Kovacic, who plays wells for RM, couldn't even play. They are loaded in MF. You just need 23 dudes and they are lean and very athletic for the sport. The youth system in the US is way way behind those in Europe and South America.
The first real test of the tournament and England crashed lol. Had a cakewalk till now in the group and bracket.
This one boosted me to the top of my ESPN match predictor group. Had every category right except that I had it 2-1 in regulation rather than extra time. Should be a fun final, the midfield battle will for sure be fun to watch.
Croatia was the better team and deserved to win. My only concern for them was the fatigue factor having played two overtimes prior to this one. They seemed to overcome that. But now it is three overtimes and France has an extra day of rest. So I do think they are at a disadvantage here. And unlike England, France is a well rounded team. Having said that, never underestimate DeSchamps, the moron. England does not have a midfield and you need a midfield to control the tempo and create from the center in the World Cup. The closest thing to a creative midfield on the English side is Jack Wilshere and he is a washed up has-been.
Happy that we won, but expected it tbh. After winning our group, the path to the final really opened up and this was a golden opportunity. France is the first match where we're not favorites this whole tournament (Argentina has been woeful lately and we've had England's number for a while). Then again, it's the final, one game, we're playing without pressure, anything can happen. The guys have unbelievable willpower and stamina, which has been one of our strengths for years, but we never managed to capitalize on it. After the game, our coach said that he wanted to make some early substitutions, but every player on the pitch pleaded to stay on and didn't want to come out. We are also a nation that feeds on fan energy, and the support they got from the stands after the equalizer was exceptional, the guys were flying from then on. Quality post. Let me counter it with https://news.sky.com/story/fa-condemns-england-fans-over-nazi-salutes-video-in-volgograd-11411556 Images show what appear to be supporters singing anti-Semitic songs and taunting Tottenham over their Jewish heritage. Spoiler Btw, you have absolutely ZERO knowledge on the state of affairs in Croatia. The fan fascist banners are the ones containing the phrase "Za dom spremni". A part of Croatian population thinks that it's a historic phrase connected with our independence movement (it's not, they're dumb), in no way are they Nazi sympathisers. The last time we were independent before 1991 was in 1102 AD. During WW2, a group of nationalist idiots decided to join forces with Mussolini to create the so-called Independent State of Croatia, which was in actuality a puppet state for the Axis forces, and they used that phrase as a salute (it was first coined as a patriotic salute in a theater play in the 19th century) equivalent to the more infamous German one. With the end of the war in 1945, they all fled from Croatia to Argentina or Australia, like all true cowards (most of Croatian immigrants in those countries, not all, are descendants of fascists, Andrew Bogut being one of them). So when we declared our independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and a bloody war ensued (with Serbs committing multiple accounts of genocide in both Croatia and Bosnia), a lot of the special forces units used the "Za dom spremni" phrase to symbolise that they were fighting for our independence, i.e. for the Independent State of Croatia, while being completely oblivious to the fact it was a fascist atrocity of a state. Even 25 years after the war for our independence, the phrase is still controversial because it's original meaning in the 19th century was a patriotic one, then it was tainted in WW2, and then during our war for independence it was again used in a patriotic meaning. So now you have a bunch of people in Croatia that are putting that phrase on our banners, flags, thinking it's patriotic, and we're getting fines left and right. Our government is completely inept in taking a stance whether to ban it or not (IMO, I'd ban it in a heartbeat), and thus this situation that hurts our international reputation is created. Our youth system is crap, our infrastructure is terrible, the national football federation is full of mobsters and corrupt officals, and a total of 4 football clubs in Croatia were profitable last year (profits of 2.5 million euros, 250 thousand euros, 50 thousand euros and 40 thousand euros, respectively). Every other club is close to bankruptcy, their players all have second jobs, and the stadiums are dangerous to play on or watch from the stands (scratch that, there are no stands, just a bunch of stone steps with no seats). Just 10 years ago, a player from my local club died on the pitch after hitting his head on a concrete wall positioned a mere few metres from the sidelines, that's how safe it is to play football in Croatia. Our goalkeeper, Subašić, was one his best friends and wears his image under his jersey during every match. Actually, Subašić was the one who punted the ball up the pitch that the guy chased, then slid and hit his head. Here's the video. So the American media should get rid of all the excuses and just be realistic and say hey, our soccer is awful and we should be a lot better with all the resources we have at our disposal. Because it's utterly magnificent what we and other ex-Yugoslavian countries are able to produce in every sport year in and year out (night in and night out hehehheheh), considering our infrastructure and population in comparison to USA is laughable. Maybe it's in our genes. After all, your best player is Pulišić, and he's Croatian.
No politics! I was just countering mi amigo's suggestion that English fans were the "most unbearable". All countries have some quality ******* soccer fans. Much love. Beat France! @Croatian Sensat @Torn n Frayed
Ehhhh better in the 2nd half and extra time. England had the better of the first half and Kane and Sterling gave Lovren (and Vida to an extent) a tough time in the first half. Lovren should have had a red card by the end of the first half and it's absurd he escaped that match without a card while Walker got booked for rubbish after a play. The ref was crap and decided to be laissez-faire-ish. Vida was excellent for Croatia though. He's been lovely all tournament imo. I would agree but I think it's too far gone for Deschamps to eff it up. I might get surprised but I doubt it. This French squad would be fine with almost anyone on the touchline. They know how to park the bus and know how to squeeze out a result. Deschamps can't possibly mess it up...I hope he doesn't. Yep. I think most England fans knew this when the squad was announced. The squad weren't the most talented but the midfield was just one of the least talented in recent memory for England. England lost the match between the 60th and 80th minute when Croatia took over the midfield area. Southgate(bless his heart for the great job overall) erred by not bringing on Dier to provide more cover early on ....or imo bring on Ruben Loftus-Cheek to provide some sort of verve in midfield considering Alli provided nothing. Sigh. I think most England fans knew deep down it wasn't really going to be coming home but figured hey we can at least get to the Final. Not sure when we'll have this easy a road to a WC final.
Population theory doesn't mean much when it comes to World Soccer. Don't fall for that old thing about how does country x with so few people go this far. Coaching, player development play a big part. We could say the same thing about international Basketball and those countries from the former Yugoslavia and how good they are and how far they get in the Olympics and FIBA WC. Crazy to think of the talent on display if Yugoslavia was still a country. Both Basketball and Soccer talent. Would be ridiculous talent on the court and on the pitch. I'd love to see a World XI (or 12 for Basketball) for a combined squad. Reminded me of this
Croatia did deserve, but now the cup is much less interesting. Pulling for France at this point and I don't even want to do it.
All i know is that i don't wanna see my french co-workers smug faces if they'll win the wc. Especially after what happened in the semi final. But unfortunately i just can't see France not winning it, perhaps Croatia can do something but when you also factor in the fact that they played 3 overtimes it's getting harder and harder to belive in it.
Subasic, Perisic, Modric, Vida and Rebic FTW! Go Pulisic (they pronounce him Pulisik! Shame.) Thank you, Croat Sensation for clearing up the Fascist agenda.
Yeah, population theory in football is worthless. If it had anything to do with success, China (qualified 1 time in 2002) and India (never played in one...they technically qualified in 1950 due to all of their opponents withdrawing but they didn't attend) would be world players. They are not and are generally considered terrible teams. 3rd in population is the the US. As a matter of fact, out of the top 10 countries by population, only Brazil (5th), Nigeria (7th), Russia (9th) and Japan (10th) qualified. Out of the ones that didn't, only the US is ranked in the top 75 (25th).