I've read on Finnish forums that Sterling couldn't score if his life depended on it. 18 goals in 33 matches in the Premier League.
You really have to learn about intersectionality.
World Cup: SF: Croatia vs. England, 7/11/2018
- Thread starter Live in the Now
- Start date
I've read on Finnish forums that Sterling couldn't score if his life depended on it. 18 goals in 33 matches in the Premier League.
You really have to learn about intersectionality.
It'll be 4-3-3 with either Brozovic or Badelj in the midfield with Modric and Rakitic.
Vrsaljko-Lovren-Vida-Strinic at the back.
Lovren has been rock steady in 2018, and Vida is probably the most underrated defender in Europe, and has been for a while.
Vrsaljko is a top-5 RB, especially defensively... While Strinic is there because he's the best LB we got - which isn't saying much.
Denmark targeted him, Russia targeted him, and I'm sure England will target him.
In short, if the game is decided in the midfield, Croatia has the upper hand there, Modric/Rakitic/Brozovic are better than Hendo/Lingard/Alli both offensively and defensively.
However, my worry is that England will simply skip the midfield, hoof long balls at Kane who has the ability to win the ball and hold up play.
If they can do that, they'll avoid the high pressure from Croatia and set up attacks with ease.
It's what Denmark did, and defensively it worked great. Difference is, Denmark was very conservative going forward, and their midfielders rarely moved aggressively, they made sure they were in position defensively when they were without the ball.
It was almost impossible to play against it and create anything, and you couldn't hope to win the ball off of them with high press because they just had Schmeichel send long balls at Poulsen and he'd win the ball over Strinic almost every time.
Another X factor is Ivan Perisic. He has been silently absolutely brutal. While this WC has been the coming out for Rebic, Perisic has gone completely silent. Not silent actually, he's a negative at the moment. His decision making is poor, his ball control is appalling and his distribution is hardly any better. Team success has masked it, but make no mistake, he's been heavily underperforming the whole tournament.
If he can up his game, Croatia have a much better shot at winning. If not, the goals for that front line are hard to come by as it is without one person playing subpar.
At this point, it's very hard to say.
Like I said, this will be the first time (apart from the Argentina game) where both sides will be facing an opponent who has offensive aspirations.
My biggest fear is England's forwards and the clinical finishing that Kane can provide - we don't have that.
My biggest hope is the midfield - if we can win there, we got a chance.
Paulie Gualtieri
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philip
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I just felt that in 2018 we might have moved on from 'I f***ing hate <insert group>'. It says more about the person saying it than it does for said group.
Every time I see Harry Maguire, I see Rupert Friend (Peter Quinn on Homeland). Could be brothers 
N o o d l e s
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Double-Shift Lasse
Just post better
My family is from England, so I cheer them without fail. I recently compared them to the Leafs, basically the epicenter of the sport but haven't won a title since I was in diapers. My buddy said "Don't you also cheer for the Leafs (inherited from my dad, who was a Leafs fan prior to Pittsburgh getting an NHL team)?" I told him to shut up.
bluumax
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Seems to be quite a few parallels, but both are just amplified versions of any sports market; you have the die-hards, the band-wagoners, the knowledgeable, the not-so-knowledgeable- paired with the media who cater to them.
With both England and the Leafs you have the perfect storm of a huge fan base, the sport being number one in that particular market and a predatory media that thrives off the team....
The absolute biggest similarity though; Everybody on the outside misjudges based on the vocal minority.
Minority? Having been to England quite a few times and knowing quite a bit of Englishmen and other people from the BI they are definitely not a minority.
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
The thing with England is that there's a natural perception of arrogance that comes with being a major footballing country, in fact the country where that sport was invented, and having dominance over the English-language media sphere in this sport.
In my experience this arrogance isn't really any worse than that of other major powers, but it's simply a lot more visible. 99% of what the German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, Argentinian etc. media talk about in regards to their football stays within these countries and the original intended audience.
The UK is in a special position because it has a number of national teams, but only one of them is any good and and that also gets almost all of the 'national' coverage coming out of the political and media capital London. As a result the English view on football is broadcast consistently to Scots, Welsh and Irish (both in N.Ireland and the Republic where the influence of British media is still extremely powerful) i.e. mostly hostile or at best disinterested audiences.
