Mr Trick
Scooby
No can't agree with that. The Croatian player had every right to go for the ball and he made it there before the defender. That was never a free kick.
World Cup 2018 thread: Let the Wars begin...
- Thread starter Mr Trick
- Start date
No can't agree with that. The Croatian player had every right to go for the ball and he made it there before the defender. That was never a free kick.
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
Yeah with his head. Clearly endangering a player by going with his foot at head height.
Mr Trick
Scooby
But it was a fifty-fifty ball. It was actually the defender who's head went into his boot. The Croatian player only had eyes on the balls. If that had gone against England I would have been disappointing. Just take the positives from the tournament overall. Croatia deserved to win tonight.
Mr Trick
Scooby
And I've forgotten that the Euro 2020 semi-final and finals are at Wembley. Is it written in the stars?...😛
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
Mr Trick
Scooby
Yes, because he was trying to score a goal. It was a coming together. It wasn't foot to head. Your entitled to your opinion, but I haven't heard anyone else say that should have been a free kick.
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
Same ref that sent Nani off for a high foot in the Champions League. Either incompent, hypocritical or anti English. Not the only poor decision or more accurately refusal to make a decision during the match.
Don't want to take away from Croatia who were very good in the second half. They may well have won regardless. But on the biggest stage with video help we've yet again been hampered with a poor officiating team.
Mr Trick
That's your opinion, I disagree.
EarthLogic
Scooby
DeadlyDuo
Scooby
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Disappointing that England lost but they did well in this tournament and got further than anyone initially thought they would. They're quite inexperience on a big stage like this which may have worked against them, but it is refreshing to have a team who actually care about winning rather than just being in it for the "footballer lifestyle" of money and fast cars.
One thing I never understood though is why they kept passing the ball back to Pickford. Don't get me wrong, he's an excellent goalie and has saved England's arse more than one, but he's supposed to be the last line of defence not part of the main defence. The goal England need to aim for is at the other end of the pitch not by Pickford. It seemed like England were leaving themselves wide open if Pickford accidentally fumbled the ball or if a player on the opposite team intercepted (as nearly happened tonight).
Surely the aim would be to keep the ball at the other end of the pitch? When England were 1-0 up, if they'd just kept booting the ball up the croatian end, then Croatia would've had to keep running down the pitch over and over (which may have tired them out) to get it anywhere near the England goal, By constantly playing it back to Pickford, Croatia just had to position themselves around that area.
One thing I never understood though is why they kept passing the ball back to Pickford. Don't get me wrong, he's an excellent goalie and has saved England's arse more than one, but he's supposed to be the last line of defence not part of the main defence. The goal England need to aim for is at the other end of the pitch not by Pickford. It seemed like England were leaving themselves wide open if Pickford accidentally fumbled the ball or if a player on the opposite team intercepted (as nearly happened tonight).
Surely the aim would be to keep the ball at the other end of the pitch? When England were 1-0 up, if they'd just kept booting the ball up the croatian end, then Croatia would've had to keep running down the pitch over and over (which may have tired them out) to get it anywhere near the England goal, By constantly playing it back to Pickford, Croatia just had to position themselves around that area.
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
Yeah it's a crushing disappointment. It's a brighter outlook now than it's been for many years though. U17 world cup winners, U21 world cup winners, U19 euro winners and this young team into the semis of a world cup. No guarantees of course but we've got potential for the future.
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
It was the limitations of the formation after the initial onslaught. For the first 20 minutes or so when everyone is at full energy then it worked well. The ball was moved quickly out from the back into the front players who in turn went straight at the defense and caused chaos. As soon as the energy dropped though there were less out balls for the defenders to look for and they had little choice but to go backwards.
Southgate got us this far by choosing a formation that suited the personnel and sticking with it so that everyone was confident in their role. I don't want to knock him for that because we've got much further than expected. However it was clear that we were being completely over run in midfield during the second half. He could have taken a centre back or one of Lingard or Ali off to introduce Loftus Cheek to give us more of a presence in centre midfield.
I'm hoping that with more time with the squad now he'll be able to introduce some flexibility.
So they lost again then!
It's final day thought today, hopefully things will go back to normal next week now!
It's final day thought today, hopefully things will go back to normal next week now!
Yeah, surprised that no one had commented on that yet... The Bronze might still be under recovery. 😉
England was a disappointment yesterday. Felt like they didn't even try.
Still think France will win tonight but I do think it would be more fun if Croatia takes it.
/SK
England was a disappointment yesterday. Felt like they didn't even try.
Still think France will win tonight but I do think it would be more fun if Croatia takes it.
/SK
Mr Trick
Scooby
Its basically a friendly and doesn't matter😉 Probably the most pointless game in World Football.
As for today, I expect France to win. They had a slow start but paced their way into the tournament. Croatia have been far more hit and miss. France have a well balanced side and it looks to be their time again. If the Croatia who played against England show up it could be a cracking final.
Yeah, for a team like England perhaps.
But if Sweden had ended up fourth instead for third back in '94 I think that their achievement would never reached they same status as it has now here in Sweden.
Those guys are still to this day "heroes". Not sure if that would have been the case if they had lost that last game.
Also think that will be the case in Belgium and that's probably one reason why they won...
/SK
Mr Trick
Scooby
The Bronze
Rogue Demon Hunter
It's festival season so I was out having fun. England did well to make the semi finals but absolutely no one here cares about 3rd place. I'm not sure why they have the match outside of the Olympic tournament.
I'm going to watch the match today but I'm still disappointed. I think France will win due to the fight they have in midfield. Kante and Pogba won't be giving Croatia the time and space that England did in the second half.
Also kind of supporting France after Modric sad and classless comments after the match.
Mr Trick
Scooby
I actually wouldn't mind seeing Croatia win just because it would be their first time. But overall I think France have been the better side across the tournament.