Watford – Wolverhampton Wanderers: FA Cup Semifinal – Live! | Soccer

13 min: Alain Supermarche tweets in: "Will they present the medals to the finalists at the end of the match?

The funniest, Alain.

12 min: A period of calm? The wolves were a bit silent in the last few minutes as Watford tried to get the ball rolling after some early frights. The wolves have yet to integrate their side backs, so important for their strategy.

10 minutes: A yellow card for Wolves' Saiss, who deflected Pereyra, and with a daunting challenge. She ends up getting hurt in the mouth while carrying away. He has to change his shirt because of the blood.

8 min: Capua and Femenia both blocked their shots. Watford is a powerful camp that has the power to make wolves defend themselves seriously.

7 min: Chances at both ends. Both teams go there, the fans are upset … ah, the FA Cup, and as we like. This is an extremely promising start.

5 min: Mariappa commits a foul on Jota. The Wolves have a free kick opportunity. Moutinho is the man to take it and he drifts it over the wall, but can not get the proper fade.

4 min: Watford has a corner and John Ruddy climbs as high as possible. He plays as a goalkeeper designated by the Wolves for the FA Cup.

2 min: The wolves have settled down and take their time to get used to possession. Now, how long can Wembley maintain its atmosphere? The place usually goes flat even among the most enthusiastic fans.

Really noisy as the Wolves take us on the melody of Sloop John B, and Jonny begins the match with a powerful shot that falls on the bar. It was a few centimeters.

Heurelho Gomes in goals for Watford: What is wrong? He is about to retire this summer to become a pastor.

OK, let's go. A very colorful occasion at Wembley and it sounds a little stronger than yesterday's semifinal. This is a sale. They enter the field at the sound of the Prodigy's Breathe and this instrumental Oasis with the rude title.

The wolves will play in white and Watford in yellow.

Changes in the teams are the following. From the press Association.

Heurelho Gomes replaced Ben Foster in goals for Watford in the FA Cup semifinal with the Wolves, while forward Andre Gray faced off against his original club in Gerard Deulofeu's spot. Romain Saiss replaced Ryan Bennett in defense as the Wolves returned to the team that beat Manchester United in the quarter-finals last month. John Ruddy and Jonny also came back after the 2-1 Premier League win against United in the week.

Wolves' last visit to Wembley in a match that is not The Spurs' visit in December took place on May 29, 1988, when they beat Burnley 2-0 to win the Sherpa Van Trophy final (the Checkatrade in New Silver), in front of a crowd of 80,841. Andy Mutch and Robbie Dennison scored goals.

Some statistics, courtesy of BT.

• Watford will play his seventh FA Cup semifinal and will only advance on a previous occasion: a 1-0 win over Plymouth in the 1983-84 campaign. Indeed, among the teams to play at least five FA Cup semifinals, Watford has the lowest rate of progression of both sides alongside Fulham (1/6 – 17%).
• Wolves have won their last six games at Wembley Stadium. Only Arsenal (7 between May 2014 and May 2017) and Tottenham (7 between January and March 2018) won a more consecutive victory on the ground.

Simon Burnton on Watford's climb this season.

Stuart James on how it is only the beginning of the Wolves project.

These teams in badog mode now.

Watford: Gomes, Femenia, Mariappa, Cathcart, Holebas, Doucoure, Capua, Hughes, Pereyra, Deeney, Gray.
Subs: Janmaat, Deulofeu, Masina, Sema, Quina, Foster, Kabasele.

Wolverhampton: John Ruddy, Saiss, Coady, Boly, Doherty, Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho, Neves, Jonny, Jimenez, Jota.
Subs: Bennett, Ivan Cavaleiro, Helder Costa, Gibbs-White, Ruben Vinagre, Norris, Traore.

Arbitrator: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

The last time the wolves participated in an FA Cup semifinal, it was in 1998, when Christopher Wreh – do you remember him? – was the difference for a double flush arsenal. The last time Watford was in an FA Cup semifinal, it was in 2016, when they lost to Crystal Palace and their fans were annoyed by Wilfried Zaha's theater.

But really, thinking of both teams and the FA Cup, we are sent back to very different times. Watford in the FA Cup? It's hard not to think about Elton John's straw boat in 1984 and the sad songs that said so much, after Steve Sherwood escaped and Everton was declared the winner.

And Wolves and the FA Cup evoke images of the postwar era: Billy Wright won in 1949 long before he married a sister Beverley, then 1960, defeating Blackburn Rovers 3 to 0 the day Dave Whelan of Rovers was break the leg. , and he is about to become a costume mogul. The wolves of that day had prosaic names like Eddie Clamp, Barry Stobart, Norman Deeley and George Showell. The brain of that day, as in 1949, was Stan Cullis, one of the greatest leaders of English football, although he was a name forgotten today, except for all those who had a old gold in Wolverhampton.

Times are changing, and today's teams are led by a well-dressed Spaniard at Javi Gracia for Watford and a Portuguese hipster in Nuno Espirito Santo of Wolves. It sounds like an equal match between two teams that claim to be the best of the rest of the Premier League. They only met once this season, in October, when Watford won 2-0 at Molineux and with something in hand. The Wolfs, two-time winners of Manchester United, who have taken points from all Big Six except Liverpool, which they beat in the FA Cup, are better against big teams than their peers.

Wembley is waiting, and he will be tinged with yellow and gold.