KEANE ACCUSES ENGLAND OF GETTING CARRIED AWAY
They were planning ‘parades' before the game against Croatia
ROY Keane believes England made the mistake of thinking they were already in the World Cup final, and says they were ‘planning parades’ before considering whether or not they would beat Croatia.
The stinging accusation is what viewers have come to expect from the unforgiving ITV pundit, but hyped up from England’s above-expectation performance in Russia, a passionate Ian Wright hit back in spectacular fashion.
Having listened to Keane lambast England for getting ahead of themselves, Wright insisted the country had every reason to go into World Cup overdrive after Gareth Southgate’s men went further than anyone expected.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: “You have to focus just on one game but everyone’s talking about the final... that football’s coming home.”
Wright responded: “We weren’t talking about the final there, we were just having a laugh with you. The fact is we were just happy and you weren’t happy for us being happy.”
Keane hit back: “I don’t mind you being happy but you’re getting carried away, you were planning the final and where the parades were.”
Wright: “No we weren’t.”
Keane: “Yes you were. That’s what I’ve been on about. You need a reality check.”
What threatened to spark into a heated argument eventually fizzled out as presenter Mark Pougatch intervened and both pundits were left with smiles on their faces after they agreed to disagree on the subject.
Southgate and his Three Lions went to Russia with few expecting them to win a single knockout match, let alone make it to the semi-final. But they came so close to the final before Ivan Perisic cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s early free-kick in the 68th minute. Mario Mandzukic scored the winning goal in extra time.
Southgate, speaking after the match, said: “By the end several players were out on their feet and we were down to 10. The reaction from the fans at the end shows you everything they’ve given.
“We’ve came an incredibly long way in a short space of time. The whole thing is beyond where we thought we might go. Tonight (Thursday) we weren’t quite there. But the team will be stronger for it.
“As we reflect, there will be positives but it’s difficult tonight. We were so close to what was unimaginable at the start.
“We’ve left everything out there. We’ll look at the goals and chances but I don’t think we could have given more over these six or seven weeks.”