WC 2018 | Semi-Finals | England vs Croatia

breva wrote:When did England "trash" Spain, Italy or the USA?  By the way, "trashed" is not the right word. I think you mean "thrashed".  And, you think writing in bad English is funny I agree.  It's real funny.

a guy that has an american passport should know what i mean when i say trashed. and what 2 of them passports are forged

Unique wrote:

breva wrote:When did England "trash" Spain, Italy or the USA?  By the way, "trashed" is not the right word. I think you mean "thrashed".  And, you think writing in bad English is funny I agree.  It's real funny.

a guy that has an american passport should know what i mean when i say trashed. and what 2 of them passports are forged

No, I have a Spanish wife and was born in Italy of an Italian mother and U.S. father. Again, when has England ever "trashed" (whatever that means) Italy, Spain or the USA? Grow up.

To try to translate what he wrote, I think he meant England did way better than Italy, Spain and USA this World Cup, hence, they "trashed" those teams. My best guess really.

Doc wrote:To try to translate what he wrote, I think he meant England did way better than Italy, Spain and USA this World Cup, hence, they "trashed" those teams. My best guess really.

your best guess would be spot on.

Croatia motivated by English pundits’ lack of respect, says Luka Modric

• Real Madrid midfielder says media underestimated his side
• ‘They should be more humble and respect their opponents’

Ed Aarons
@ed_aarons
Wed 11 Jul 2018 23.26 BST

Luka Modric has accused English journalists and pundits of showing a lack of respect to Croatia’s players and admitted his teammates had used criticism to motivate them to victory against England in their World Cup semi-final.

Modric impressed as Croatia came from behind to win after extra time in Moscow but the Real Madrid midfielder was scathing in his reaction towards sections of the English media, some of whom had predicted an easy win for Gareth Southgate’s side.

“People were talking … English journalists, pundits from television,” he told ITV. “They underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake. All these words from them we take, we were reading and we were saying: ‘OK, today we will see who will be tired.’ They should be more humble and respect their opponents more.

“We showed again that we were not tired – we dominated the game mentally and physically.

“We should have killed the game even before extra time. This is an amazing achievement for us – it’s a dream come true after such a long time. We are in the final and that is the biggest success in Croatia history. We have to be proud.”

Ivan Perisic, who cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s early goal with a fine effort of his own, admitted it was a difficult game but praised his team-mates’ perseverance for coming through a successive third knockout game after extra-time.

“We knew what was at stake and how important the semi-final is for a small country like Croatia,” he said. “We started slowly today but we showed our character and again came from a goal behind just like we did in the previous knockout rounds.

“Twenty years ago I was back at home in my hometown and I rooted for Croatia wearing the Croatia jersey. I could only dream of playing for my country and scoring one of the most important goals to reach the final.”

Defender Sime Vrsaljko was also critical of England’s attempts to find a way back into the game after they fell behind. “The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven’t,” he said.

Croatia’s coach, Zlatko Dalic, said their extra-time victory was deserved and his players were not yet finished despite playing a lot of football in the past three rounds.

“We deserved to reach the final. What the lads played tonight was fantasy, they’ve made history,” Dalic said. “This tournament will be won by a team with character. We were 1-0 down in three games in a row. For Croatian football and the country this is history being written – I can’t think of a smaller country to reach the final.”

Croatia become the 13th team to contest the final and the first new finalists since Spain in 2010. Since their dream run to the last four in 1998, their first tournament as an independent nation, Croatia have failed to get past the group stage, with every subsequent failing team being compared unfavourably with the heroes of France.

“This has been the topic of discussion the past 20 years,” Dalic said. “Maybe that game has historical significance maybe, the dear Lord is giving us the chance to settle a score.”

the source

breva wrote:I have no problem admitting Italy had a terrible team, what's your problem?

This English team would have lost to Italy under Prandelli and to Uruguay just like the 2014 English team. Beating Tunisia and Panama in the group stage would not have been a problem for the 2014 English team.

Would have, could have, should have.

You didn't even make it to the tournament. Sit down and be humble.

guest_07 wrote:Croatia motivated by English pundits’ lack of respect, says Luka Modric

• Real Madrid midfielder says media underestimated his side
• ‘They should be more humble and respect their opponents’

Ed Aarons
@ed_aarons
Wed 11 Jul 2018 23.26 BST

Luka Modric has accused English journalists and pundits of showing a lack of respect to Croatia’s players and admitted his teammates had used criticism to motivate them to victory against England in their World Cup semi-final.

Modric impressed as Croatia came from behind to win after extra time in Moscow but the Real Madrid midfielder was scathing in his reaction towards sections of the English media, some of whom had predicted an easy win for Gareth Southgate’s side.

“People were talking … English journalists, pundits from television,” he told ITV. “They underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake. All these words from them we take, we were reading and we were saying: ‘OK, today we will see who will be tired.’ They should be more humble and respect their opponents more.

