https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... on-england

Before the match begins, I just want to say this article sums up Croatia's style of play well. Recommended read.

Looking VERY good, but let's see the whole overtime through.

Ok.

I am absolutely ecstatic.

Brexit! Let's hope Croatia will go all the way!

Well done, Croatia. Better to lose to them than to France. England played well this tournament - they should be proud.

That Croatian second wind though! They worked so hard for this, I hope they win it all.

I managed to be awake to watch this game and it was really good. England looked the goods at the start of the game and we're on track to totally overwhelm the Croatians, but the game managed to flip on its head. Good result and good game.

Modric HAS to be named player of the tournament. What a fucking genius!

Well that sucked for Belgium yesterday! Everyone thought the final was in the pocket, but then when the Frenchies scored that goal and they started playing ultra defensive without any need to score another one (only goal was to maintain the 1-0 for the entire match, horrible way of playing soccer), then I knew this wasn't gonna end well for the Belgian team. And then we lost our chance to that final.... Too bad, but obviously they're not the first and last team to endure such a drama. England is now out aswell, haha, well well well.... Funny thing is now Belgium has to play England again, but this time it's for the honour of the third place. The Belgians will give it all to serve England the last kick in the nuts, but I'm sure England will do the same. No more tea time like last time! Ow man I hope both teams will use their A-teams, this next match will be fun!

Oh, and eventhough it's gonna be tough battling it out with the Frenchies, I hope the Croatians win the world cup. It already is fantastic for all underdog football teams to witness Croatia reach the finals, and even more so if they actually win the cup. Come on Croatia! Revenge for Belgium!

Liner note: Croatia is now the only country that has won all matches of this world cup game... Will they maintain this? Let's find out!

Yeah yeah yeah.



Bleh, Croatia is there too, and they will be the only one after they win the finals. Good luck!

Nope France vs Denmark ended 0 - 0 , it did score France 1 point (so did Denmark), but a tie is not a win
Croatia is the only one in a winning combo right now.

Englishman and Frenchman sit at a bar.
Englishman: We are playing against Croatia on Wednesday.
Frenchman: What a coincidence, we are also playing against Croatia on Sunday.

First half between England and Croatia was terrible. The Croatians were nowhere and England had enough with the early goal, they played very badly I must say. Fortunately Croatia woke up and started to play as they know, second half was theirs and I am glad they won.

I would like to see that Croatia wins on Sunday but I am afraid France is superior right now.

OKAY I recognize I wasn't expecting much that you can make fun of me. I wasn't expecting England to play that bad by the end of the match and Croatia to have still such a damn energy by the end... At the beginning I was confident but the more the match went on the more I was like "wait what".

I'm confident on Sunday but it will be almost impossible to mentally break Croatia. They must be sooo confident and determined, let's hope France doesn't take them lightly just because "Croatia lol". Remember, last time France faced slaves in Russia it was Napoleon's campaign and we all know how it ended.

I don't see why would anyone say "Croatia lol". Even at the beginning of the tournament they were on the second group of candidates. They have a LOT of talent on that team. I mean look at Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, Perisic, Rebic, Kovacic, Brozovic. Some of the best in the world right there. Even Vida and Lovren can be solid when needed, the former being also very dangerous on attacking set pieces.

I hope Croatia win but France are really looking solid (and warned, with the 2016 final).

But you were like "Croatia lol" until they beat England yesterday.

everybody with a bit of football know-how knows that croatia got a very talented group of players one of the best in the world in fact but that they always underperform.
Well they did underperform during the 1st half yesterday but finally during the 2nd half we finally saw some of the potential that they have. It was definitely the best game of Croatia so far this WC. I suspect that Belgium if they stay motivated will beat England for the third place.

I was!

Because actually what I implied with my post towards Croatia is that they were freaking me out by the beginning of the competition but the more the matches went on the less I was impressed, especially against Russia... and the beginning of the match versus England confirmed that. So I was like "yes they're tired England will win" but damn that match changed everything. And it's not a "famous team" that we're used to see so high. But it seems now that everything allowed them to not underperform and we're seeing its real potential.