And it goes beyond that, of course, because everyone speaks English these days..so people from everywhere consume British media on this sport (whether it is actual UK-based media or UK media types working for employers abroad.). I suppose given the lack of American expertise in the area of football, the British serve as a stand-in here as a global, cultural behemoth. This naturally has created a lot of support for English football across the world, but also it grates on those who don't like it. Like those pretty harmless "It's coming home" memes. We wouldn't really be very familiar with this if these were Chileans or Portuguese doing it, but it's the English so it's *everywhere*. Funny to some, triggering to others.
In my experience this arrogance isn't really any worse than that of other major powers, but it's simply a lot more visible. 99% of what the German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian, Argentinian etc. media talk about in regards to their football stays within these countries and the original intended audience.
The UK is in a special position because it has a number of national teams, but only one of them is any good and and that also gets almost all of the 'national' coverage coming out of the political and media capital London. As a result the English view on football is broadcast consistently to Scots, Welsh and Irish (both in N.Ireland and the Republic where the influence of British media is still extremely powerful) i.e. mostly hostile or at best disinterested audiences.
And it goes beyond that, of course, because everyone speaks English these days..so people from everywhere consume British media on this sport (whether it is actual UK-based media or UK media types working for employers abroad.). I suppose given the lack of American expertise in the area of football, the British serve as a stand-in here as a global, cultural behemoth. This naturally has created a lot of support for English football across the world, but also it grates on those who don't like it. Like those pretty harmless "It's coming home" memes. We wouldn't really be very familiar with this if these were Chileans or Portuguese doing it, but it's the English so it's *everywhere*. Funny to some, triggering to others.
This is why England has a lot of supporters here in Finland too, especially among middle-aged men. They remember how they used to watch the English first division on Saturdays with their dad in the 1970s or the 1980s. You couldn't catch much football on Finnish TV back then so those were special moments.
The younger generation has started to support teams like Spain and Germany though cause people tend to like success.
You do make a good point, I think it's safe to say fans and media across the globe hype up their own to insane heights after all being a fan is by definition being partial to something to a fault.
Generally, after all this time, people don't seem to get the English sense of humour. Case in point "It's Coming Home" has always been a piss take. People see it as arrogance. I think that makes the joke even funnier.
England is a football nation that hasn't had much to cheer about internationally for a very long time. The majority never gave this team a chance to get by the quarter finals. It's all a bonus now, so we're enjoying ourselves.
You can't handle that? Get stuffed.
England is a football nation that hasn't had much to cheer about internationally for a very long time. The majority never gave this team a chance to get by the quarter finals. It's all a bonus now, so we're enjoying ourselves.
You can't handle that? Get stuffed.
bluumax
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That kind of proves my point... You've been here "quite a few times" and know some English people. The arrogance is astounding.
Paulie Gualtieri
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I've been to England on business I've lost count how many times, hell I lived in Ireland and England in various locations for over a year and spent most of the time talking to people about either work, football or rugby.
"quite a few times" is an idiom that denotes a big quantity of something. Arrogance? Give me a break. The English I've met - and there's been quite a few of them - are either extremely cynical about their national teams or unapologetically homerific, with some notable exceptions.
I am probably the same when it comes to Croatia, but give me a break about the vocal minority, I guess I was just located in parts of England that were filled with that vocal minority.
Suiteness
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VAR would have prevented England from their first and only WCThe way this world Cup has gone, why not?
bluumax
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koyvoo
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VAR would have prevented England from their first and only WC
VAR or not having the ability to switch venues to this advantage hours before knockout games.
Chloraflora
NOLU
We'll just say it would have prevented Geoff Hurst's second goal from standing... we may still have won!VAR would have prevented England from their first and only WC
Ceremony
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I see Arlene Foster, leader of the Cheddar Cheese and Pineapple on a Stick Democratic Unionist Party:Every time I see Harry Maguire, I see Rupert Friend (Peter Quinn on Homeland). Could be brothers
VAR would have prevented England from their first and only WC
VAR isn't used for situations like that.
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