Croatia 2-1 England (AET): Another Oh So Near
If this report has taken a few days in the making, you can understand why. England’s dream of winning the World Cup came to an end against Croatia. It’s not coming home this time unfortunately. Instead we have another “oh so near”, a missed opportunity and a case of what might have been.
But we should be proud of what they achieved in this tournament. The team did everything that was expected of them and much, much more. There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic for the future.
Remember that the realistic aim at the start of the tournament, just a few weeks ago, was firstly to get out of the group and, more importantly, to rediscover a playing identity and reconnect with the fans.
It’s safe to say that expectations have been exceeded.
Fine Margins
Obviously it’s heartbreaking for the lads to have come so close to making the final, but even in defeat against Croatia, they certainly didn’t disgrace themselves. This was a match that could have gone either way. Fine margins make the difference. Sometimes they go in your favour, but sadly on Wednesday they didn’t.
England dominated the first half, and took the lead early through Kieran Trippier’s superb free kick. He becomes only the third England player to score in a World Cup semi final, and along with Charlton and Lineker, he’s not in bad company.
We should have been more than one goal ahead at the break on the balance of play. Harry Kane’s shot hit the post from close range, but on another day it could easily have rebounded back into the net off the keeper. Jesse Lingard’s weak effort from the edge of the box missed the target, but on another day that could end up in the top corner. In fact they often do, his long range shooting is better than his close range. But sadly not this time.
The second half saw Croatia take control, thanks to the excellent Luka Modric. England retreated just that little bit too much, but if the occasion started to affect this group of young lads, you can certainly forgive them that. They will get even better with experience.
The winner in extra time was another case of the ball bouncing in one team’s favour. But you still need to take advantage of the chances that come your way, and Mandzukic did that in style.
Fair play to Croatia. We congratulate them on their win and wish them well in the final. No hard feelings. If there’s one thing we have learned as England fans, it’s how to lose gracefully.
Reasons For Optimism
For the younger fans, this is probably harder to take, especially if this is your first World Cup. Older fans will find losing quarter or semi finals slightly more familiar. The first tournament I remember watching was 1986 and as I said earlier in the week, after 1990 I never expected that it would take 28 years for us to be in another semi final. The last ten years have been particularly hard to take, as we’ve got gradually worse and worse.
Things are about to get better though.
Look at the setup, the new training facilities, the young, calm and likeable manager. Look at the young players we have coming through, players who are already world beaters in their age groups you get the feeling it’ll be different this time.
Gareth Southgate can use this experience to get better. So can the players. This is not the end of the road. It’s the start of something good.
It IS coming home. Not this time, but soon. Keep the faith.