English public supportive despite loss
In the end it turned out to be all a bit too much for England. Even Gareth Southgate’s waistcoat looked a bit tired as the manager tried to console his players after the heartbreaking final whistle at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
However there should not be too many tears shed as Southgate’s team performed far better in this tournament than any of their fans could have imagined. It is encouraging that unlike previous England defeats there has been a remarkably mature reaction to the loss by the English public and even the media which refrained from their normal hatchet job in such circumstances.
It was reflected i n the headlines. The Daily Mirror proclaimed “Heroes… we are really proud of you” while the Independent carried a full page photo of Southgate with the headline “Thank You”. The Daily Mirror called the team “National Treasures” while the Times offered “Coming home with their heads held high”. On a slightly different note, both the Sun and the Metro went for “A kick in the Balkans”.
Despite this support, there definitely was frustration at not making the most of a fortuitous draw. It was particularly galling for them to lose to Croatia, a decent team but hardly the most formidable opponent. But on the day, Zlatco Dalic’s team proved too good for the Three Lions.
After a bright start on Wednesday night, highlighted by Kieren Tripper’s excellent free-kick, England lost their way. Even Harry Kane failed to put away a chance that he would have normally buried.
England went in 1-0 up at half-time but it should have been more and they were to pay the price. Croatia came out strongly after the break and once they got the equaliser they looked odds-on favourites. All it took was a couple of lapses in concentration by the England defence and their dreams of the final had gone. They were desperately lacking a creative midfielder.
Extra time was a real struggle for England and although they tried to keep on running, some of the legs had gone if not the willpower. They were almost running on empty.
The determined Croatia side should be congratulated on being the lowest ranked team (20th), to reach a World Cup final. The Croatian press did not pull any punches. Vecernji was particularly vocal with “Football is not coming home” and pictures of disappointed England fans captioned “Look how the English cry after losing to Croatia”.
Southgate had pointed out earlier that England were “far from perfect” and it showed. But it was encouraging to see that, despite the disappointment, the England fans gave Southgate a rousing reception when he walked onto the pitch at the end of the game. They even launched into a rousing rendition of “Southgate you’re the one” to show their appreciation.
The England manager deserved all the plaudits and set a fine example for his squad. He commented later that he was “hugely proud” of the team, adding, “I couldn’t have asked them to have given any more for me and the country.”
His players recognised the importance of their relationship with the fans. Defender Harry Maguire, who along with Trippier proved a big success for England in the tournament, tweeted “thanks to the fans for your incredible support.”
The reaction from the English public was encouragingly upbeat with the feeling that the team had done their best. Former England captain Gary Lineker commented: “Utterly choked, but the young side gave everything.”
Actor Stephen Fry t weeted: “Sad. Proud. Annoyed. Relieved. Disappointed. Unsurpr ised. Impressed. Vexed. Gutted. Elated. Deflated.” All England fans are familiar with that feeling.
England can look back on the tournament with some satisfaction. In most of their games they were decent to watch, something not often said about previous England World Cup squads. Their more positive style of football renewed interest back home and it was good to see that they maintained a good rapport with the media and the fans, something difficult to achieve with so much at stake.
The Independent even got a little emotional after the defeat running a short editorial in praise of the England team: “At a time when our political leaders show such a pitiful sense of direction and purpose — selfish, out of touch, egotistical and hopelessly split, the England football team offered an alternative, and refreshing, vision.”
Tonight they have to regroup in St Petersburg for the match nobody wants to play, the battle for third place. Does anybody remember who came third in a World Cup?
Both Belgium and England played their ‘B’ teams when they met in the group stage and that might well happen again, although one suspects Kane will be leading the line, keen to add to his goal tally. It’s probably the first time two teams have played each other twice in the same World Cup in matches when the outcome of both games didn’t really mean very much.
The much-anticipated France v Belgium match was not an epic semi-final and was generally a cagey affair as the 1-0 scoreline suggests. Despite Belgium having 64% possession, it was Didier Deschamps’ side that always looked the more potent with the flair of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann up front and a midfield controlled by Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.
The French defence was particularly impressive, keeping a lid on Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.
Facing a line-up like that it is hard to see how Croatia will be able to handle the French in the final. But they won’t be pushovers as England discovered. As we all know, football’s a funny old game.