This will be tough to take for England after croatia beat them 2-1 in the world cup semi final. For an hour they looked the more likely team to advance from this one. They didn’t play badly at all, but were outclassed in the end by a team that looked far more composed and confident in the stressful late situations. Raheem Sterling had a very good game, especially in the first half, Jordan Pickford made some good saves and the defence was actually pretty good apart from a couple of sleepy moments. It’s been a hell of a ride for this young England team, and they will be better for the experience.
You have to give a lot of credit to that fight back from Croatia, especially in the second half. The early Trippier goal gave England so much momentum, and they carried that pretty much the whole way to half time. It took a while for Croatia to get going, but once Perisic had stolen in for that equaliser, the game changed. Croatia took control, dominated the ball and strangled an increasingly panicked England. Croatia could have won it in the 90, and deserved to win it in 120.
A fantastic game, a terrific performance, and a team that is a real chance of lifting this trophy.