play against decent opponents

 

[del1962]

Re: Re:

Contrary to the British press, I'm far from impressed by this England squad. Won 3 matches - against Tunisia, Panama and Sweden - one draw and three losses. Scored most of their goals from set pieces and looked quite sluggish in defense.

The score could've easily been 4-1 today, if Lukaku had remembered how to control a football.

By the way, that saved Meunier shot around minute 75 came after perhaps the most beuatiful attack of the tournament. Gorgeous.

They got to the semi-finals, albeit partially via a very fortuitous draw. That hasn't happened for 28 years. Give them some credit. They were much better than any recent England team.

They just can't score goals in open play against decent opponents

Young team not expected to get to semis, so a result. Still lacked a truly world class playmaker like the Croats, we had one in 1990 albeit with a capacity to self destruct , they got where they where by there teamwork which is good.

Of course there will be the snipers, but they have there own agendas and where always waiting for England to fail, I guess in the end they where happy though I wouldn’t put much store in a 3rd place game

Anyway hopefully a world class playmaker can arise one can arise and take them further because the team as a whole are solid, though they need to cut out defensive lapses particularly when they have the ball

 

[Brullnux]

Croatia clearly better, but the ref won't allow them the win. Has already gifted two goals to France.

Croatia were better but both goals were valid, if soft. Brozovic touched Griezmann's left foot which cause/prompted his fall (so a foul, if a soft one) and perisic's arm was both in an unnatural position (who jumps with their arm at a right angle to their body?) and moving towards the ball.

Very weird game. Subasic apparently can only save penalties, anything else be they free kicks or especially long shots, he's useless at. Lloris was due a howler. Croatia were better but still created little, France I think had no clear cut chance in the whole game, just two long shots and perhaps that mbappe chance. And yet, it had the most goals in 90 minutes sicne 1958.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Has a single player been booked for diving in this entire tournament?

 

[Robert5091]

Congrats to France - skrappy at times, but with Griezmann & Pogba good in the middle & Giroud has proven that Wenger really messed up not playing him more.

England were in desperate need of a Modic or Griezmann. Without a playmaker in the middle it was all very slow and predictable.