Has tired Croatia got the depth to outlast England?
Croatia enters match fatigued and suffering from injuries while England leaning on up-and-comers and unsung heroes
It’s England against Croatia on Wednesday in the World Cup’s second semifinal, to decide who will face Tuesday’s winner between Belgium and France. England is the favourite after what proved to be a fairly comfortable 2-0 win over Sweden.
The concern with Croatia is fatigue and injury after a long, exhausting, and bruising game against Russia. It’s the second straight match for Croatia that has gone 120 minutes plus penalties, and with only a few days to recover, it’s got to be taking its toll on a squad not blessed with a lot of depth. After doing brilliantly in the group stage, Croatia has struggled to live up to raised expectations. It will be interesting to see how the players do now that they are no longer the favourite.
A key player for England in the win over Sweden was goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. The youngster wasn’t called upon often, but when he was Pickford came up big, denying Sweden with some vital saves. There were a lot of eyebrows raised when England boss Gareth Southgate left veteran keeper Joe Hart at home, but Southgate’s faith in his young players has paid off.
Compared to England sides of the past, this is not a flashy squad. Harry Kane is the only obvious marquee player, and you would have to be a close follower of the Premier League to know a lot of the others on the team. Even at their Premier League clubs, most are not stars. It’s really a team of up-and-comers and unsung heroes, which England fans are now singing about. Those fans are also desperately trying to get tickets and book flights to Russia to be there if history is made.
While England fans are united behind by their team, the same cannot be said in Croatia. A corruption scandal saw the most powerful man in Croatian soccer, Zdravko Mamic, sent to jail. Several members of the national team came out in support of Mamic, and some have landed in legal hot water. Luka Modric has been charged with perjury, while Dejan Lovren is under investigation for giving false testimony. The scandal has divided the fans, and left many with mixed feelings about the team’s success.
A key matchup on Wednesday will be Lovren, Croatia’s top defender, against Kane. England fans are giddy at the prospect, hoping for a repeat of last October’s Premier League contest involving the two, when Liverpool visited Tottenham. Lovren had a nightmare, with lapses that Kane punished by scoring once and setting up another, in a 4-1 Spurs win. Lovren was taken off uninjured after just thirty minutes.
At the other end, England central defender Harry Maguire, who headed in a superb winner against Sweden, will be battling big Mario Mandzukic. Maguire has been a tower of strength in the air for England, so that could be quite the tussle, in what should be quite the game.