Saw a few days ago a report on some english fellow who was so convinced England would win the cup that he even got a tattoo on his stomach saying "England 2018 World Champions". Guess he's going to look like an idiot for the rest of his life.

Final will be decided by individual talent since both teams have poor teamplay. In fact no team in this tournament played as well as previous champions.

I disagree. France has been playing well. Not pretty, but well. And as team, especially after they score.

I wouldn't call Croatia's teamplay poor exactly either. In fact teamwork was precisely the focus. Can only really call Rebić the selfish one.

Another great article about our team! All about the unlikely chain of events that likely caused Croatia's success at this WC. It was none other than a Finn who helped us.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -world-cup

And Belgium won against England today (that makes 3 lost matches for England this cup and only 1 lost match for Belgium)... A match with a lot of goal attempts by both teams, but Belgium eventually ended up with 2 goals (should have been at least 3 if Lukaku was bit more concentrated), while England didn't manage to score any goals (although i saw 2 attempts that came extremely close to a goal). Btw: am I the only one that thinks that the England coach seems very uninterested while the England team plays. Not a sweat, no stress at all... Not really motivational for the English supporters imo...

So we've obtained bronze medals. We also out did our 4th place of Mexico 1986, which means this is the furthest Belgium ever got in a world championship.

Tomorrow the last game of this world cup; France vs Croatia. Let's hope it will an enjoyable one.

Quite frustrating to watch Lukaku, perfect passes from De Bruyne at least twice and his touches were dreadful. Kane was missing in action as well.



Honestly I quite like Southgate, seems very classy and represents English football in a very good light. It annoys me much more when the manager is jumping up and down on the touchline, yelling at the ref over every decision that doesn't go their way.

You've tied Portugal it seems, then. Our best performances was a 3rd place in 1966 and a 4th place in 2006.

Big game approaching. Hope Croatia isn't too tired. They've played like one full game more because all those extra times compared to France.

Welp. Vive le France, I guess.

Congratulations to France! First of all, it was a great game. I was rooting for Croatia but France was the best team overall, not only today but in the whole tournament. I guess they learned from their mistakes from 2 years ago.

It was a deserved win in the end. But we put up a fight and certainly posed more threats. Here's hoping for a third Golden generation from Croatia. And an UEFA just as good for the team as this. And my God, they will be heroes when they come home.

Fair winner, the overall best team on the tournament, closely followed by Belgium. Hilarious mistake by Lloris though.

Oh my fucking god. I was so fucking ashamed when I saw it. I probably shouted even louder than when we scored. But I forgive him... for every ball he managed to stop during the cup.

Anyway, we didn't do an excellent match to be honest. We were way too much passive for like the 2/3 of the match and then we finally awoke by the end. Croatia wasn't incredible but at least they were threatening us while moving with a lot of energy and they have some damn good middle players. I think with a bit more of cohesion this team can go far one day.

Anyway, this night the country will be on fire. The TV endlessly talk about the event, the players themselves are making fun of interviews and everyone in the street is honking and joyfully shouting. What a great day for us!

Congrats.

I think, speaking for many Croats, we did go far. The atmosphere in the country is so positive, and there will be giant celebration when the team come home. Anyway, unfortunately, this is the best we'll see of Croatia for a long time, as Mandžukić, Modrić, Rakitić, Subašić and essentially Perišić are all in their 30s. If Dalić manages to transfer that energy to the younger, less good players though in the European Cup, it could be great as well.

Congrats to both teams. Croatia fought hard, but when France got their motor really running, that was it. A deserved victory.

Here are my thoughts about the 2018 FIFA World Cup: http://kluseba.eklablog.com/a-look-back ... a146449132

France deserved the victory even though I would have prefered Croatia to conclude its wonderful Cinderella story positively.

Speaking of Cinderella story, it feels as if the whole cup was one ; Russia beating Spain and going to the 1/4 finals, Croatia being second, Belgium beating Brazil... It was refreshing, for once, to be surprised by every single match.