What we can expect from the Croatia vs. England match

Alternative View Portraits - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

Cut back to 1998 when Croatia reached the World Cup finals for only the first time in their history and finished third. With less experience and expectations, they went on to defeat Germany in the quarter-final only to be thwarted in the next round by a certain Liliam Thuram inspired France. This year though is a little bit different. Almost all of their players are established players in big clubs around Europe and have the experience of playing the last World Cup in 2014.

The star players along with their coach, Dalic Zlatko, will desperately want to emulate the success of their 1998 World Cup team by reaching the final for the first time. Dalic Zlatko was born in Bosnia but now has a Croatian passport, while in 1998 they were coached by Miroslav Blazovic who was also born in Bosnia. It is a very interesting theory. In both world cups, Croatia reached the semi-final. However, this time around they will want to go one step further.

What is making this year’s England World Cup team tick? The fact that the team spirit is high and so well oiled gives the team an extra edge. All thanks to their manager, Gareth Southgate, who is quickly becoming a very popular man in their country because of the success he is having with the England football team.

The last time England reached the semi-finals of a World Cup was the 1990 World Cup in Italy, which was a long time ago. And with the history they have with football, Southgate’s men will be desperate to go on and win the final. After the defeat of all the big teams in the previous rounds, the draw opened up wonderfully for both Croatia and England.

Croatia team analysis and stats

It is easy to say that the team is stacked with two best midfielders in the world. They are arguably the best midfield pairing at the moment. Luka Modric(2 goals in 5 matches) already has three man of the match trophies in a total of five matches in this World Cup while Ivan Rakitic(84.9% passing success rate and 1 goal) is making the team tick with his mastery in the middle of the park. With a total of 10 team goals till their quarter-final win against Russia, they are the only two teams left in the semi-finals to have scored in every game in this World Cup. There is no doubt that they will be a threat in front of goal.

Football: Croatia vs Russia at World Cup
Luka Modric

The Croatian team also have high level experience of players playing for European elite teams like Liverpool, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, etc. in their disposal. They have won nine Champions Leagues between them, compared to England’s one. So, they have got quality in almost most of the important positions in their team. The fact that Modric(19), Rebic(17) and Rakitic(12) has attempted more dribbles than England's highest dribbler Raheem Sterling(12 dribbles) will help the Croatians in crucial situations of the game. In addition, their confidence will also be high after having back-to-back penalty shoot-out wins against resolute opponents.

The only problem that Zlatko is facing is the prospect of playing extra-time once again because he knows it will eventually take a toll on his players, unlike the English players. The Croatian players will hope to score early to have an advantage against a very good England defence. Also after some lazy defending for the goals conceded against Russia during the quarter-finals, Zlatko will want his defenders to up the ante in the semi-finals.

England team analysis and stats

What seems to be working quite well for the England team is the fact that along with the attackers, their defenders are also chipping in with some important goals in the tournament. That is the quality that Gareth Southgate will look to take advantage of against the Croats.

England has scored 11 goals this World Cup, equalling their record from the victorious 1966 team, eight of which have come from set-pieces. The likes of John Stones(2 headed goals) and Harry Maguire(1 headed goal) will surely want to add to their tally from the previous matches from set-pieces. With 58.9 % aerial duels won(highest in this tournament), the England team will have an extra edge in the semi-final against Croatia.

FBL-WC-2018-ENG-PRESSER
England manager Gareth Southgate

The reason that England left Euro 2016 embarrassed after their defeat to Iceland has probably made this England side what it is now. With most of the central players from that fateful defeat gone, Southgate has devised his team with talented youth and tactically disciplined players.

However, Harry Kane will be the player to watch out for, with 55% contribution from England's total in this tournament so far. The top scorer in this World Cup, Harry Kane will definitely want to add to his total in the match as he has already equalled James Rodriguez’s record of 6 goals in World Cup 2014.

While Southgate will be happy with his players’ performances in this World Cup, he will want to make sure that they keep complacency aside for the game against the experienced Croatian team. However, his team will be confident of the way that they play after a flawless performance in the game against Sweden.

Conclusion

The previous meetings between the two teams suggest we are in for an exciting contest in the semi-final. With four goals-per-game on average in their previous seven meetings producing 28 goals, it is more than the average of 2.62 goals-per-match in this World Cup. The last time they faced in tournament finals, England won 4-2 in Euro 2004.

Hencd, we can expect an exciting game with the World Cup final at stakes. While England broke the penalty shoot-out jinx in the round of 16 match against Columbia and Croatia, winning two penalty shoot-outs in succession, both the teams will be high on confidence to go all the way to reach the final and possibly win it.

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Edited by Rajdeep Puri