England - Croatia

[HughieG]

So... Who are you rooting for?

Great start for you, lads.

[Cannylad]

Great so far, I'd take Sterling off for the second half though try Vardy.

[TANYA_]

Great so far, I'd take Sterling off for the second half though try Vardy.

aye agree there mate, even Rashford would be a decent shout. Sterling's confidence seems shot at international level.
Bit like Ian wright, he was dog shlt for England.

[HughieG]

I'd try and win it now, wouldn't wanna go to penalties against Croatia!

[Zippity]

Better team won, imo.

Aye, we should have been two up in the first half but we were very poor in the second half and the goal was definitely coming.

Fantastic achievement getting a very ordinary team so far although just as Southgate deserves the plaudits for how well he's done, he's not above criticism and starting Ali again when he's been shite for most of the time or, at the very least, not subbing him, was a poor choice. Didn't help that Kane had a poor game.

Walker then Stones totally ball-watching for both goals...totally avoidable despite both being good finishes.

Think we just ran out of talent and luck today. Don't feel hard done by, just disappointed.

[Cannylad]

Better team won, imo.

Aye, we should have been two up in the first half but we were very poor in the second half and the goal was definitely coming.

Fantastic achievement getting a very ordinary team so far although just as Southgate deserves the plaudits for how well he's done, he's not above criticism and starting Ali again when he's been shite for most of the time or, at the very least, not subbing him, was a poor choice. Didn't help that Kane had a poor game.

Walker then Stones totally ball-watching for both goals...totally avoidable despite both being good finishes.

Think we just ran out of talent and luck today. Don't feel hard done by, just disappointed.

Yes, can't really disagree with this. We went further than I thought we would.

[HughieG]

I'm sorry to all of you who feel disappointed tonight, a World Cup final against France would've been a great event for you and the world to partake in. Still, getting to the semi-finals is no small feat, and Southgate and co. have done a great job getting there.

In all honesty, I never thought England was going to win it this year and has not been the best team at this World Cup. There are some great individual players in that team and yet it's never been quite convincing to me - too many players performing below level and thus making the team as a whole look mostly average. However, once you get to the semis anything can happen, so a shame for you that you didn't make it. See you in four years time (and the Euros of course!!!)

[HughieG]

Better team won, imo.

Aye, we should have been two up in the first half but we were very poor in the second half and the goal was definitely coming.

Fantastic achievement getting a very ordinary team so far although just as Southgate deserves the plaudits for how well he's done, he's not above criticism and starting Ali again when he's been shite for most of the time or, at the very least, not subbing him, was a poor choice. Didn't help that Kane had a poor game.

Walker then Stones totally ball-watching for both goals...totally avoidable despite both being good finishes.

Think we just ran out of talent and luck today. Don't feel hard done by, just disappointed.

Completely agree. Croatia were the better team; I missed the free kick goal and maybe England played well up until that goal, but after that I didn't see that England had anything to offer in terms of attacking football (minus a few rare moments) - I only saw Croatia getting better and better. I think it's best to try and keep possession once you're in the lead rather than handing over the initiative to your opponents, but easier said than done I suppose.

[Zippity]

I'm sorry to all of you who feel disappointed tonight, a World Cup final would've been a great event for and the world to partake in. Still, getting to the semi-finals is no small feat, and Southgate and co. have done a great job getting there.

In all honesty, I never thought England was going to win it this year and has not been the best team at this World Cup. However, once you get to the semis anything can happen, so a shame for you that you didn't make it. See you in four years time (and the Euros of course!!!)

Cheers, Hughie. Should have probably put 'really disappointed' but that'll fade...especially when I think about our midfield and how little they offer creatively, especially Henderson who I thought was an absolute plodder tonight (although Pickford was good again and very brave with that save in extra time).

We played tonight like the England I thought we'd see all tournament...lots of heart and well-organised but little imagination.

As I've said, getting to the semi was way beyond what almost all of us thought we'd achieve but, just as the stars seemed to be aligning-especially after such a good first hald-it all turned a little, well, NUFC.

At least we know how this feels...think of the poor 'big 6' fans...

[Cannylad]

I still think Shelvey could have been a match winner in that game. The forwards were getting very poor service from Henderson et al. Oh well, back to the drawing board