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

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