England vs Croatia: Tactical Preview
- Charlie Haffenden
- Jul 11, 2018
- 8 min read
Could football really be coming home?
The World Cup so far has been one of major shock, heartbreak, jubilation, the lot, for the many countries that qualified for this instalment of the competition and for England supporters it has been the latter, making it one to cherish for sure. There have been three words on everyone’s lips at the moment and I don’t want to get too carried away, but it’s certainly beginning to look like a real possibility. Could football really be coming home?
Well, first of all, I’d like to talk about what has happened so far for the Three Lions this summer, and it hasn’t been completely perfect from them in terms of performances, but the results look, on paper at least, very good. The only loss of the tournament was against Belgium, but luckily enough this was just the last match of the group stage phase, in which they had already won two games against Panama and Tunisia, qualifying for the round of 16 with this game to spare. This was the same for Belgium, and thus, both managers made weakened selections to allow for the better players to rest and to let those that are less often picked to get the opportunity to impress on the big stage. This loss for England wasn’t significant, either, it was by one goal to nil, and this goal, by the way, was one that the British side couldn’t really help conceding. It was an inspirational goal that came from none other than Adnan Januzaj, who himself had been rejected in the English league by Manchester United and after was declined to play for the national team. Here, he got his vengeance with a wonderful strike which curled right into the top corner.
The Three Lions fans were a little disenchanted by this result, but the players kept their cool in the round of sixteen as they beat South American side Colombia on penalties after drawing 1-1 in regular time. It was an extremely tense fixture for the players and fans alike as all knew that the winner would face one of the easiest schedules in recent international history; the draw was really in the favour of the victor. Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 57th minute with a penalty, strengthening his place at the top of the scoring charts with six goals in just three appearances. All looked certain that England would win the game after this, but, against the odds, Colombia snatched a goal in the dying moments of the game thanks to Barcelona centre-back Yerry Mina securing his third goal of the competition. Many fans, including myself, were becoming incredibly frustrated at this time as we all knew deep down that England’s record in extra time and penalties wasn’t very good at all. In just one moment, the minds of many went from thinking one team would win to another, but luckily for us as a nation, we were able to keep our composure and hold onto the draw through the extra thirty minutes, forcing the result to be decided by penalty shootout. The Three Lions’ third penalty came through midfielder Jordan Henderson, who struck the ball straight into the keeper’s path, allowing for Colombia to gain a lead. Moments later, the opposition had also missed, and then another, providing the red team with a glimmer of hope. Jamie Vardy was set to take the spot-kick, but due to a groin injury, he had to decline the opportunity. As a result, Eric Dier, with nerves of steel, decided to take over. Twelve yards out, Dier placed the ball on the ground. The midfielder took a deep breath and before we could take one ourselves, the ball had nestled into the back of the net, and England had won their first ever penalty shootout at a FIFA World Cup! It was a remarkable moment and one that we will treasure forever as a nation because we all were forced to our feet in a sense of overwhelming joy. Beers flew into the air, phones were dropped, television remotes lost down the back of the sofa. England were through and due to results elsewhere, they were set to face Sweden in the quarter final.
Come Saturday afternoon, the Sweden match had arrived, with the majority of fans feeling very confident about how it would end up going. It wasn’t the best performance as a team but there were some individual displays which really impressed me. Kieran Trippier was really good, making some key runs on the overlap and being strong at the back. Dele Alli finally looked fully fit and scored a decent header at the far post to secure the fixture at 2-0, and Harry Kane was nothing short of world class with his amazing hold up play up the field. The player who stood out in my opinion though, was Jordan Pickford in goal. The keeper pulled off some remarkable saves and really showed his gleaming confidence throughout the match, playing some terrific cross-field balls which often found our attackers. We’ve got ourselves a special goalkeeper in Pickford, and he can only get better with so many years left for him to create himself a wonderful career. The game against the Swedes ended comfortably at 2-0, though there were a few mistakes, and England officially made it through to a World Cup semi-final for the first time in 28 years.