“We showed again that we were not tired – we dominated the game mentally and physically.

“We should have killed the game even before extra time. This is an amazing achievement for us – it’s a dream come true after such a long time. We are in the final and that is the biggest success in Croatia history. We have to be proud.”

Ivan Perisic, who cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s early goal with a fine effort of his own, admitted it was a difficult game but praised his team-mates’ perseverance for coming through a successive third knockout game after extra-time.

“We knew what was at stake and how important the semi-final is for a small country like Croatia,” he said. “We started slowly today but we showed our character and again came from a goal behind just like we did in the previous knockout rounds.

“Twenty years ago I was back at home in my hometown and I rooted for Croatia wearing the Croatia jersey. I could only dream of playing for my country and scoring one of the most important goals to reach the final.”

Defender Sime Vrsaljko was also critical of England’s attempts to find a way back into the game after they fell behind. “The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven’t,” he said.

Croatia’s coach, Zlatko Dalic, said their extra-time victory was deserved and his players were not yet finished despite playing a lot of football in the past three rounds.

“We deserved to reach the final. What the lads played tonight was fantasy, they’ve made history,” Dalic said. “This tournament will be won by a team with character. We were 1-0 down in three games in a row. For Croatian football and the country this is history being written – I can’t think of a smaller country to reach the final.”

Croatia become the 13th team to contest the final and the first new finalists since Spain in 2010. Since their dream run to the last four in 1998, their first tournament as an independent nation, Croatia have failed to get past the group stage, with every subsequent failing team being compared unfavourably with the heroes of France.

“This has been the topic of discussion the past 20 years,” Dalic said. “Maybe that game has historical significance maybe, the dear Lord is giving us the chance to settle a score.”

the source

i wonder if modric and the croatian press are talking about winning the final like england were talking about winning the semis. seems like the croatia team are all critical of the england lads after tonight. i did want them to win it but now i hope france ruin them tbh.

Unique wrote:

guest_07 wrote:Croatia motivated by English pundits’ lack of respect, says Luka Modric

• Real Madrid midfielder says media underestimated his side
• ‘They should be more humble and respect their opponents’

Ed Aarons
@ed_aarons
Wed 11 Jul 2018 23.26 BST

Luka Modric has accused English journalists and pundits of showing a lack of respect to Croatia’s players and admitted his teammates had used criticism to motivate them to victory against England in their World Cup semi-final.

Modric impressed as Croatia came from behind to win after extra time in Moscow but the Real Madrid midfielder was scathing in his reaction towards sections of the English media, some of whom had predicted an easy win for Gareth Southgate’s side.

“People were talking … English journalists, pundits from television,” he told ITV. “They underestimated Croatia tonight and that was a huge mistake. All these words from them we take, we were reading and we were saying: ‘OK, today we will see who will be tired.’ They should be more humble and respect their opponents more.

“We showed again that we were not tired – we dominated the game mentally and physically.

“We should have killed the game even before extra time. This is an amazing achievement for us – it’s a dream come true after such a long time. We are in the final and that is the biggest success in Croatia history. We have to be proud.”

Ivan Perisic, who cancelled out Kieran Trippier’s early goal with a fine effort of his own, admitted it was a difficult game but praised his team-mates’ perseverance for coming through a successive third knockout game after extra-time.

“We knew what was at stake and how important the semi-final is for a small country like Croatia,” he said. “We started slowly today but we showed our character and again came from a goal behind just like we did in the previous knockout rounds.

“Twenty years ago I was back at home in my hometown and I rooted for Croatia wearing the Croatia jersey. I could only dream of playing for my country and scoring one of the most important goals to reach the final.”

Defender Sime Vrsaljko was also critical of England’s attempts to find a way back into the game after they fell behind. “The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven’t,” he said.

Croatia’s coach, Zlatko Dalic, said their extra-time victory was deserved and his players were not yet finished despite playing a lot of football in the past three rounds.

“We deserved to reach the final. What the lads played tonight was fantasy, they’ve made history,” Dalic said. “This tournament will be won by a team with character. We were 1-0 down in three games in a row. For Croatian football and the country this is history being written – I can’t think of a smaller country to reach the final.”

Croatia become the 13th team to contest the final and the first new finalists since Spain in 2010. Since their dream run to the last four in 1998, their first tournament as an independent nation, Croatia have failed to get past the group stage, with every subsequent failing team being compared unfavourably with the heroes of France.

“This has been the topic of discussion the past 20 years,” Dalic said. “Maybe that game has historical significance maybe, the dear Lord is giving us the chance to settle a score.”

the source

i wonder if modric and the croatian press are talking about winning the final like england were talking about winning the semis. seems like the croatia team are all critical of the england lads after tonight. i did want them to win it but now i hope france ruin them tbh.

to be fair to croatia, they don't label themselves as favourite vs france

one of them said they have a chance to settle a score

in case vs england, maybe they feel annoyed when england always make themselves as favourite in almost every match, including vs croatia

Šime Vrsaljko "The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven't."

