JAMIE REDKNAPP’S

SEMI-FINAL RATINGS

JORDAN PICKFORD

AN excellent performance to keep England in the game for so long. He has been the best goalkeeper at this World Cup. His distribution was superb, made some very good saves — including from Mario Mandzukic in extra time — and kept calm when Croatia started to press high. There was little he could have done with the equaliser by Ivan Perisic — England should have defended better. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 8.2

KYLE WALKER

AT times, he has looked the defender of the tournament. At others, he has seemed a real liability. Some parts of his game are exceptional. His blistering pace makes him so difficult to beat. There were moments in this match when he defended like a warrior but ultimately he should have attacked the ball from which Croatia equalised. Every now and again he takes a liberty and is punished. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.3

JOHN STONES

WE know how good he is on the ball but there have been questions over how tough he is. Up against Mandzukic, he put in a display full of aggression. Time and again he put his body on the line and pulled off some important blocks when England were under pressure. It was such a shame that at the vital moment he switched off to let in Mandzukic. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.7

HARRY MAGUIRE

EXCEPTIONAL against Sweden, Maguire found he had to take his game to a higher level when facing the dangerous Mandzukic. He looked edgy and at times was made to suffer. That did not deter him from trying to bring the ball out from the back and while this was not his best performance, he defended well. His stock has risen so high as a result of this World Cup. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.7

JORDAN HENDERSON

THAT midfield battle was tough for Jordan. Before the semi-final I highlighted this as an area where the game could be won or lost and England did superbly in the first half to keep Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric quiet. Modric then started to get a grip on the game in the second half and Henderson struggled. He was brought off for Eric Dier in extra time. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 8.0

KIERAN TRIPPIER

ANOTHER good performance from the right back — and it was such a shame to see his tournament ended by injury in extra time. He has been a revelation and scored what was only England’s third direct free-kick at a World Cup. Trippier was always a threat bombing forward — putting in some excellent crosses — and defended strongly, too. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.9

JESSE LINGARD

RAN himself into the ground as he has done in all his matches at this World Cup but was not as involved as I would have liked. He looked a little bit nervous — though I can understand that, given how big a game this was. It meant that he tended to rush his chances and snatched at some of his efforts. Did not create the chances to get England back in the game. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.5

DELE ALLI

WHEN he was involved, he was excellent. The moments when he got on the ball his confidence seemed sky high. The problem was that he was far too passive in such an important match. He should have played a much bigger role in midfield. We were not creative enough, having just two efforts on target, and in the second half England were overrun by Modric and Rakitic. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 6.9

ASHLEY YOUNG

HE struggled to handle the pace of Ante Rebic — the joint-fastest player at the tournament going into this game — and that unnerved him early in the game. Young has been very solid throughout this World Cup but this was possibly a game too far. He seemed to run out of steam when up against pure speed and aggression and was replaced by Danny Rose for extra time. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.0

HARRY KANE

HARRY will be kicking himself for the chance he missed in the first half, even though the linesman flagged for offside. He had a great battle with Dejan Lovren and led the line well. He did not stop running but was not able to conjure a goal. Harry has still had an excellent World Cup. He has been an exemplary captain and has a great chance of coming home with the Golden Boot. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.9

RAHEEM STERLING

HE was excellent in the first half — a constant thorn in the side of the Croatia centre backs. They could not handle his running in behind and I thought he would finally nick the goal he has deserved. Unfortunately for Raheem the longer the wait for that goal went on, the nervier he became. He was far less effective in the second half and was taken off for Marcus Rashford. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.5

GARETH SOUTHGATE

IF Gareth had his time again, he probably would not have taken off Henderson. If the midfielder was not injured, it was a change he did not need to make. He possibly should have brought on more legs in midfield earlier when Croatia started to run the game. But I cannot be too critical. This is a man who has inspired the next generation and given us a wonderful World Cup to rememeber. MY TOURNAMENT AVERAGE: 7.7