Croatia And Modric Were Magnificent Against England
You have to say Croatia were magnificent against England during the second half and extra time in the World Cup semi-final the other night. Their defence looked a shambles before the break and the forwards offered very little up front. But once the stagger had worked its wait out Croatia were worthy winners and deserved their place in the final. England play Belgium in the meaningless 3rd/4th place match.
England could not score the crucial second goal and tired under the onslaught. Croatia repeatedly shifted the play and it was only a matter of time before they equalised. England played some decent stuff at the start of extra time but Croatia came again in the second period and the winning goal did not flatter the team. The relatively new nation of CROATIA are 7/4 with Ladbrokes to win the World Cup.
In Norway there is an expression for that player who can find the killer pass to break down teams at the highest level. The can opener is that man on the pitch who delivers the ball that opens up a well organised defence in matches that matter most. England have played admirably and possibly were one poor decision from Harry Kane to be in the final of the World Cup.
However, ultimately they lack a can opener and finding one should be in Gareth Southgate’s in-tray over the next two years. Croatia do posses a can opener in Luca Modric who took control of the match with England. He was at the helm of a dominant midfield in a match in which experience told in the end. MODRIC is now 2/1 with William Hill to be the player of the tournament.
Roger Federer is out of Wimbledon so the semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could identify the winner of the championships. Kevin Anderson and John Isner, the other semi-finalists, would probably disagree but the big match involves former champions. Losing at the semi-final stage can be hard to take but NADAL won’t be feeling like England and he is the bet at 10//11 with Betfair.
It’s the second day of the July Festival at Newmarket and the highlight is the Falmouth Stakes (3.35pm). It’s a Group 1 contest for fillies’ and mares over one mile. Alpha Centauri has won Group 1 races in her own age group which is horses aged three. She gets 9 pounds from the older horses but the main rivals do as well. Alpha Centauri will start odds-on but THREADING offers some value at 9/1 with bet365.
Leave a Reply