The United Devils

experience and competence of Boyata should fill in well. Big moment for the Celtic lad, though. