Congrats to England for a good WC, these croats had such a good attack that the final score could have been worse imo.

Let's see how France holds against it now. Their defense can be breached I think and hope.

Apparently the popular favorite to win seems to be Croatia since they have never won a WC title before.

Mean while England (FA) get fined £53,000 for a couple of players wearing the wrong socks, they were Trusox and not made by Adidas who sponsor FIFA

53000 pounds is barely a tip (or the price of a new pair of socks) when compared to these players' month pay

If I wasn't french I'm pretty sure I'd support Croatia too, fantastic WC for them.

I'd usually support the underdog, but in this instance I have to want France to win comfortably. Simple reason being the alternative leaves a big 'what if' over England's semi final defeat.

Despite the obvious disappointment of last night I'm proud of what the England team achieved, but also very aware that they required a lot of good fortune to make it that far. Playing with 'heart' isn't a serious substitute for technical ability, which has always been England's undoing. Croatia might be lower in FIFA's (always farcical) rankings, but they have a team of solid 7/10 players, plus the likes of Modric, Mandzukic, and Rakitic who are all better than their England counterparts. Pretty useless having Kane leading the line if there's no one behind him capable of creating chances, as I've suggested before. Sterling had more opportunities from open play - particularly against Sweden - but unfortunately appears to be completely unaware of anything beyond a two meter radius of himself and the ball. Why people rate his directness is baffling when it usually results in no end product.

Still, huge respect for Gareth Southgate and the coaching team. I'll try and remain optimistic about this squad's prospects for the future.


Allez les Bleus

Good post and analysis Brun, agree on all points. England need a midfield maestro, someone in the mold of Modric or Iniesta that acts as a fulcrum, dictating tempo and unlocking defenses with vision and passing range.

I brought up Sterling earlier in the thread and perhaps he is just another player that produces for his club but fails to replicate that for his country. He dribbles in to dead ends seemingly all the time, losing possession. And he runs like he is drying his nails

England's success in this tournament was due in part to their navigable group and subsequent route through the knockouts. They played well at times, but were helped on by the quality of the teams they came up against. Gotta play who's in front of you, and this isn't anything to do with them, but it's best to consider this when evaluating the state of the side. As to the future, I'd say it looks bright, most of this side will return for Euro 20 and WC2022. Pickford looks good, Kane is class. If Southgate insists on playing 3 at the back I think you won't get the best out of TAA, who is about to explode as one of the best English players I think. Perhaps convert him to a winger. The defense didn't come up short, but there are still questions there in my view. Plus the need for the midfield maestro, and frankly I don't see him in the pipeline.I do think Joe Gomez will be a great player, but maybe showing Liverpool bias.

England look well positioned for the next cycle if they can fill a few holes. I'd be concerned about striker depth. Vardy won't be in the team 4 years from now and you need quality depth up front. There is some young talent coming up, but time will tell who pans out.

I thought Sterling was a 'glory boy'. So many times he held onto the ball to try to score instead of passing to a player in a better position to score.

Why did England even bother to show up for the Belgium game?

In theory, it's the opportunity for players to present themselves to observers from rich soccer clubs to boost their market value in the upcoming transfer caroussell.
Of course, you still need to seize that opportunity. In all fairness - as fas as I see it -, they did have good 15 minutes in the first half, and good 30 minutes in the second, they just didn't press enough for a goal before Belgium recovered.

That’s it, 20 years on, Les Bleus it is !!!
Own goal, comedy goal, and great goals !!!!

Cheers,
Slug

Congrats to France!!

Congrats to Croatia for a great WC !

CHAMPIONS DU MONNNNNNNDE :

Frog Lyfe !

Scary match... I admit Croatian really gave our team a hard time.. Very good football from a team of excellent hardened veterans driven by the great Modric (How could they handle these long runs after 3 last matchs with overtime!!!).
We were mostly pinned down and had very few opportunities.... but gods of football unlike the last Euro were with us today because we scored on nearly all of them!

To win a world cup is always a great moment, but the first time was magic for me, and this time, it was just great... That being said, amazing statistics: 3 finals in 6 world cups, 2 victories... not bad, not bad at all!

Crazy night. 1998 will allways be the magical one for me, I was a teenager. But this time I really celebrated it

Congrats to France, a deserved victory. I had no horse in this race, and in that case I tend to pull for the underdog. After watching France take the lead via a Griezmann dive I was firmly in the Croatia camp. Not to be however. Amazing that a nation the size of Indiana can play in the World Cup final. Congrats to Croatia as well.

In all I thought this was a great tournament. I'm a little concerned about the 48-team format, that it will dilute the quality, but that's to be seen. But imagine the tournament with the 16 next best teams that failed to qualify for this one. We shall see. This was a highly competitive tournament, a lot close games, many of those going to extras. Good stuff.

Many players impressed. One who really caught my eye though was Pogba. Everyone knows he is a good player, but here he impressed due to his tactical awareness and positioning, and how he selflessly committed to the team, doing the dirty work and shielding the back four nicely. Paired with Kante, those two laid the foundation for how France played. Mbappe and Griezmann will get the plaudits, but Pogba was key to France's success in my view.

Croatia celebrates