England netted twice in the last twelve minutes to
turn what looked like relegation from the elite group around to qualification to
the finals of the inaugural UEFA Nations League and relegate opponents Croatia
into Group B as a result.
Group A4 had certainly thrown up it’s drama so far and this
was the final showdown in that Group with all results still possible as all
three sides, Spain, England and Croatia could all still win the group and make
next summer’s finals in Portugal.
Spain, who were hoping for a draw in this one to see them
qualify, had began this group with two wins from two, however two losses then
followed meaning a win for either England or Croatia would send them through
whilst the losers would be relegated to the B group.
It certainly all pointed to a tense and exciting afternoon
at Wembley in the November sunshine and after the hosts had almost gifted the
lead to the visitors inside two minutes, the hosts started to dominate proceedings.
The Croats were struggling to deal with the pace and
directness of Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, and the hosts were guilty of
missing some guilt edged chances.
Sterling saw a one on one chance saved, before Harry Kane made a mess of
a chance at the back post when totally unmarked, and Kane again saw a shot at
goal blocked on the line by a defender after the keeper was left in no man’s
land.
But for all of England’s attacking threat you always knew
the Croatian side could cause problems, although they didn’t really test Jordan
Pickford too much in the first half, with any efforts they had going off target,
although just before the half time whistle a floated ball into the home box
just invaded Perisic, in what was a warning to the hosts not to rest on their laurels.
So the half ended goalless, meaning it was as you were, with
Spain through to the finals as group winners, England finishing second and Croatia
facing relegation to Group B. But there
was a long way still to go as they say.
Half Time England 0
Croatia 0
So forty five minutes to decide this group, who would blink
first? Well just before the hour mark
Croatia struck a major blow when Andrej Kramaric received the ball inside the
box, twisted and turned and then sent a curling effort which took a nick off
Eric Dier and beyond Pickford into the corner of the net, and suddenly Croatia
were in the driving seat and England were now facing the drop.
The goal gave the visitors a boost for sure and you could
sense the nervousness inside the stadium as Croatia threatened a second goal,
but this did not arrive and England remained in the contest but knew they needed
to find at least one goal to save their Group A status.
But it looked as though the hosts would find it very
difficult to do this as the visitors had set up very well defensively and
looked to counter at any opportunity and Gareth Southgate decided a change was necessary
and brought on Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho to try and get the attacking
flair back into the side.
This young England side now had to show some character, and
boy did they do just that, as with twelve minutes remaining Kane stretched to squeeze
an effort under keeper Kalinic’s body, and as the ball trickled towards the
goal., Lingard was on hand to side foot into the empty net from a yard out and
bring the Three Lions level.
It now meant we were back to square one again, with Spain
now in the driving seat, so the final ten minutes would certainly be
interesting to say the least.
Croatia then so nearly went back in front moments later
though but Lingard turned defender to clear off the line and deny the visitors
what could have been a massive blow to the hosts, just moments after they had
got back on level terms.
But England poured forward again in search of that winner
and with five minutes remaining found it when skipper Kane, who else, slid in
to convert Ben Chillwell’s free-kick in off the post and send the home players
and fans wild with delight, and it meant that England will take their place
alongside Portugal and Switzerland in June’s UEFA Nations League finals with
one spot still to be filled by either World Champions France or Netherlands.
It also means the Three Lions are guaranteed a EURO 2020
play off spot as well after reaching the finals, whilst defeat for Croatia
means they are relegated to Group B along with Germany, Iceland and Poland. A dramatic finish then, and the new look
England continue to make strides to being one of the very best in the
world. Exciting times indeed!!!
Full Time England 2
Croatia 1
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