Kevin Whitcher
Sunday 8th July 3pm
Well, well, well. England are in the last four of the World Cup for the third time in their history, after 1966 and 1990. The nation is in joyous mood, there is more beer in the air at screenings than in plastic glasses, and it’s coming home. And we should all enjoy it, but folks, just a note of caution here. This is England. There are two paths this footballing nation does. Heroic failure (think Germany in Italia 90) or inglorious failure (think Iceland in France 2016). Frankly any slither of a chance of actual victory in the tournament will be killed in an instant once yours truly starts believing it’s even possible, so trust me. I am doing this pessimism for you guys.
I was in danger of nodding off during the first half of the quarter final against Sweden yesterday. It was obviously baking hot back in Blighty and there was not much breeze indoors even though all the windows and doors that could be open were open. Two beers had been consumed to counter any attempts at alertness and I was near horizontal on the settee. So I took to Twitter to remain conscious and made a few observations. One was on the subject of Raheem Sterling, serial ballser-up of excellent opportunities. I queried how the hell he was even in the squad. At half time I was informed by the pundits that he was the kind of player that team-mates liked having in their team but the crowd didn’t. Doubtless he will score the winner in the final and be knighted in the New Year honours list, but to me, we are simply looking at a hybrid of Theo Walcott. Then again, who else would you play in his place? Danny Welbeck? The one thing about Sterling is that he gets involved and makes the opposition sweat… and fans tear their hair out, naturally.
Among the replies, several mentioned that Dele Alli was even worse. Although I could certainly not argue with that, I responded to one tweeter that “I grant you, at least Sterling is on the ball to cock it up. Dele Alli is invisible. Then again, that’s what made Martin Peters so great they tell me. You didn’t know he was on the pitch and then… goal.” More of that later however, as England took the lead through the excellent Harry Maguire from a corner on the half hour. Fortunately, my tweeting had ensured I remained conscious to witness the moment. Now here’s the thing. A lot more goals from set pieces at these finals, correct? And it has to be said that the use of VAR is unquestionably the reason for this. Suddenly, defenders cannot use foul tactics to prevent their opponents playing football. The dark arts are slowly disappearing from the game. Good or bad? Depends on whether you are Jose Mourinho I suppose. The Premier League will delay the introduction of VAR until 2019/20, although hopefully the events in Russia will embolden them to give more penalties for holding. It makes corners and free kicks far more interesting if the attacking team has a better chance of scoring.
Half time came and went and Jordan Pickford made an excellent save early in the second half, the first of three very decent ones. Sweden certainly tested England and but for the keeper this would have been a far less comfortable game than it felt like by the end. Obviously, England’s going ahead in the first half had turned the game from attack v defence into an actual football match, which meant greater excitement at both ends of the pitch. Dele Alli popped up with his Martin Peters header to make it 2-0, and it got me thinking who else in the team could be partnered with one of the 1966 team. For Geoff Hurst, you have Harry Kane. Gordan Banks is Jordan Pickford. Harry MaGuire is Bobby Moore, although there is an argument for John Stones. Jordan Henderson as Nobby Stiles? Tricky one this. Nobby wouldn’t have lasted 20 minutes without a red card in the current climate. Henderson fortunately avoided getting booked and missing the semi-final. Jesse Lingard as Alan Ball?
Gareth Southgate will have to think long and hard about his team for the game against Croatia. There must be a temptation to bring in Eric Dier to support Henderson given the talents of Modric and Rakatic, although my guess is that he will rely on Lingard to play with a slightly more defensive mindset and leave the team alone. Despite his goal, there is an argument for dropping Alli, but I don’t believe he will. And obviously, it’s a 14 man game now, 15 if extra time is required. England can certainly beat Croatia (remember Rooney exploding onto the scene in the Euros in 2004?) although vice versa is equally possible (Steve McLaren and his brolly in 2007?).
The nation was partying by the time of the later match to decide who they would face on Wednesday evening in the Luzhnki Stadium in Moscow, where the final will also be held. Croatia and Russia played out a 2-2 draw, and the hosts were eliminated via the method they had defeated Spain – another penalty shoot out. Six matches have been played in the elimination stage of this half of the draw – four of them settled by spot kicks after 120 minutes. Croatia have progressed in two of them, and don’t look as good as they did in the group matches. However, they are well capable of taking a team apart, as their win over Argentina demonstrated. England may be slightly aided by the fact their opponents have played two sets of grueling extra time, especially if the semi-final goes past 90 minutes, but generally, you’d have to say it’s a pretty even game. No obvious favourite.
In the other half of the draw, France found a way past Uruguay thanks to a good free-kick and a howler from the keeper. The Latin Americans suffered through the absence of Edison Cavani, their squad not deep enough to compensate. France’s football has rarely excited with the exception of their last 16 game against Argentina, but they are favourites to win the tournament with the bookies. This does a disservice to Belgium, who have impressed me more by eliminating Brazil. Sure, they nearly ballsed up big time against Japan, but their comeback in that match will surely have given them a massive confidence boost. The exit of Neymar and company meant that there would be only European sides in the last four. To my mind, that actually enhances England’s chances. I am far from convinced they could have beaten a South American side in the final, but would have a better chance against a European team. Gareth Southgate’s men have played a lot of the supposedly stronger European sides in friendlies since he took over – Spain, Germany (twice), France, Holland and Italy. Brazil were the only Latin American side of note to be faced. So good experience for his side. France against Belgium could be an absolute cracker, certainly too close to call. What is certain though is that the winner will be the favourite in the final next Sunday.
So a bit of housekeeping before I wrap up today. In my diary pieces on the finals written while I was in Russia, a couple of inaccuracies I need to clear up. 1. Red Square in Moscow was only closed to visitors for five days, not the entire tournament. 2. If you did buy a ticket from a tout or another fan, you could still get into the stadium as long as you have a valid Fan ID. My host Ivan Merc was watching the screen where my Fan ID photo showed up on the other side of the turnstile once he had entered. He saw my face pop up and believed that if the ticket used was not in my name it would have created an alert. Certainly, there would have been a problem if the individual at the turnstile did not match the photo that appeared on the screen (so the photo on the Fan ID card could have been doctored, but it would not have fooled the machine) – but your name did not have to be on the ticket used. So a lot of people with genuine Fan IDs have been able to attend matches using tickets bought from others, which have not been subsequently registered to them. It means the stadiums are fuller than they might have been, and explains the disproportionately large number of Latin American supporters in the crowd for the knockout games when their teams have played. The black market is alive and well, but those entering the stadiums have been cleared by security.
All of which means that if you are flying out in the hope of getting a ticket for either Wednesday evening or Sunday afternoon’s game, you have a chance, as long as you have a valid Fan ID (which doubles up as your entrance visa). If you have not got one of these yet, you have to buy a ticket through official channels or have one allocated to you through the FIFA ticketing website by someone who has bought more than one ticket. I reckon if England did make the final, the idea of simply flying out to be in Moscow to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the match in the fan park might be a bit tricky unless you pay the earth to get a Russian visa double quick, and I have no idea how much that would cost or how quickly they can issue them. Whoever plays, I am happy that I have sampled the finals and will relax on the couch in front of a TV in London. I have witnessed enough significant England defeats in the flesh (2002 v Brazil, 2004 v Portugal, 2010 v Germany, 2014 v Uruguay). The boys really do not need this particular albatross in the stands…
