England vs Croatia: Three Lion's Roar Reaches Fever Pitch

After a tremendous win over Sweden where England were rarely troubled, The Three Lions turn their attention to Croatia. The Semi Finals awaits for a nation that has not been there since 1990: can they go one better?

One expert summed up this tie as being ‘a little like Ten Henman avoiding Pete Sampras, and only having to beat Goran Ivanisevic. Can one home favourite avoid the sporting mistakes of another?


England News
England are blessed to reach this stage of a tournament with minimal to no injury worries. The fact that they came through the Sweden tie without much effort means they should be much fresher than the Croats. Croatia have had to overcome extra time and penalties twice: don’t discount the impact that will have on fitness levels.

We might see England try to counter the qualities in space of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic with the help of Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier. While not the most effective pairs offensively (though Henderson is much-improved), they provide a screen that would severely hurt Croatia going forward.


Croatia News
Croatia, meanwhile, are going to be sweating over the fitness of Sime Vrsaljko. The Atletico Madrid full-back took a knock in the Quarter-Final win over Russia, and might struggle to make it here. That would be a huge blow, with his deputy nowhere near the same standard.

Croatia will need to find space for a third midfielder, though: Modric and Rakitic are outstanding but cannot be the screen. They were poor against Russia until they were freed up with Marcelo Brozovic’ entry into the game.


Verdict
England will make their first Final since 1966. They’ll do it with a lot of effort and no shortage of luck, no doubt, but they’ll get there: the force of fate feels overwhelming.

World Cup: Sweden v England

While England fans were ready to start talking about how they had diffused the Colombia game, then Yerry Mina scored. While previous English sides would have crumbled, they persevered and won via penalty shootout. Can they do the same against a determined Sweden side they have a challenging record against?


Sweden News
The Swedes are going to come into this tie with a real belief they can do something special. While full-back Emil Krafth will likely have a few question marks on his performance after a challenging tournament so far, he’s ably assisted by Viktor Claesson on the right-hand side.

Emil Forsberg, the player Sweden rely upon most for creativity, will likely come in off the left-hand side once again for the Swedes. He poses an interesting choice, and should play a major role in any creativity that Sweden can show.


England News
England will likely return to their 3-5-2 again, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek added back into the middle of the pitch. He’s a talented midfielder, and should be a fine pick for rampaging through the lines. With an extra man over the Swedes in the middle, expect England to have most of the ball.

Marcus Berg and Ola Toivonen will pose challenges for the England defence, so it will be interesting to see how they handle that physical presence up-front.


Verdict
It’s a hard game to call. England have been pretty stop-start at the tournament so far, with Harry Kane the leading light in just about every match alongside Kieran Trippier. If England can keep the performance level of the Colombia first-half a little longer, they should win here.

Sweden are a good side, but they are limited in terms of athleticism and pace. Without much pace, getting out will be tough: making an England win feel more likely.

World Cup: England vs Columbia

The Three Lions have been given a pretty decent route to a potential FIFA World Cup Semi-Final. With Colombia a strong yet beatable side and either Sweden or Switzerland waiting afterward, it’s easy to see why excitement is building. Will the classically simplistic viewpoint pay off for once for England, though?


England News
The Belgium game can be mitigated in large to the team selection. With so many changes made, it was expected that the game would be tight. This game, though, will see no such risks taken. Harry Kane will obviously return to the top, taking on a former (but still top quality) great in Falcao in the Colombia forward line.

If England can use their pace on the break to get in behind the Colombian defence, and help keep the rapid Jose Izquierdo and Juan Cuadrado pinned back, England could really do something here.


Colombia News
The South Americans are reliant more or less on the fitness of star man James Rodriguez. While Colombia are a fine team, he is their creative talisman and their demeanour transforms with him being on the pitch.

Given his fitness issues, it’s likely he won’t be at 100% if he plays. That could harm Colombia, and may make their hopes of progressing to the Quarter Finals that bit harder to get to. With Yerry Mina and Davinson Sanchez so strong in defence, though, Colombia know they can keep it tight, play on the break and hope Falcao can pinch a winner.


Verdict
 England to go through – but not by a huge amount. Colombia are a good team, and any ideas of this being an ‘easy’ route might be questioned here. However, an early goal against for Colombia might test their resolve, and would be England best’ chance to avoid being another surprise knockout.

World Cup: England v Belgium

After a record win at the FIFA World Cup, whisper it quietly but it might just be coming home. The quality of football was impressive, though naturally it’s better to play it cool than to be too excited. Panama are among the three worst sides in Russia, but what a confidence a 6-1 win and a 2-1 last minute victory could give England.

Can Belgium burst the bubble?


England News
Not a huge deal of news coming out of the England camp after the Panama win other than buoyancy. 5-goal Harry Kane will surely start, though we could see Gareth Southgate give a few of his more expendable squad members a shift here.
For England, the aim is always the same: get a result. With such a high-flying Belgian midfield, we’ll likely see Jordan Henderson start again after a tremendous game against Panama. We’ll also likely see the impressive Jesse Lingard keep his place in the middle of the pitch, after the #7 was so impressive against Panama – including one of the goals of the tournament so far.




Belgium News
The Red Devils handed out a shellacking of their own, taking a Tunisia side who looked much better than Panama to the cleaners. Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard both scored two, though the former is a doubt for this one.

We expect Belgium to push for first place in the group, even with all the ideas that finishing second might actually be the better option for either of these sides.


Verdict
A hard fought but extremely enjoyable draw awaits, we think. This will be a good tie, though both teams will naturally hold back a little with their Knockout place secured. Expect this to be free flowing and exciting, with both sides creating plenty of scoring chances.

World Cup - It's never too early for a Pint

This guy looked halfway wrecked hours prior to the start of the England vs Panama, Russia 2018 game. I dread to think what's happened to him as a result of the 6-1 win :). Cheers!