CROATIA EXPOSES ENGLISH INEXPERIENCE
Relentless second-half onslaught proves decisive in semifinal, writes Kurt Larson
SAINT PETERSBURG What ifs were on coach Gareth Southgate’s mind long before Wednesday night’s 2-1 extra time loss to Croatia in the World Cup semifinal.
What if things don’t “fall as kindly” at future World Cups, he pondered out loud last week.
They were the thoughts of a manager aware of England’s shortcomings. He understood The Three Lions had benefited from good fortune during their successful stay in Russia.
Southgate wasn’t wrong, of course. And credit to him for saying it.
He bluntly stated this week England shouldn’t be considered a top team until they win something. But you’d never hear France’s Didier Deschamps or Brazil’s Tite or Germany’s Joachim Loew speak in those terms.
Perhaps we overlooked Southgate’s premonition of impending doom heading into the semifinal. Perhaps most of us thought it (World Cup trophy) really might be “coming home.”
Perhaps many of us wanted it to be the case.
Talk heading into their match against Croatia in Moscow centred around the fact England hadn’t truly been tested at this World Cup.
An early tune-up against Tunisia was followed by a pumping of Panama.
England’s final group stage match against Belgium became farcical when both managers rested their entire lineups.
The Three Lions were able to knock off a James-less Colombia squad before dispatching a listless Swedish side that didn’t test England’s defence in a 2-0 victory.
Even the match against Croatia deemed the “easy” semifinal given World Cup finalist France had battled through a bracket including Brazil, Argentina, Portugal and Uruguay.
England didn’t meet a single former World Cup champion in Russia, something Southgate pointed to as unique and opportunistic.
“Maybe we won’t get this opportunity again,” he suggested to ITV News.
An absurdly early free kick goal from Kieran Trippier inside Luzhniki Stadium only perpetuated Southgate’s claims of good fortune. England was, at one point, a little more than a halfhour from booking its place in a World Cup final for the first time in five decades.
A cheeky British tabloid has even inset England’s current squad alongside members from the 1966 World Cup champion contingent.
But clever headlines and doctored photos were erased by the realization England are what Southgate thought they were and repeatedly said they were: Inexperienced.
The Three Lions didn’t just lose the possession battle in the second half of Wednesday’s game. They didn’t have the nerve or wherewithal to hold onto the ball and methodically break down Croatia’s press.
Constant turnovers off hopeful balls launched forward resulted in wave after wave of Croatian attacks that inevitably saw Ivan Perisic get on the receiving end of a cross.
Mario Mandzukic’s extra-time winner resulted from a simple flick in behind England’s tired defence. It was the type of goal teams tend to concede when they can’t get a hold of the game.
In the end, England was exposed for lacking what Croatia had on offer, simply two of the best box-to-box midfielders in the tournament in Luca Modric and Ivan Rakitic.
The Three Lions also lacked a true impact player off the bench, someone more dynamic and experienced and dangerous than Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy.
They needed more players with the ability to slow things down, hold onto the ball and take the sting out of game that was beginning to turn in Croatia’s favour long before Perisic levelled the proceedings.
Leave it to a Russian TV commentator to say what we were all thinking at full-time. “It’s not coming home,” he said referencing England’s chances.
Southgate figures to roll out his bench players again in a meaningless third-place match on Saturday against Belgium here in Saint Petersburg.
Croatia’s prize, of course, is a Sunday meeting against France in search of its first World Cup title. It’s a group of Croatian players who came into Russia talking about wanting to match what their fellow countrymen had accomplished 20 years ago, that is, advance to the semifinal round before losing to eventual champion France. That was in 1988.
Now they’ve done one better, making their country’s first World Cup final, with France once again the opponent.
Two decades later, Les Bleus’ World Cup-winning captain, Didier Deschamps will coach against a Croatia side whose federation president is Davor Suker, the top scorer at France ’98.
Croatia will be significant underdogs against a squad with far more pedigree as it looks to become just the ninth team to win a World Cup.
Meanwhile, a single star above England’s crest will serve as a reminder The Three Lions maybe weren’t as close as they thought they were.