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In the past 7 times that these two nations have met each other, England have won 4 times and Croatia have won twice. Yet, none of those games will be as crucial as the one on Wednesday.
To be played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the second semi-final of the World Cup will see two of the most talented teams of the tournament fight it out in a mouthwatering tie. We take a look at 4 players from each team who would be vital for their side.
England
Gareth Southgate’s side have scored the second most goals in the tournament so far, 11, tied with Russia, but have also let in only 4. They were impressive against Colombia, showing a gutsy side to their youth and also impressed with their ruthlessness against Sweden.
In the tournament so far, England have 70 shots, 19 of them on target. Their goals have come from 5 different players. Against Croatia, though, they have to be at their best and will rely on the following 4 players
Harry Maguire
Maguire has been the find of the World Cup so far. He has been a rock in the English defence and has brought the best out of John Stones. In the 5 games he played so far, Maguire has hardly put a foot wrong.
He has covered 43 kilometres, attempted 303 passes, completing 276 of them. He has had 7 attempts on goal, with 2 of them on goal and has scored 1 goal so far. He has 3 tackles and 11 clearances and has recovered the ball 38 times. He will be relishing the prospect of facing Mandzukic, quietly confident of his abilities.
Jesse Lingard
The Manchester United midfielder has built a place for himself in this English side and has hit the ground running. He has already scored a stunner of a goal and so far has 12 attempts on goal, with 2 of them on target.
He has covered 46.1 kilometres in the 4 games he played, full of running and never giving up. He has attempted 149 passes and completed 140 of them. With 4 deliveries and 3 dribbles into the penalty box and 2 attempted crosses, Lingard will be ready to give Rakitic a hard time.
Dele Alli
He has the least game time of all the English players in this list, with only 3 games played, but Dele Alli has 5 attempts on goal so far, with 2 of them on target, scoring one goal. He has attempted 100 passes and completed 75 of them and has also recovered the ball 12 times.
He has 2 deliveries and 2 dribbles into the penalty area and has attempted 3 crosses. But what will worry Croatia is his phenomenal understanding with Kane, his club mate.
Harry Kane
With 6 goals to his name, Harry Kane is the top scorer of the tournament so far and quite rightly so. The England skipper has been leading his team from the front and Vida and Lovren will be having nightmares of him.
In the 4 games he played, Kane has 10 attempts on goal, with 6 of them on target. With such goalscoring form, there is no need to indulge in any other statistics, and England will be expecting goals from him against Croatia and he most likely will not disappoint.
Croatia
The Croatian team is a well-oiled machine which runs on two cylinders, Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric, two of the finest midfielders of their generation. But the strength of Croatia is that it is not just a collection of brilliant individuals, but a proper team of players who compliment each other.
Croatia have scored 10 goals so far, one less than England, but have let in exactly the same 4 goals. They have 78 shots on goal so far, with 19 of them on target. They have also committed and suffered more fouls than their rivals. But in stark contrast to England, they have 8 different goal scorers.
Croatia were deft and mature in their close wins against both Denmark and Russia, both of which went to penalties, but it also showed that this team has nerves of steel. So watch out for these 4 players when they play England:
Ivan Rakitic
The Barcelona midfielder seems totally at home in his Croatian team and is a cool customer, as is evident from his penalty conversions in the last 2 games. Rakitic has covered 48.3 Kilometres in the 5 games he has played for Croatia, attempting 279 passes and completing 239 of them.
He has 12 attempts on goal, the second highest in the team, with 5 of them on target. He has 9 deliveries and 1 dribble into the penalty box and has attempted 6 crosses. He has also recovered the ball 26 times, evidence of how hard he works for the team, and has attempted 4 tackles and 5 clearances.
His deadly combination with Modric, club rivals in La Liga, is the heart of Croatia’s superb run in this World Cup.
Luka Modric
The Croatian Skipper has been everywhere on the field, and seems to be good at everything he does. He has covered 50.8 Kilometres in the 5 games he has played, attempting 367 passes and completing 304 of them.
He has 10 attempts on goal, with 4 of them on target, and he is their highest scorer, with 2 goals. He has attempted 11 deliveries and 2 dribbles into the box and has attempted a gigantic 27 crosses, the highest in both teams!
He has also attempted 8 tackles, the highest in his team along with Kovacic and has recovered the ball 27 times. With such a diverse set of skills in his repertoire, England will be worried about Modric the most.
Ivan Perisic
The Inter winger has covered 47.9 Kilometres in his 5 games for Croatia, second only to his skipper. He has 13 attempts on goal, the most in his team, with 2 of them on target. He has attempted 3 deliveries and 3 tackles into the penalty area and attempted 12 crosses.
He also has 4 tackles and 8 clearances to his name. He is vital to the way the midfield duo of Rakitic and Modric work, stretching the wings and inviting challenges. His strength and speed will cause the English defences quite a few headaches.
Ante Rebic
Even though he has only 1 goal to his name, Rebic has been phenomenal far. He has taken the game to the opposition and famously turned the tide against Argentina after his goal against them. He has 10 attempts on goal so far, with 2 of them on target.
He has also attempted 6 deliveries and 6 dribbles into the penalty area and has also attempted 10 crosses. His defensive work has also been splendid, with 5 tackles and 4 clearances and he has recovered the ball 9 times.
Which of the following players will be most influential for their team? Let us know in comments.
