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Croatia V England Semi Final Wednesday 11th July 19:00 KO

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1 minute ago, whoareyaaa said:

The closer its getting the more I think we could actually win the whole thing

I think Croatia will be harder than people think but I believe we'll get through providing its not a penalty coin toss.

 

France or Belgium in the final though will be well.....:nigel:

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Just now, Swan Lesta said:

I think Croatia will be harder than people think but I believe we'll get through providing its not a penalty coin toss.

 

France or Belgium in the final though will be well.....:nigel:

Won't be no easy games now that's for sure

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11 minutes ago, Swan Lesta said:

I think Croatia will be harder than people think but I believe we'll get through providing its not a penalty coin toss.

 

France or Belgium in the final though will be well.....:nigel:

 

It depends how done in Croatia are. 

 

I think if you played each other fresh at the start of the tournament then they'd have beaten you. 

 

But your momentum is trending in opposite directions and I think momentum and confidence are massive in this sort of tournament. 

 

I think either France or Belgium (my money is on France) will have two much quality for you in the final but I do think you'll get there. I think you're too solid defensively for Croatia to break down without a Griezmann, Mbappe, Lukaku or Mertens and you'll nab it with another set piece or 94th minutes standard Harry Kane borderline offside winner. 

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37 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

It depends how done in Croatia are. 

 

I think if you played each other fresh at the start of the tournament then they'd have beaten you. 

 

But your momentum is trending in opposite directions and I think momentum and confidence are massive in this sort of tournament. 

 

I think either France or Belgium (my money is on France) will have two much quality for you in the final but I do think you'll get there. I think you're too solid defensively for Croatia to break down without a Griezmann, Mbappe, Lukaku or Mertens and you'll nab it with another set piece or 94th minutes standard Harry Kane borderline offside winner. 

Just admit it Finners, you’ve been converted 

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Just now, foxfanazer said:

Just admit it Finners, you’ve been converted 

 

lol lol

 

I do wish Maguire and Vardy the best and I don't (and I do mean this) wish most of you unhappiness. 

 

But I'll be all Croatia tomorrow, I don't think I can hack your press, pundits and "banter lads" (see celebrations thread) or @ScouseFox if you ever get to a world cup final let alone win one.

 

lol

 

 

Narh but honestly, good luck to you. 

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12 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

lol lol

 

I do wish Maguire and Vardy the best and I don't (and I do mean this) wish most of you unhappiness. 

 

But I'll be all Croatia tomorrow, I don't think I can hack your press, pundits and "banter lads" (see celebrations thread) or @ScouseFox if you ever get to a world cup final let alone win one.

 

lol

 

 

Narh but honestly, good luck to you. 

Fair play mate. We've never had a better chance, and not many expected us to get this far. Regardless of what happens, they've managed to restore some pride to our national team and this is now our core group of players I would say for the next 3 major tournaments at least. If this tournament is anything to go by we've got as good a chance as any and not just for this, but for the next few. 

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We've not faced an attacking side like Croatia so far. Tunisa and Panama were hopeless. Belgium's hardly tried. Columbia sat back for the most part. Sweden rarely showed much attacking threat. Our defence is good but it won't be easy.

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1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

It depends how done in Croatia are. 

 

I think if you played each other fresh at the start of the tournament then they'd have beaten you. 

 

But your momentum is trending in opposite directions and I think momentum and confidence are massive in this sort of tournament. 

 

I think either France or Belgium (my money is on France) will have two much quality for you in the final but I do think you'll get there. I think you're too solid defensively for Croatia to break down without a Griezmann, Mbappe, Lukaku or Mertens and you'll nab it with another set piece or 94th minutes standard Harry Kane borderline offside winner. 

Croatia have an aging team that I hope their recent struggles through x 2 120 minutes and penalties can be exploited. They have a very strong midfield which ordinarily would be a massive problem for ours, as it's our weakest area and our main man in Henderson also has fitness issues and Alli has been struggling too. That said we have taken massive strides in character, belief and confidence as the knockout stages have progressed, the old cliché of going through the gears may be happening.

 

We stand a great chance of making the final, it's probably 55/45 in our favour based on the above which I never thought I'd ever see happen for England in a semi final of a World Cup. Get through this and then it's a one off game against a beast of a team in France or Belgium but it wouldn't be impossible. I can't get my head around it all, what an insane summer.

