Trailing 1-0 at halftime of its semifinal match against England, Croatia looked like it was more likely to concede a second goal than find an equalizer. Then the Ivan Perisic World Cup highlight show got underway.
Perisic was a menace in winning back possession for Croatia. Playing on the left side, he was routinely found on the right disrupting England's attempts to get the ball under control.
It’s especially important to soak in the final two games of the 2018 World Cup this summer, since soccer fans will have to wait an extra six months before the 2022 World Cup begins. Due to Qatar’s brutally hot temperatures during the summer, the tournament will run from November 21 until December 18.
The 28-day timeframe is four days fewer than Russia 2018. That means there will be more games each day and less recovery time for teams.
On July 15, 2018, France and Croatia will meet at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow to contest the final of the World Cup. It’ll be a matchup of the two most deserving teams, but you can’t help but feel that England missed out on a massive opportunity after looking in the ascendency for the better part of the opening hour today.
Legendary right-sided midfielder David Beckham had some hugely memorable moments for England, including the free kick that sent the nation to the 2002 World Cup and the free kick that sent England to the quarterfinals in ’06. But the “Bury Beckham,” Kieran Trippier, has perhaps already eclipsed Golden Balls on the world’s biggest stage.
Following Belgium’s 1-0 defeat to France in the semifinals of the World Cup, defeated Red Devils stars Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois immediately began throwing shade at Les Bleus.
During France’s 1-0 win over Belgium yesterday, there was a heinous moment in the 92nd minute when Kylian Mbappe attempted to retain possession near Belgium’s corner flag, only to dribble out of bounds. Instead of allowing Toby Alderweireld to take the throw, the 19-year-old attempted a comically horrendous behind the back pass that landed on the pitch.
There’s your answer: From front to back, France has the best blend of talent at this World Cup. That’s not to deride Croatia or England, it’s just a question that was very obviously going to be settled in this particular semifinal. Could the “magic” propel either of those nations beyond France in the final? As Steven Gerrard would say, yeeeaah course — Portugal did it.
Throughout the entirety of the France vs Belgium semifinal, you could do nothing but watch and wonder when Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe got on the ball. How is it possible that these two are this good? The pair's simply unplayable when on form, and both have clearly been at their best in Russia.
In the first half, Hazard went off on a terrorizing run after doing in Benjamin Pavard. His flurry of feet to then ruin Pavard again and drift inside Paul Pogba was poetry in motion.
As recognized by his 2017 Golden Boy award and current standing as the second most expensive player ever, 19-year-old French phenom Kylian Mbappe is the most exciting talent in world football. He’s the youngest-ever French goalscorer at the World Cup and the second teenager to score two goals in a World Cup match, joining Pele in that regard.
The enigmatic, mad Frenchman is back with a vengeful commentary on the Russia World Cup. One of Eric Cantona’s most recent victims, one that we’ve all enjoyed criticizing this past month, is none other than Brazilian boy wonder and Oscar-nominated actor Neymar Jr.
The “Commissioner of Football” and King of Old Trafford, in one of his segments for Eurosport, bombarded Neymar with a not-so-subtle attack on his recent World Cup flopping antics.
Here’s what the former Manchester United No. 7 had to say.