World Cup 2018

What a fantastic game this is, deserves to be the final, both teams are just class.

Belgium dictating play with their build up play and sheer brilliance of Hazard, but France are equally brilliant on the counter, slick passing and so dangerous, it could go either way really. I'd like Belgium to get through though, loving how they play.

France score and are looking hungry for more, Mbappe stepping it up in this 2nd half too.

Hazard has disappeared second half & DeBruyne is not passing or shooting as well as he usually does. They can’t seem to get Lukaku into the game. Just can’t see Belgium scoring & I’m disappointed by that prospect.

Ah well France it is then, still a very good team and they've Mbappe and Griezmann up front to run riot against England if they get to the final. Bet Belgium regret not taking their chance at the easier half of the knock out stages now, they'd have skooshed that half of the draw on their way to the final.

Over to you now Croatia.

Seems like France only want to do just enough to get through. Perhaps they're right as it seems they still have a lot left in the tank.

Difficult to see either of the other teams beating them in the final if I'm totally honest.

Yeah, it was almost like Ali’s rope-a-dope; they dealt with Belgium by letting them tire themselves out, perhaps seeing that they did the same against Brazil; and just did enough to win in the second half.

Hopefully Croatia do the business now but l am afraid I can foresee our noisy neighbours bringing it home.

1-0 already, another bloody set piece. Good free kick though.

But the keeper went to the DJ school of positioning for free kicks.

He was too far to his right (left hand side when looking at the goal) - Trippier didn’t even have to stick it in the corner. He struck it sweetly & did well to get it up & down but if Subasic started more centrally then he saves it.

Croatia have not impressed me at all this tournament & they look even worse tonight.

Last night Belgium needed to score first, tonight Croatia needed to score first. This game is over, England don’t even need a second goal.

Get in!!!!!!!

Thought it was going to be disallowed for a high foot but I don’t care... mon the Creosotes!!!

So close to a second as well.... come on!!!!

Croatia hitting the post too, mon Croatia.

Croatia looking like they could win this now but it really could go either way, end to end stuff.

If that is the winner then we should all request Barry Manilow singing Mandy on all radio stations tomorrow

Oh Mandy, well you sent England home without thinking,
When you stuck it away, oh Mandy
You’re a hero in Scotland forever,
You’re a hero today, oh Mandy

Liviforever wrote:

Pity you couldn’t change “it’s” to “you’re”

Belgium v England for 3rd place on Saturday, wonder if they'll both play their 2nd string again.

An Englishman bumped into a Frenchman on Wednesday morning & said “We’re playing Croatia tonight,” - the Frenchman replied, “What a coincidence, we are playing them on Sunday.”

Thank God they're oot. The hype was becoming unbearable. They will now of course support their near neighbours, France.

orco wrote:Thank God they're oot. The hype was becoming unbearable. They will now of course support their near neighbours, France.

It helped Croatia though, same way our players got that little bit extra incentive going into games after reading how we weren't as good as the teams we kept beating.
Modric said they kept hearing how England were fitter than them. and Croatia would tire, and how England were better than them, so they were saying 'ok we'll see soon see when we play them then'. He said the press and pundits are needing to be a bit more humble about England, and respectful to their opponents.  He said 'that was a mistake, they underestimated us.'

So it isn't just us that notice their media and pundits going overboard.

As I said earlier I cant see past a French win on Sunday.

That being said Croatia really did dumbfound many predictions; not just the English media. Is that now three games running that they've managed win in extra time or penalties? For a team that everyone is saying is aged and past-it; the evidence would appear to point elsewhere.

France have an awful habit of doing just enough; if they try that with Croatia they could end up getting caught out.

On the positive side I'm hoping this will shut Shearer up a bit; the guy was getting even worse than Hansen for being an absolute bloody opinionated know-it-all on TV and the bloody telephone numbers they "earn" for sitting there talking about football is obscene.

Shearer gets on my nerves anyway, he can't talk about a game without stuttering every 5 words, and stopping mid sentence to repeat the last 2 words he just said before carrying on. Really find it distracting.