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26 minutes ago, Nalis said:

The gap between the 4 teams left isnt massive in my view.

 

Yep, I'm thinking we have about a 55% chance of beating Croatia and about a 40%-45% chance of beating France or Belgium, if we make the final (though other factors, like injuries, suspensions and performance in semis, could affect that).

 

I just hope we start more confidently and positively than we did against Sweden. It ended up being a good, confident performance. But for the first 15-20 mins, we were back to the old England, playing square balls and back passes, giving the ball away too easily etc. Croatia have more creativity and firepower than Sweden, so it would be dangerous to do that again. Though we showed great mental strength to recover from Colombia's late equaliser, I'd prefer not to see that mental strength tested again by losing an early goal to Croatia....

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37 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Croatia have an aging team that I hope their recent struggles through x 2 120 minutes and penalties can be exploited.

 

This. They lack strength in depth in their squad.

 

They'll play the same starting eleven, and fatigue will be a huge factor for them.

 

England will make it difficult for themselves, as they usually do... But I'm feeling a strange, unfamiliar confidence.

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11 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

This is obviously a widely-held view, and a large part of the reason why there always seems to be a lot of schadenfreude whenever England inevitably crash out of tournaments. Lots of countries, not just our neighbours, seem to love it when we lose.

 

It’s a bit odd, though. The implication seems to be that it’s only the English fans and pundits who get carried away with excitement when the national team does well. In other words, the media and supporters of other countries always retain a sober, realistic assessment of their team’s abilities even when they exceed expectations. I’m just not convinced this is true, though. The media of the other three countries in the semi-finals are all very confident – newspapers in Croatia, for example, are absolutely convinced they’re going to win it. Before the tournament, the German press was saying that their second or even third choice 11 would be good enough to win it. Similar sentiments can be found in the media of many countries.

 

If Ireland, Scotland or Wales were only a semi-final against Croatia away from playing in the World Cup Final, I’d expect them to get a little excited and carried away. It would be an entirely natural response, and nobody would begrudge them for it. Yet when English people are happy because we finally have a team to get excited about after years of dross, it’s perceived as arrogance and entitlement. It’s strange.

I live in Scotland and 90% of the time I take the anti England football team stuff in good jest but now and then it really fvcks me off for the reasons you have alluded to.  The press and the "Football's coming home, rule Britannia, England is the best country in the world" stuff pisses me off too but they are not representative of me or most sensible England fans.  I understand the "WE are gonna win.  US.  WE." stuff annoying the Scots when it appears on British TV as it does come across as a little patronising but I would bet that if Scotland got through their fans and media would get carried away, I would be right behind them.  The thing is if you can't dream a little bit in football then what is the point in football?  I love Scotland, I have been here for over 10 years and see it as my home and my partner is Scottish and she too really dislikes the England football team and obviously we have a laugh about it but there is certainly a level of genuine hatred that just pisses me off sometimes.  I can't think of many things uglier than glee in someone else's downfall.  X

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20 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

This is obviously a widely-held view, and a large part of the reason why there always seems to be a lot of schadenfreude whenever England inevitably crash out of tournaments. Lots of countries, not just our neighbours, seem to love it when we lose.

 

It’s a bit odd, though. The implication seems to be that it’s only the English fans and pundits who get carried away with excitement when the national team does well. In other words, the media and supporters of other countries always retain a sober, realistic assessment of their team’s abilities even when they exceed expectations. I’m just not convinced this is true, though. The media of the other three countries in the semi-finals are all very confident – newspapers in Croatia, for example, are absolutely convinced they’re going to win it. Before the tournament, the German press was saying that their second or even third choice 11 would be good enough to win it. Similar sentiments can be found in the media of many countries.

 

If Ireland, Scotland or Wales were only a semi-final against Croatia away from playing in the World Cup Final, I’d expect them to get a little excited and carried away. It would be an entirely natural response, and nobody would begrudge them for it. Yet when English people are happy because we finally have a team to get excited about after years of dross, it’s perceived as arrogance and entitlement. It’s strange.

All true, but that is the legacy and burden of history and having the language and cultural influence of the UK be the dominant one on the planet for the time being, sadly.

