By Uzoma Akobundu with agency report
Croatia on Wednesday made history by qualifying for the first time for the world cup. The country beat England to 2-1 to reach the finals where it will clash with France on Sunday.
Croatia’s match with England was tension soaked as many thought the latter was going to carry the day with ease. how wrong they were.
England actually created fear in the minds of the Croatians when they scored their first goal barely three minutes into the first half. But things were later to change in the second half of the encounter.
In the beginning, it was quintessential England. In the end, it was quintessential Mario Mandzukic; it is the end of England’s magical World Cup run; and it is the continuation of Croatia’s.
Croatia, a country of just over 4 million people, advanced to its first-ever World Cup final with a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over the English on Wednesday.
Mandzukic’s predatory 109th-minute goal booked a date with France in Sunday’s final:
Croatia, after all, had played 330 minutes of soccer over the past 11 days when the teams trudged off the field in Moscow, preparing for extra time. It had looked gassed four days earlier after 120 minutes against Russia. On Wednesday, it became the second team in World Cup history to play three consecutive games of more than 90 minutes.
But somehow, Croatian players kept going. Kept battling. Kept pushing themselves to and past their limits. Luka Modric was relentless. Ivan Perisic was ruthless. Mandzukic was brave and heroic.
And as a result, Croatia became the first team in World Cup history to win three consecutive games of more than 90 minutes. It also became the second-smallest nation to ever make the World Cup final. And based on its second-half performance, it deserved every bit of the most famous win in its nation’s brief history.
England strikes again from dead ball
England entered the game having scored seven of its 11 World Cup goals directly or indirectly from free kicks and corners. Less than five minutes into Wednesday’s game, Kieran Trippier made it eight of 12.
England has been tremendous on set pieces because it has put a tremendous amount of time and energy into set pieces. And Trippier’s goal was no exception. The location England players in and around the wall was all part of the plan. They helped screen Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. They were the reason Subasic didn’t see the ball until it was up and over the wall – the reason his incomplete dive got nowhere close to Trippier’s shot.
But the goal wasn’t just about the set piece itself. It was about the midfield connection that won the free kick.
The Dele Alli-Jesse Lingard connection
Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard, two of England’s more exciting players, have had up-and-down tournaments. But they played pivotal roles on Wednesday, each in his own way.
Their most influential moments enabled the goal. Lingard won a second ball in the attacking half, and with his first touch spun around Marcelo Brozovic. Alli, reading the play, crept forward into the space that Luka Modric’s advanced midfield role opened up. Modric was late tracking back, and fouled Alli from behind:
Later in the half, Alli set up Lingard at the top of the box, but the Manchester United midfielder got his technique wrong:
Raheem Sterling was excellent. He was everywhere. As he had against Sweden, he stretched the Croatian defense vertically and horizontally, driving England forward. But the Three Lions missed their one golden chance to extend the lead:
Harry Kane’s chance
Harry Kane will, in all likelihood, win the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup. He’s had a pretty good tournament. But he really should have put England 2-0 up:
.Yahoo Sports