“My moto has always been  ‘do your talking on the pitch.’ We’re in the final and they can now go sunbathing.”

Winter is Coming wrote:Šime Vrsaljko "The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven't."

Hahaha

I still want EG, Mole and any others who said Modric and Rakitic are the only good players on the team to step forward.

Unreal disrespect to Mandzu and Persic.

Perisic has always been one of those players who are much better for the NT than for the club, he was Croatia's best player in some recent tournaments even outshining Modric. I was surprised he wasn't playing good this WC, but last night he exploded. Goal and assist, and he was sprinting at the goalkeeper for 120+ minutes, unreal performance

Lol

Hrvati so blizu finala pic.twitter.com/vJMuRSLdYf

— Vlasta Jeseničnik (@VJesenicnik) July 11, 2018

M99 wrote:Lol

Hrvati so blizu finala pic.twitter.com/vJMuRSLdYf

— Vlasta Jeseničnik (@VJesenicnik) July 11, 2018

It’s even funnier that they attempted this after mocking the Panama players by calling them pub players for trying the same thing

Football coming home is ironic in a self deprecating fashion

If anyone ever took it seriously, they can't have ever heard an Englishman talk about the national team before

Winter is Coming wrote:Šime Vrsaljko "The all-round perception was that this is a new-look England who have changed their ways of punting long balls upfield but when we pressed them it turned out that they haven't."

“My moto has always been  ‘do your talking on the pitch.’ We’re in the final and they can now go sunbathing.”

can’t wait to see them all crying like a bunch of girls when France beat them.

CBarca wrote:Football coming home is ironic in a self deprecating fashion

If anyone ever took it seriously, they can't have ever heard an Englishman talk about the national team before

It's depressing how many people think we are actually being serious.

It's another sign that a lot of countries simply don't get sarcasm or dry self-deprecating humour.

I am ready to sign any petition to FIFA to save the English XI. Pretty sure 'arry scored a couple of goals that were not counted, quite sure the little Turkish fella was corrupt and biased and positive the croats were sniffing slivovitz soaked cotton balls at the start of the second half.

I didn't think the ref was very good tbh but we have no one but ourselves to blame.

I just hope England lose every game at the euros. Wouldn’t want to upset anybody

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

CBarca wrote:Football coming home is ironic in a self deprecating fashion

If anyone ever took it seriously, they can't have ever heard an Englishman talk about the national team before

It's depressing how many people think we are actually being serious.

It's another sign that a lot of countries simply don't get sarcasm or dry self-deprecating humour.

Tbh it became serious at one point. At the quarters I would say. Most people I know who were singing it don't even know that its a song by three comedians twenty years ago.

Even then i don't think it was, we'd be optimistic obviously like any country would.

But i think it's fair to say even if we won the majority of the country would understand that France would still be pretty significant favourites.

Firenze wrote:

S wrote:@Frenzy, how does it feel to be ousted by 2 Serie Zzz players ?

The more you keep shitting on the league , the more L's you're beginning to take. I'd show some humility if i were you

I always rated Mandzukic and especially Perisic. Doesn't mean the league isn't overwhelmingly terrible though.

I confirm it, you were the only one United fan to want signing Perisic last year

Mourinho on Perisic yesterday

Unique wrote:

Doc wrote:To try to translate what he wrote, I think he meant England did way better than Italy, Spain and USA this World Cup, hence, they "trashed" those teams. My best guess really.

your best guess would be spot on.

Hmmm. If that is what he meant, the word "trashed" is, if not inappropriate, confusing as there were no direct engagements between England and said teams that I recall where England "trashed" or "thrashed" said teams. But I agree that England did better than Italy. Spain and USA. However, I still don't understand how that assertion has anything to do with the fact that the Croatian team has 9 Serie A players and that 6 Serie A players were on the pitch for Croatia yesterday.

Who gives a shit about how many serie A players are on the field..? Are people really still trying to defend serie A?

What does your position hope to achieve?

breva wrote:

Unique wrote:

Doc wrote:To try to translate what he wrote, I think he meant England did way better than Italy, Spain and USA this World Cup, hence, they "trashed" those teams. My best guess really.

your best guess would be spot on.

Hmmm. If that is what he meant, the word "trashed" is, if not inappropriate, confusing as there were no direct engagements between England and said teams that I recall where England "trashed" or "thrashed" said teams.  But I agree that England did better than Italy. Spain and USA.  However, I still don't understand how that assertion has anything to do with the fact that the Croatian team has 9 Serie A players and that 6 Serie A players were on the pitch for Croatia yesterday.

what does having 6 serie zzzz players in the team have to do with the game.