Croatia and England will meet in the second semi-final matchup of the World Cup on Wednesday, July 11th, at Lužniki Stadium in Moscow. Kickoff is 20:00.
July 10, 2018 - The Croatia national team overcame Russia in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday to play in the historic semi-final against England this Wednesday in Moscow. Croatia is just one game away from the biggest result in the history of Croatian football, and to accomplish such a feat, they will have to break the nation that invented football; a nation that has not reached this stage of the World Cup since 1990.
If you recall (which we know you do), the last time Croatia went this far was with the Bronze Generation in 1998 - and from France to Russia, Croatia failed to advance to the knockout phase of the World Cup. Placing among the four best teams in the world is already a great success.
Though the euphoria has caught on in Croatia, it is perhaps even more so in England. With the second youngest team in the country’s history, a defeat to Belgium in the group stage gave England perhaps one of the easiest routes to the World Cup semis - overcoming Colombia in penalties in the round of 16, and crushing Sweden in the quarter-final.
England has reached this phase of the World Cup just three times in its history - in 1966, when they were the hosts, and in 1990 where they placed fourth in Italy. On the other hand, Croatia has reached this stage just two times, but in only five World Cup placements.
The odds say that England is the favorite for the match, though not by much. Croatia has about a 40 percent chance to enter the final, while England is at about 60. In other words, if Croatia and England played this semi-final five times, Croatia would have won twice, and England - three times. That's fairly equal, we think. And even more equal is the first semi-final match, where France has about a 55 percent chance for the final, and Belgium a 45 percent chance.
Though Croatia is the least favorite of the four to raise the World Cup trophy, they do not fall far behind. Estimates say that Croatia has a 15 percent chance at the Cup, while England and Belgium have around a 25 percent chance. France comes in first with a 35 percent chance. Those differences aren’t so great.
Furthermore, the market value of Croatia’s players is the smallest of all teams in the semifinals. Croatia is worth about EUR 364 million, while their English opponents are worth two and a half times more: EUR 874 million. Belgium is worth about EUR 750 million, while France takes the cake - valued at just over EUR 1 billion.
And by population, Croatia is, of course, the smallest. France has the largest population - 67 million; and England, around 56 million. Belgium has around 11 million; and Croats only four million. For example, Croatia is 14 times smaller than England, and 16 times smaller than France.
However, in one football criterion, Croatia is convincingly first - the number of Champions League winners. While Belgium is left without a single Champions League winner, England and France each have one. For England, that's Gary Cahill, a reserve on the national team. For France, it’s Raphael Varane, a member of Real Madrid. Shockingly, Croatia has four - Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić, Mario Mandžukić, and Mateo Kovačić - of which three are in the starting eleven.
We still have yet to see which composition Dalić will use this time around, as Croatia is coming off two 120-minute games, penalty shootouts, and some worrying injuries. The possible absence of Šime Vrsaljko could create considerable distress in Croatia’s defense, as Dalić has no real substitute for the right back. A possible solution would be moving Vida to the right and re-introducing Ćorluka in the middle, though we still have hope that everyone will be healthy and Dalić will have all players at his disposal on Wednesday.
Rakitić and Modrić will need to continue being the brilliant El Clasico combination they are in the midfield, while quick wingers like Ante Rebić and Ivan Perišić should be able to break through Englands defense.
One important thing to note: While eight different players scored for Croatia in the World Cup thus far, Harry Kane has scored six out of England’s ten goals total.
Gareth Southgate plays England with a 3-5-2. The young John Stones is one of the three stoppers and starts the attack. His colleague at Man City, Kyle Walker, also makes up the defense, along with Harry Maguire. Stones and Leicester's Maguire have scored three goals, and apart from them Kane, Dele Alli secured a header. Raheem Sterling is also brilliant for the English side and will give Croatia’s defense a good run.
The excellent Jordan Pickford shines in goal, with Tottenham’s Trippier and Man United’s Ashley Young on the wings. Henderson, Alli, and Lingard make up the middle.
This will be the eighth match between the two sides, with England winning four, Croatia twice and one draw. The two teams will kickoff tomorrow at 20:00 in Moscow.
Source: Gol.hr
