The Official World Cup 2018 Thread

[johnnycool]

I think France will be strong favourites in the final, they are very good defensively. Giroud is limited up front but everywhere else they are a good side without being spectacular.

England have been blessed with the draw they got and I think their match with Croatia tomorrow is a real 50/50 game. Hopefully Croatia will make it a final we can actually enjoy. Would love to see Croatia win the thing outright.

Much being made of Harry Kane and the golden boot but when you break it down he's only scored two goals that he knew anything about in open play and they were from set pieces by and large.
Lingard is the only one to score a decent goal of note and that was against Panama.

Croatia seem to lack mental fortitude according to Bilic and if they can score first it will be interesting to see how England respond to being in a deficit.

Sadly I can see England win this one from a corner or the likes.

[trailer]

Can't see England beating Belguim to be honest.

[johnnycool]

Can't see England beating Belguim to be honest.

on Saturday?

[seafoid]

Southgate is quite impressive

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/10/psychology-england-football-team-change-your-life-pippa-grange

Routines can be useful, he says. "If you watch Harry Kane, if he's been interrupted [before taking a penalty], he starts again – he picks the ball up and puts it down on the spot and goes through his whole routine again, and that's something I've never seen England players do before. They usually want to get it over with as quickly as possible, but fear causes us to do things that are unhelpful." Routines, says Barton, help to keep us in the moment, focused and in the right frame of mind.

When someone is under a moment of extreme pressure, using a tactic such as mental cues can be helpful, says Kate Hays, the head of psychology at the English Institute of Sport. "People will have cue words that will bring them back into focus on the task at hand – for some, they could be emotional cues; for others, it could be technically focused. It's just one or two words that can get people to focus on the right thing."

In dealing with a negative event, she says, "the reflection component is critical. It allows people time and space to work through that emotionally and be able to go back to what happened, to process it and be able to move on." We could also learn to view failure as having potentially positive consequences in the long term. "There is some evidence that people have been able to be successful in sport because of previous [adverse] early experiences, not necessarily in sport," says Hays. "Overcoming difficult situations and building resilience potentially contributes to success."

 Southgate, who has experienced his own disappointments – that missed penalty at the semi-finals of Euro 96, and his managerial career at Middlesbrough ending in relegation – has said as much: "I have learned from things that have gone wrong and had to pick myself up ... Because of those failures, I feel it gives you the freedom of being able to say, 'How might we be the best possible team?' and not be afraid of what goes wrong – because whatever goes wrong we can deal with, as I have lived through it."

Grange has no fear of failure either. She has written: "I'd like to turn this unhealthy preoccupation with success on its head and put it on the record that I think failure is really useful. For without failure we cannot progress longer, higher or faster. It's a funny paradox – our successes are achieved through trying, and trying most often ends in failure. Every day in our general lives and our sporting lives we will win some and lose some; it's just part of the way life should be. It could be missing out on a promotion, being pipped at the line in a running race or bombing out in an exam – it doesn't matter – the important lesson is to learn from our failures, reassess, rethink, move forward (sometimes in a different direction) and keep those dreams and goals alive."

Kevin George, the author of Soccology, who works with clubs and coaches on performance, also says that respecting the individual qualities and personalities of your players (or your employees) is key. "To instil confidence in one player might be to give them freedom, so they know you trust them," he says. "For somebody else, it might be a lot of praise. For a group of people, you have to tap into who they are individually, but as a group, give them the belief that you trust them." Singling people out for praise in a group setting can be tricky, he adds. "People can think: 'That person's a favourite, I'm not a favourite.' It is tough." Southgate doesn't play favourites; everyone feels as if they have a chance.

[Tony Baloney]

I think France will be strong favourites in the final, they are very good defensively. Giroud is limited up front but everywhere else they are a good side without being spectacular.

England have been blessed with the draw they got and I think their match with Croatia tomorrow is a real 50/50 game. Hopefully Croatia will make it a final we can actually enjoy. Would love to see Croatia win the thing outright.

Much being made of Harry Kane and the golden boot but when you break it down he's only scored two goals that he knew anything about in open play and they were from set pieces by and large.
Lingard is the only one to score a decent goal of note and that was against Panama.

Croatia seem to lack mental fortitude according to Bilic and if they can score first it will be interesting to see how England respond to being in a deficit.

Sadly I can see England win this one from a corner or the likes.

Agree. Despite having some stars on their team and reaching the semis Croatia have also benefited from playing some average teams. They haven't impressed me either so if their is any justice which ever teams plays France in the final will get stuffed.

[imtommygunn]

You wonder will England try and expose lovren. Kane really demolished him in a league game last year.

