In a tight match of quarterfinals, the Croatians equalized
against Russia in one in the 90 minutes and had to dispute the extension. The
2-2 at the end of the extension determined that everything was decided by
penalties, instance in which the selection by Zlatko Dalic was imposed to
qualify for the semifinals. For the first time since 1998, Croatia was once again among the best four teams in the Soccer World Cup. A roster of great
individual talents in good form, such as Luka Modric and Ivan Ratikic, took the
European team to the forefront of the world. The surprise in Russia started in
the group stage, when they were first in their area beating Argentina and
eliminating Nigeria and Iceland. In the round of 16 they beat Denmark, also on
penalties, for, after imposing themselves on the host, advance to the
semifinals.
The national team in charge of Gareth Southgate qualified
for the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup
after beating Sweden 2-0 in the final phase. Previously he had beaten Colombia
on penalty kicks in the round of 16. In their zone of groups the English were
second, behind Belgium and above Tunisia and Panama. England has a team of
great individual talents who, despite their young age, are carrying the burden
of leading their national team to be one of the firm candidates for the World Cup.
Since 1996, when they hosted the Cup, the Three Lions never won the tournament
again. Entrusted to a project that already paid off in youth teams and that has
Southgate as the main architect, England dreams of returning to be world
champion.
In this analysis we consider that England will be able to impose itself to return to play a final in
the Football World Cup. The team
that runs Southgate comes from qualifying more comfortably in the quarterfinals
and also in the previous rounds. In addition, it has a team with players of
greater renown and talent than its rival.
FIFA World Cup
,
Football