England will face Croatia, at seven in the evening, and I feel confident due to how much we’ve impressed so far but I’m also a little worried that this could mark the end of our dream. I don’t want to feel like this as a passionate Three Lions fan but as a keen analytically minded figure, I can’t help but think about it from a technical perspective…
Throughout the tournament so far, we’ve seen that England tend to leave quite a lot of space in the middle by sitting back when teams go on the counter attack, which, don’t get me wrong, is good against the lower-class oppositions, but against Croatia? I don’t think it would be the best idea to play with this method. The Blazers probably have one of the most talented midfields there is to see from a national team, with the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic in the centre, and attacking minded wingers such as Ivan Perisic and Marko Pjaca on the flanks. If Southgate starts the pairing of Alli and Lingard, we don’t really have anyone apart from Henderson in our own midfield that can counteract this attacking quality with defensive attributes. In my view, we should take one of either Alli or Lingard out and place Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the centre. For me, he has been one of the real surprises in the England team, and that’s not just me judging from what I’ve seen in this competition. In the lead up, in friendlies against the likes of Costa Rica and Nigeria, Cheek played over 100 minutes of football and showed the quality he holds regarding keeping possession for the team and also creating a number of chances for teammates, even gaining his first international assist. It wasn’t just the attacking threat he displayed, either, he was also remarkably competent at winning the ball in deeper positions, and then holding up the play effectively. In my opinion Loftus-Cheek would be a great addition for this match, counteracting a little with the ridiculous Croatian midfield. I really hope that Gareth Southgate considers him for his selection.
Another area of our squad that we need to consider is the attack. Harry Kane has scored six goals in just four appearances so far, and he’s our captain so there’s not even a discussion in regard to him. One position that will take a lot of consideration for Southgate though is the man just behind Kane, and for me it is between Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford. Sterling has been the gaffer’s favoured choice in recent games, starting him ahead of Rashford on a number of occasions, but I personally think Rashford should be given a chance. Sterling made some impressive runs against Sweden last time out and also created some great chances, but his finishing in the final third was nothing short of abysmal. He had a number of chances to wrap up the game when it was just 1-0, with two back-to-back opportunities that would have arguably done so in just the start of the second half. There were two wonderful lofted balls over the top to him, one from Henderson, the other from Young, and these chances were literally put on a plate for Sterling. Unfortunately, he managed to mess up both, with the first being worse than the second. The second, to be fair to him, included some stunning ball control, but he simply took way too long to get it out of his feet at ending up passing the ball straight into the goalkeeper’s arms. Rashford would have arguably buried one if not both of these chances. He proved his clinical nature for Manchester United, so I can’t see why he couldn’t have scored those chances. It is also likely that every chance will be extremely important against Croatia so I feel as if he should start for sure.
Unlike the midfield and attack, I feel as if the defensive positions are somewhat secure now after seeing their fantastic collaboration so far. The trio of John Stones, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker have done a surprising outstanding job for us at the back, and the controversial choice of Jordan Pickford in goal has ended up being the best choice Southgate could’ve made. Croatia arguably don’t have a very good striker either so I think England fans can be reasonably confident when thinking about our defence up against them.
Another thing to consider is the fact that Croatia’s goalkeeper, Subasic, had a clear pull of the hamstring against Russia in the quarter-final and was seemingly uncomfortable throughout extra time in that fixture. It is likely that he may have to sit out of this one, and if he does start, he won’t be 100% fit. This position should be exploited by England, and I’m not saying players such as Kane and Rashford should shoot on sight, but I believe that they should be testing the keeper more than they usually would – another reason I wouldn’t select Sterling.
The right back is another spot we could manipulate as Domagoj Vida isn’t the strongest of full backs and doesn’t really possess much pace. I could definitely see him being tested by the likes of Trippier and Young on the overlap. If we can exploit these vulnerable positions we could have a good chance of scoring a few goals against the Croatians.
In conclusion, I feel as if England can beat Croatia in the semi-final. It won’t be easy to get past the quality they have in midfield, and the likes of Henderson and Alli will have to focus on making sure no shots can be pulled off from range, but if they can deal with these issues they are likely to win on Wednesday evening.
What do you think? Leave me a direct message on Instagram at either @bha_today or @footypundit with your feedback. Also, it would be appreciated if you could press the ‘heart’ icon in the bottom right and share this preview with your family and friends to display your support.
Kommentare