I would agree with bilic. Croatia look weak mentally. I think they need the first goal. I am not convinced England are strong mentally either and would struggle if they went one down.

[Solo_run]

The paths Croatia and England have taken have been similar but Croatia have played and defeated one of the top 5 teams in the world where as England have lost.

Croatia players will feel tired but like England they know that a place in the 2018 FIFA world cup final is at stake and this could give them that extra bit of energy.

However, England will be fresher and as the game goes on will put the squeeze on Croatia.

No matter who wins I think the final will be too much of a step up in class.

[Kurtz]

Mourinho was having a go at Belgium
Said Hazard worked his socks off and the rest of them stood and watched him

He also said tiredness will play in England favour
also that Croatia midfield similar to France so will be interesting to see how England cope

[AQMP]

I fancy England for this.  Croatia haven't impressed in the knockout stages, they're mentally (and defensively) a bit flaky.  They weren't able to beat pretty ordinary Danish or Russian teams even with extra time.  England aren't a great side and it's true they haven't really been tested yet, but they're confident and have a bit of momentum and it's obvious you don't have to have a great team to win this World Cup, you just need to be the best of a bad bunch.

[Milltown Row2]

Croatia probably mentally weak with being favourites for all of their games, the burden of carrying the favourite tag doesn't sit well with them.. both teams are in a position that they didn't feel they'd be at before the competition started.. 90 minutes from a World Cup final will play heavily on both teams, regardless of who's in the final..

Expect a cagey opening and a tense final quarter! Penalties possibly, but also expect Pickford to make a blunder, the press has blown this lad up that much he's ready to take over from Boris! Though that wouldn't be a difficult job!

[Mayo4Sam]

I don't get people saying they only score from set pieces. Set pieces are a huge part of the f**king game, massive. England have obviously done a tonne of work on them and it's paying off. Comparing it to Kane taking the corners at the euros, it's night and day.
I also think it's very hard to counteract that strength on the bounce. Teams take months or years to get the right structure defending corners. It's not like saying we'll double mark Modric or we'll push up on Mansuckic.

Fair play to England

[Main Street]

I think France will be strong favourites in the final, they are very good defensively. Giroud is limited up front but everywhere else they are a good side without being spectacular.

England have been blessed with the draw they got and I think their match with Croatia tomorrow is a real 50/50 game. Hopefully Croatia will make it a final we can actually enjoy. Would love to see Croatia win the thing outright.

Much being made of Harry Kane and the golden boot but when you break it down he's only scored two goals that he knew anything about in open play and they were from set pieces by and large.
Lingard is the only one to score a decent goal of note and that was against Panama.

Croatia seem to lack mental fortitude according to Bilic and if they can score first it will be interesting to see how England respond to being in a deficit.

Sadly I can see England win this one from a corner or the likes.

Bilic has praised the mental fortitude of the Croats, winning these types of games in the knockout stages that they use to lose.

[Cunny Funt]

Moment of truth for England tonight. Will they ever get a better chance or easier route to World cup final? i still remember Bobby Robson walking off the field after the 1990 semi final against Germany shaking his head knowing they had blown not only reaching the World cup final but winning the World cup.  Croatia are no Germany and failure in this semi final will be as much if not more disappointing for the English than 1990 was.

[Captain Obvious]

I don't get people saying they only score from set pieces. Set pieces are a huge part of the f**king game, massive. England have obviously done a tonne of work on them and it's paying off. Comparing it to Kane taking the corners at the euros, it's night and day.
I also think it's very hard to counteract that strength on the bounce. Teams take months or years to get the right structure defending corners. It's not like saying we'll double mark Modric or we'll push up on Mansuckic.

Fair play to England

Good on set pieces and boring in open play worked for Wimbledon in 1988 and it might work for England in 2018.

[johnnycool]

I think France will be strong favourites in the final, they are very good defensively. Giroud is limited up front but everywhere else they are a good side without being spectacular.

England have been blessed with the draw they got and I think their match with Croatia tomorrow is a real 50/50 game. Hopefully Croatia will make it a final we can actually enjoy. Would love to see Croatia win the thing outright.

Much being made of Harry Kane and the golden boot but when you break it down he's only scored two goals that he knew anything about in open play and they were from set pieces by and large.
Lingard is the only one to score a decent goal of note and that was against Panama.

Croatia seem to lack mental fortitude according to Bilic and if they can score first it will be interesting to see how England respond to being in a deficit.

Sadly I can see England win this one from a corner or the likes.

Bilic has praised the mental fortitude of the Croats, winning these types of games in the knockout stages that they use to lose.

Those last two knockout wins must have changed his mind then.