 

When your nation has been in a position of (relative) primacy for so long and its words are understood in so many places, people are going to write off confidence as arrogance often, rightly or wrongly.

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11 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

All true, but that is the legacy and burden of history and having the language and cultural influence of the UK be the dominant one on the planet for the time being, sadly.

 

When your nation has been in a position of (relative) primacy for so long and its words are understood in so many places, people are going to write off confidence as arrogance often, rightly or wrongly.

Yeah, I agree with and understand this.  I can talk with my girlfriend for about an hour about how most England fans are reasonable and how most never really think we are gonna win and then the national (which airs in Scotland obviously) BBC news comes on and some nobber is covered in St George's crosses singing "Football's coming home" and the presenter says "WE are gonna win it" and I shake my head and have to end up just pretty much agreeing with her, haha.  What frustrates me is when I personally get tarred with the same brush (often from Celtic/Rangers fans without any sense of irony) when I am a pretty reasonable fan.  As I said 90% of the time it doesn't bother me but now and then I can't help but bite but usually regret it and you are right, the status and history of England makes it very hard to ever "be the victim" and English nationalism is often very ugly.  X

Edited by RumbleFox
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33 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

Too long to quote

 

You're probably putting words in my mouth to an extent. I've not said it isn't reasonable nor have I said the English are the only country that do this (seriously, read Marca or Gazetta if you think the Sun goes ott about the national team.) 

 

I'm purely speaking from the point of view of a Welsh Wales football fan living in England, surrounded by the English. 

 

It'd be a bit like being a Tottenham fan living in Leicester in May 2016, I imagine. 

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1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

You're probably putting words in my mouth to an extent. I've not said it isn't reasonable nor have I said the English are the only country that do this (seriously, read Marca or Gazetta if you think the Sun goes ott about the national team.) 

 

I'm purely speaking from the point of view of a Welsh Wales football fan living in England, surrounded by the English. 

 

It'd be a bit like being a Tottenham fan living in Leicester in May 2016, I imagine. 

This is a fair enough point. My best friend is Scottish, as are a lot of my friends having lived there for a long time.

I used to watch England games with my mate in Scotland and it was obvious to see he wanted England to win, when with me at least.

However, since moving to Middlesbrough 20 years ago, he absolutely detests the England football team. Maybe it's the feeling of the 'walls closing in' on him when England win these days and he feels no escape. Given we're an island, the press and media can be unforgivable at times. I agree with @RumbleFox, you make a good case for most England fans being reasonable individuals and then some twat comes on BBC news and makes your argument look thin.

 

I've said it before on here and this is the last time I'll mention it for fear of people thinking I have an agenda, the level of rabid hatred at times from north of the border I find pretty unpleasant. There are lots of Scots, who don't have that attitude and can stick to banter but there's an alarming amount who don't in my experience. 

I also think, deep down in their soul, there won't be a single Scot or Welsh person who would want us to win by kick off if we're there on Sunday. Not through malice, for the most part, just because they know it will be referenced in everything until the sun blows up.

Frankly, I don't really blame them.

 

 

Edited by Max Wall
There's only one O in Middlesbrough
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25 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

You're probably putting words in my mouth to an extent. I've not said it isn't reasonable nor have I said the English are the only country that do this (seriously, read Marca or Gazetta if you think the Sun goes ott about the national team.) 

 

I'm purely speaking from the point of view of a Welsh Wales football fan living in England, surrounded by the English. 

 

It'd be a bit like being a Tottenham fan living in Leicester in May 2016, I imagine. 

Fair enough. I still find it slightly odd, though. If I was living in another country whose national team was performing well at a major tournament, I’m certain I would want them to do well. If I had friends and colleagues who were excited about how their team was doing at a World Cup or European Championship, I’d find it hard not to get caught up in it. Obviously I wouldn’t support them over England, but they’d probably become my second team.

 

I know it doesn’t always work the same way here. I have a Scottish friend, a nice guy, who has lived in England for 12 years. He’s married to an Englishwoman and has many close English friends and colleagues, and he clearly is very happy here. Yet when it comes to sport his hatred of England is so pathological it defies belief – I’ve never seen anything like it. He sometimes says to me, “you’d be the same if you lived in Scotland”, but that’s just the thing – I know for a fact that I wouldn’t. It's bizarre.

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