It's Still Coming Home
By Mark Daniell
12/07/2018
Well that was a bit of a shame. And it all started so well. But hey, the cup run has come to an end, and Croatia proved to be a bit too wily for England’s young bucks. Fair play to the Croats, they’ve played extra time in every knockout game and are definitely getting their money’s worth. Those boys stay right to the end of the credits.
Obviously, postmortem, there’s been a lot of gubbins spouted about where the failures lie, but that’s gubbins, if you want the truth, you come to the mouse:
Positives:
1. Frankly, the whole of the first half was a positive. England played attacking, creative, confident football. We hit the post, we placed strikes wide of the post, we even scored. Croatia looked a beaten side. So plan A is a good plan.
2. This team is young. To put things in perspective: Spain in 2006 saw the first World Cup for Iniesta (22), David Villa (25) and Xabi Alonso (25), they went out to a Zidane’s France in the round of 16; Germany in 2010 was the first World Cup for Kroos (20), Ozil (22) and Neuer (24), they lost their semi final 1-0 to a more experienced Spain.
England 2018 has been a first World Cup for Dele Alli (22), Harry Kane (24) and Jordan Pickford (24). They lost their semi final to Modric’s resilient Croatia. Only a dour pessimist would say this isn’t a good foundation on which to build.
3. Remember, England are the current under 20 World Cup holders. So there is cause for prolonged optimism.
4. Lastly, there’s been chat about our easy draw and the opportunity it brought. But the truth is, Argentina were supposed to have an easy game against Croatia and didn’t. Spain were supposed to have an easy game against Russia and didn’t. Germany were supposed to have an easy game against South Korea and didn’t. What you call easy, the mouse calls a World Cup match, and they’re never as easy as you think.
Negatives:
1. In the end we were undone by inexperience. In the second half, Croatia came out with a new gameplan to disrupt England’s rhythm. In response, our players forgot what had given them their advantage and lost their composure. We needed more leadership on the pitch and calmer heads.
2. Football is full of small injustices, unseen fouls, clips and barges, throw in calls that don’t go your way and ungiven corners. It takes maturity not to let these things disturb a side. Don’t get mad, get 2-0 up, should be our mantra from now on. It’s no surprise that the two finalists aren't the most creative or attacking football teams, but are the most canny. France began their craft of protecting the ball and time wasting when 1-0 at the start of the second half. At the same point in our game, England began a hoof and retreat policy. It's not pretty, but we can learn from that.
3. There were signs of complacency in the first half. When presented with as many clear chances as we had, England need to be more ruthless. 1-0 was never enough, Croatia had already shown us so against Russia and Denmark.
So you see? Positives 4 Negatives 3. A bit more experience at the back, maybe pass the captaincy over to Stones or Pickford, and we can become a consistent and significant force in world football. So stop whining, the long and the short of it is, football’s still coming home, the boys have just stopped off for a cheeky Maccy D's en route.
Kidictions:
Who’s going to win between Croatia and England?
3 year old: England
7 year old: Croatia will score first, then England will win 2-1
Right score, wrong way round. Close, but no cigar. Which is probably a good thing for a 7 year old.
Kit of the day:
Croatia Away. What happens when you turn all the white squares on a chessboard black? Not what you'd expect.
Name of the day:
Luka Modric
As in: and what seems to be the problem?
Luka Modric
I’m sorry, look at your what?
Modric. Luka Modric.
I don’t follow.
Are you a doctor or not?
I am, but I’m not sure…
Then Luka Modric
Are you referring to your genitals sir?
I’m talking about Modric! Mo-bloody-dric! I tell you, I’m not coming back to this clinic.
Goal of the day:
Kieran Trippier’s free kick. Beautifully crafted, up and down, like a camel’s hump. What’s not to love? A thing of such elegance as to get people as far afield as Singapore to believe that it was finally coming home.
Moment of the day:
Perisic beats the defence, strikes against the post and the ball bounces to an unmarked Rebic who shoots straight into Pickford’s arms. A confusing jumble of mistakes, luck and awkrward camera angles that had the women in the pub shrieking. If you want raw drama, there’s not much that can beat a World Cup semi.
Kidictions:
Who’s going to win between Belgium and England?
7 year old: England! You mess with us once? You don’t mess with us twice!
Who’s going to win between France and Croatia?
3 year old: Croatia
Well, at least you can make your money back.