Croatia take on England at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at 21:00 local time on Wednesday 11th July in the semi-final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Croatians reached this stage of the 1998 World Cup where the eventually finished in third place while England have not progressed from the quarter-finals since they finished fourth at Italia 90. This is the biggest game of all the players' careers and it should be a fantastic, evenly matched game.
Croatia are, without a doubt, the strongest team that England have faced this summer in Russia, something we can say because Belgium fielded a weakened side against them in the final group game. Croatia made light work of their group before being unconvincing in the knockout stages, but they have the players who are used to playing in massive games.
England's young squad may lack international experience but they have plenty of experience of the Premier League and Champions League. If they can handle the massive pressure on them they are more than capable of winning this fixture, although a game heading to extra time does look more likely.
Croatia vs England Key Bites
Croatia finished third at the 1998 World Cup after losing to eventual champions France in the semi-final before defeating Netherlands in the third-place / fourth-place match.
The Croatians looked strong in their 2018 FIFA World Cup group matches but have come off the boil a little since the start of the knockout stages drawing against both Denmark and Russia, and needing extra time and penalties to dispatch of both. This means Croatia have played an hour's more football than England and have done so in sweltering heat. While professional footballers are extremely fit, this has to have taken its toll on the Croatian players.
Luka Modric will be familiar with many of the England side having played in the Premier League and against some of them in the Champions League. Modric has been one of the stars of this tournament and will be key to Croatia progressing to their first major final in their history as everything positive seems to flow through the Real Madrid superstar.
A slight worry for Croatia is their usually strong defense that kept back-to-back clean sheets in the group games has conceded five goals in three games and does look vulnerable, particularly at set pieces where England excel.
England go into this semi-final as the tournament's second-favorites to lift the winner's trophy although they face a difficult match against Croatia There were few people back in England who believed that their national team would reach this stage, but now they have they are confident that the Three Lions can go all the way and return home as world champions.
Coach Gareth Southgate has managed to unite his squad and they do look capable of beating both Croatia and whoever they would face in the final. In Harry Kane, England have the tournament's leading goalscorer and one who is odds on to win the Golden Boot. They are also deadly at set-piece and eight of their 11 goals scored at this tournament have stemmed from them.
This is perhaps the only negative we can think of about the current English attack; they do struggle to create chances from open play. Defensively, England have only managed one clean sheet at this tournament and that was mostly down the goalkeeping heroics of Jordan Pickford against Sweden in the quarter-finals.
Category : Betting Picks
Tag : Croatia , England , FIFA World Cup , Soccer
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