Qwiss! wrote:
Gurgen wrote:
I don't think England bottled it, Croatia are a better team. England hasn't produced a player like Modric in decades. Anyway, glad they're out. Brexit means Brexit.
England were playing them off the park until half time. Easily the best 45 minutes I've seen from England in this WC. Then half time happened and when they came back out they sat deep and started making mistakes. "Bottling it" is a bit harsh but I definitely think they got nervy and it changed the way they were playing.
Croatia seem to me exactly the sort of team that are a bit of a slow burner in a game. They don't have too much pace or athleticism, but they have real nous and stamina. I thought it would go as it did before hand. England all energy early on and then Croatia's far superior midfield working them out and wrestling control as the game wore on. When the screw tightened England's tactical shortcomings were exposed left, right and centre. If Croatia had a Greizmann or Mbappe; players deadly on the break, it could have been a thrashing.
I wouldn't quite agree England were all over them in the first half either. They were the better team but that's a bit strong.
Southgate's laughable/laudable desire to "play out from the back" and "keep hold of the ball" really came to hurt England in the second half. They were gifting the ball to Croatia time after time. Pickford was very dodgy in just about everything he did, but it didn't help that they kept playing the ball backwards constantly and he was where the buck stopped.
