[ad_1]
Tonight, Belgians and French will know their opponent for their last match of the 2018 World Cup. Which of England or Croatia will emerge?
On one side, an old selection led by a new generation, England; and on the other, a young country worn by a group in the prime of life, Croatia: which of the two will join France Sunday in the final of the World Cup 2018? The semi-final takes place tonight in Moscow.
"Maybe we have several more experienced players, but we also have young players," badured Mario Mandzukic, when Andrej Kramaric explains: "Both teams have experience, so I do not think it's going to make a difference. "
And Croatia (27.3 years old on average) gives a lot of attention to old grunts, from Mandzukic (32) himself to the guardian Danijel Subasic, 33, midfielder Luka Modric (32) and Ivan Rakitic (30). A precious experience to keep a cool head despite controversies and games hooked, the "Vatreni" having won their last two games on penalties.
Polemics? The coach Zlatko Dalic, unknown but praised by his troops, started the competition in the heavy context of the case Zdravko Mamic, named after the former strongman of Croatian football sentenced to prison in early June. He then sent home Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic, guilty of refusing to enter the game in the first group game.
He finally had to handle the beginning of a diplomatic crisis when a former international integrated Ognjen Vukojevic, a member of the selection team, posted a video showing him alongside quarterback scorer Domagoj Vida celebrating the elimination of Russia by shouting "Glory to Ukraine". [19659003] None of this has hindered the euphoric climate in which the Croats live. "There is no reason to be nervous, there is no pressure, we are here to enjoy this semifinal, play nice football and get a result," said Dalic Tuesday. 19659003] Same story on the English side, where the coach Gareth Southgate (with a troupe of 25.6 years of average age) is already happy to be in half. "All along the way we've been among the youngest teams in the tournament, but we're never really sure how far this team can go. The appetite of these players is obvious to everyone. "
This is already a great revenge for English football: it was twenty-eight years since England had not pointed his nose in the semifinals of a World Cup. It was July 4, 1990, in Turin, and the selection of the Three Lions had lost on penalties against the future champion, Lothar Matthäus' West Germany.
England plays the images of "his" final of the 1966 World Cup won at Wembley against the FRG (4-2 ap), including a hat-trick by Geoff Hurst. Since then, moments of rejoicing have been rare, between the semifinal of 1990 or the quarters of 1970, 1986, 2002, 2006 … In recent years, shameful episodes have followed one another like this elimination in the first round there is four years in Brazil and this disastrous road exit in the knockout stages of the Euro 2016, against the little thumbs Iceland. "After Iceland, we knew we had to change things," said Tottenham player Éric Dier. "We knew we could not let that happen again."
The new coach, Gareth Southgate, is popular, but the new generation, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Harry Maguire, the "Mr. Kieran Trippier or goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also shone
"There are fantastic players coming, it's a very exciting time for English football. I hope they will continue to grow, learn, and do it at the highest level of the World Cups and European Championships, "said Jordan Henderson, who" hopes to win some trophies en route ". What if it's Sunday? First, Croatia.
Source link
