Good evening sporting friends,
Here we are again, as anticipated in the conclusion of yesterday's post, today I'm talking about the second semifinal played at Luzhniki between Croatia and England.
A thrilling game extended until the extra time that saw surprisingly but deservedly Croatia passing the turn. A historic victory for the Croatians, who on Sunday in Moscow will play the first world final of their history against the France of Deschamps.
In the meantime let's analyze together what have been perhaps the most exciting 120 minutes of the Russian World Championship. Enjoy reading!
Croatia - England 2-1
Croatian triumph in Luzhniki: Croatia passes 2-1 over England after 120 minutes of battle and wins a place in the world final for the first time in history.
The goals 5' Trippier (I), 68' Perisic (C), 109' Mandzukic (C)
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Vrsaljko, Vida, Lovren, Strinic (94' Pivaric); Rakitic, Brozovic; Rebic (100' Kramaric), Modric (113' Badelj), Perisic; Mandzukic (110' Corluka).
Coach: Dalic
England (3-5-2): Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire; Walker (111' Vardy), Lingard, Henderson (97' Dyer), Alli, Young (91' Rose); Kane, Sterling (72' Rashford)
Coach: Southgate
The one played on Tuesday evening was a game full of twists, forbidden to the faint-hearted. The match lighted up after only 5 minutes thanks to a free kick in an exemplary way under the crossbar of the poles by the English Trippier. So it all seemed to be easy for the Three Lions who kept on handling the ball and attacking towards the goal defended by Subasic. Croatia, however, was still stunned and plagued by the goal taken in the early minutes. At half an hour Kane devours a golden opportunity to make the second goal. So the Croatians come out of the hiding place and gradually take courage, taking small steps closer to the English area. It closes however on 1-0 for England a first full time full of opportunities on both sides.
In the second half, Perisic wakes up and begins to create confusion among the English defenders. First, he warns them up at the 65th minute with a right-kick, then he scored the goal of the draw, and he even hits a post immediately after. England is under shock and then the Croats try to sink the blow taking advantage of an unstoppable Perisic that is likely to double infiltrating a risky backward pass by Walker. We also have a good try for the goal by Mandzukic in the final, but the 90 minutes end with a score of 1-1, so we go to overtime.
In the extra time, it's clear that Croatia has an extra boost, galvanized by the goal of the draw achieved in the second half. The British didn't recover after the goal right away and are also more tired than their opponents, having had to contain their attacks for about half an hour. After 8 minutes Stones almost score an own goal, and this says a lot about the mental state of the Southgate guys, confused and disoriented. At 107' Pickford made an amazing save on Mandzukic's attempt, but the Juventus striker took revenge 2 minutes later: Perisic served him in the area and he scored with a left kick. There is no more time to remedy for Kane and his teammates, the game will end up 2-1 to the delight and disbelief of Croatian players and fans.
Southgate and his team had really believed it, the game with Sweden seemed to have given guarantees which on Wednesday night have vanished into thin air. Even if things seemed immediately fine with Trippier's goal, they should have handled the advantage better. Not to mention the panic of the second half and the extra time that allowed the Croatians to play the game. Now it is a test of pride against Belgium to bring home at least the meager consolation of the third place.
And who would have thought that Mr. Dalic would lead his boys to the world's first historic final for the Croatian national team? Winning with England was a big achievement that few had predicted, but the team that we saw on the field against the British was a compact and deadly team capable of disintegrating opponents and suffocating them in their half of the field. In short, a final more than deserved; against France there are good chances of succeeding, considering that in a match of this kind counts more the coldness and psychological condition than the technical quality.
France - Croatia, an all-European final like the one of 8 years ago between Spain and Holland. A never-before-seen final, given that it is the first ever for Croatia; almost customary instead for France, which will compete for the third one in 20 years (and here I would like to point out: including one lost to Italy in 2006!). In any case, France only won one world championship (in 1998), confirming the fact that this it will be the world championship of surprises.
It will be a challenge between Pogba's creativity and talent and Mandzukic's coldness and spirit of sacrifice, but it will also be a challenge between two top goalkeepers like Lloris and Subasic, true protagonists and carriers of their teams in this tournament.
It will certainly be an exciting game, of those that remain in your memories and that you will tell your children or grandchildren, so I strongly recommend not to miss it. When? Sunday, July 15 at 5 p.m., unless you have already booked the flight to Moscow and so you know it better than I do...
I'll give you the appointment at the next one where I'll tell you about the match between England and Belgium valid for the third and fourth place, scheduled for Saturday, July 14 at 4 p.m. Stay tuned!
Source: Massimoc23
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