Benedict Spence

The secret to beating Croatia

  • From Spectator Life
Image: Gareth Southgate (Getty)

First things first: don’t get your hopes up. England don’t have a bad team. In fact, this year they’re pretty good; not quite the ‘golden generation’ of 2006, but good enough to win the tournament. That very fact ought to sound a note of caution: we’ve been down this weary road before. After the year we’ve had, we could use something to celebrate, but another crushing disappointment after foolishly allowing ourselves to believe would be too much. 

With that in mind, it would be jolly sporting of England if they didn’t win their opening game too easily. No 7-0 demolition jobs for us, thanks; what we need is a cagey, narrow win, or maybe even a credible draw, full of pluck, blood and thunder, to set us off on the right path: under no illusions. 

Fortunately, the opening game is Croatia. Ah, Croatia. Just the name evokes nausea. The rabble that stopped England qualifying for the Euros in 2008, and, at the last World Cup, denied Gareth Southgate’s happy band of Englishmen their God-given right to have another crack at the French. The good news: Mario Mandzukic, whose goal knocked England out three years ago, has retired, as has midfield maestro Ivan Rakitic. The bad news? The rest are still around; a little older, a little wiser, and still a mean bunch of Balkan hard-cases. 

Marcelo Brozovic and Matteo Kovacic run the midfield, creating space for Luka Modric, Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or winner (the big, shiny ‘here be the best player in the world’ award) to ping the ball left, right and centre. Famously, defenders hate it when you ping it left and right, but centre? That’s basically witchcraft, and were it not for the recent introduction of video replay, would necessitate Modric being put to death at the hands (well, feet) of Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips.

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