England vs Croatia: 5 areas where England lost the game to Croatia

When Croatia walked out to face England at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Wednesday in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup, both sides had contrasting stories about them. England were the only team in the semi-finals who had come second in the group but they had grown in stature and confidence as the tournament progressed. They had defeated a strong Columbian side in the round of 16 and had achieved a dominating win against Sweden in the quarter-final. With every passing game, the cries of “It’s coming home” were getting louder and stronger and had become deafening now.

Croatia, on the other hand were not the fan favourites, but a team that was composed, ruthless and uncompromising. They had shown their steel in the round of 16 and the Quarter Finals, edging out first Denmark and then Russia with impressive ruthlessness. They knew they had it in them to make it to the finals to face France. In a pulsating end to end affair, Croatia had 22 attempts on goal, with 7 of them on target. England had 11 attempts on goal, with 2 of them on target. Croatia had 54% possession and attempted 627 passes, while England attempted 479 passes. Croatia recovered the ball 51 times to England’s 48, and had 16 tackles, whereas England had 4.

Even after going ahead by a Trippier free-kick at the 5th minute of the game and leading for more than 60 minutes, England could not hold on and Croatia equalized through Perisic in the 68th minute, before Mandzukic won the game in the 109th minute. England succumbed to a heartbreaking defeat and there are five areas where England lost the game to Croatia.

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#5 England defence lost its compactness as the game wore on

Initially, England were neat and tight in defense. The 5 at the back held their lines well and were properly shielded by the 3 in front of them. Dele Ali, Henderson and Lingard ensured that there were no space between the defense and the midfield for Croatia to work on. Every loose ball was quickly closed down and the wings were shut off, with Young and Trippier paying extra attention to Perisic and Rebic. But as the game progressed, and especially after conceding the goal, the English defense regularly switched off. The midfield also starting giving unnecessary ball away. England started to retreat and Croatia pounced on them. Rakitic started growing into the game and Modric found the space to churn his magic. Even Perisic and Rebic began to find space and time on the ball.

#4 England's inconsistency in attack

Speed was the biggest asset of this England team and they attacked Croatia with pace and directness that almost made the Croatians nervous. England took advantage of Croatia’s high line by playing direct, counter-attacking football. Yet after the goal, England decided to sit back and rally on the counter.

Eventually, this strategy backfired as Croatia found their foothold in the game and on the other hand, Kane and Lingard missed easy chances to double the lead. The English players lost their intensity and allowed Croatia back into the game. There were a few last ditched tackles from England as things got intense and their defence started to crumble. Rebic started gaining on Young and took the ball off him. Perisic almost made them pay when his attempt on goal came back off the upright.

#3 Individual brilliance wore out in the second half

England were brilliant in the first half – Kane, Dele Alli and Sterling tormented the Croatian defence with their skills. Pickford was brilliant with his positioning and made some fine collections. Young and Henderson quietly did the job that was handed to them. And Trippier was the star of the show, scoring a goal from an outstanding freekick which would endear him forever among the English fans.

But Croatia started the second half stronger and Perisic became more and more effective as the game wore on. After conceding, England lost their way and Stones and Mcguire looked uncertain for a while. In the final third, England did not create too many chances as Alli, Lingard had a quiet second half. On many occasions, the final ball was poor. Also, England missed at least 2 chances to increase the lead.

#2 Failure to handle the rising threat from Croatia

Before the game, much was said of the fantastic partnership between Rakitic and Modric in the middle of the park and quite rightly so. Yet, England ensured that the duo were reduced to spectators for much of the first half. Modric could not find the space to make those passes, because on the wings, Perisic and Rebic were closed down and not given room to move. Rakitic was restricted from making those darting runs from the midfield. Croatia were confined from all sides on the pitch and were forced to attempt long shots.

But in the second half, Perisic led the attacking threat and him along with Rebic and Mandzukic stretched the defence so that Rakitic and Modric found space. Brozovic grew on the game and asserted his authority in the middle of the park. As a result, the Croatia defence started to handle the English attack well and began unfolding the wings of its attack. England looked weary after conceding and when they should have held their ground, they allowed Croatia back in.

#1 England could not match the experience of Croatia

Croatia grew into the game and after the equalizer were buoyed by the positive impact on the goal. They tried harder, came closer to score and did not give up on the ball. Off the ball, they were composed and efficient and much of the credit goes to the experience of the player at their disposal.

In contrast, the young English side could not hold on to their intensity all game and were a bit disheartened after conceding the goal. They started the first half of extra time well, but maybe the fear of penalties crept into them with every passing minute. Ultimately, Perisic rose the highest in the penalty box and headed a ball towards the 6-yard box and Mandzukic, even after almost 110 minutes of football, showed the alertness of a freshman and ultimately broke English hearts.