Shropshire Star

Croatia 2 England 1 – Player ratings

England agonisingly fell short in their World Cup semi-final against Croatia, losing 2-1 after extra time.

Published
Harry Maguire and Harry Kane dejected after the final whistle

Here, Joe Edwards rates each of the Three Lions players.

Jordan Pickford

Displayed immense bravery to deny Mandzukic from point-blank range in the first half of extra-time. Could not do anything about the goals. 7/10

Kyle Walker

Beaten to the punch by Perisic for Croatia’s equaliser. Played the ball around quite nicely in the first half but looked less comfortable as the game went on. 6/10

John Stones

Caught napping for Mandzukic’s winner. It was only a split-second lapse in concentration, but you can rarely afford to switch off at the top level of the game. 6/10

Harry Maguire

As ever, won a fair amount of headers and looked to carry the ball out of defence, but Croatia’s high press limited his opportunities to do so. 6/10

Kieran Trippier

Put England in front with a sublime free-kick and came up with some decent crosses. Perhaps the Three Lions’ player of the tournament. 7/10

Jordan Henderson

Could not fault his work rate, but his decision-making on the ball was certainly questionable. Lumped it long too many times. 6/10

Dele Alli

Looked pretty tidy whenever he had the ball, but went missing for large spells of the game. Stuck in second gear and anonymous in the second half. 5/10

Jesse Lingard

Like Alli, he started pretty brightly and then his influence faded as the game wore on. Deserves credit for his defensive work, though. 6/10

Ashley Young

The cross for Perisic’s goal came from his side and, for a wing-back, he didn’t offer enough of a threat going forward in the opposing half. 5/10

Harry Kane

Held the ball up well but spurned two glorious opportunities in the first half and then missed a free header towards the end of normal time. 6/10

Raheem Sterling

Kept losing his footing in promising positions. His pace kept Vida and Lovren on their toes but his end product was very poor. 5/10

Subs:

Marcus Rashford – More assured than Sterling. 6/10

Danny Rose – Some attacking intent. 6/10

Eric Dier – No positive effect. 5/10

Jamie Vardy – Not enough time. N/A