Two teams are grasping at history-making in the second semi-final game of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, as battling Croatia face a buoyant England side tonight at the Luzhniki Stadium. .
France await in the Moscow final on Sunday, after Les Bleus beat Belgium 1-0 in Saint Petersburg last night. The Sportsman looks at four talking points ahead of the match, Croatia versus England.
Can Kane Surpass Lineker?
Gary Lineker has long been heralded as the benchmark for England strikers in the World Cup, his Golden Boot at Mexico 86 held up in absence of any real glory for the national side.
But tonight it could be that, after over 30 years, this will end up simply being just a pub quiz question when Harry Kane takes centre-stage once again in his claim to be considered one of the world’s finest marksmen.
Discount the naysayers who easily discard the Spurs’ man’s penalties accounting for a substantial portion of his current goal-haul. The composure shown by Kane against both Panama and Colombia is enviable for most forwards, and has been exactly the talisman England needed to him to be. His confidence has flowed into the rest of the team and has been pivotal to where England now find themselves. One more goal in either this, or the final, will take him past Lineker’s 1986 return of six.
The Modric-Rakitic Combination
One distinct advantage on paper for Croatia is the exquisite midfield pairing coach Zlatko Dalić has at his disposal.
Ivan Rakitic, the man born and raised in Switzerland, has been good from the spot in Croatia’s back-to-back penalty shootouts they’ve had to endure in the knock-out stages against Denmark and Russia.
hasn’t been completely scintillating from what we have grown to expect during his time at Barcelona, instead operating in a more defensive role, but has been no less imperative to the orchestration of the team.
The list of superlatives to describe Luka Modric, Rakitic’s rival at club-level, has been exhausted. Two more stunning performances to make history for Croatia, combined with his pulling the strings for Real Madrid’s third successive Champions League win two months ago, should get the engraver started on marking up the Ballon d’Or.
#HalaMadrid
Can Sterling Finally Get On The Scoresheet?
As has been well documented, Raheem Sterling’s goal drought for England extends all the way back to 2015, yet his contribution to the England cause in Russia cannot be underestimated. Manchester City’s Sterling has been tireless, his work-rate second to none, constantly making darting runs and has ultimately been a fantastic threat to the attack. Adding a goal against Croatia to go with his two international strikes in 42 appearances for country will no doubt (temporarily) quieten his critics.
The Key Battle: Trippier versus Perisic
A year ago, Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic was on a host of club radars across the continent. Whilst no move eventually came into fruition with Persic remaining in Serie A, the 29 year-old winger didn’t let this set-back his performances for the Nerazzurri become affected. Perisic managed 11 goals and 11 assists as Inter got back into Europe and his stock has risen even further on duty for Croatia this summer.
One of the more interesting stories of the World Cup has been how Kieran Trippier was initially treated with trepidation by Lions’ fans questioning his reliability and worth and yet, now, if the Spurs right-back doesn’t feature in the Team of the World Cup there are certain to be a few raised eyebrows.
His true worth to the England fight tonight will focus less on his fantastic assists and dead-ball set-pieces that have been vital to England’s progression, and now the examination will be on his defensive capabilities in containing Perisic marauding down the left hand side. His former Lilywhite teammate Kyle Walker, based on the right side of Gareth Southgate’s back three, should provide ample coverage to contain the threat of Perisic should Trippier struggle.
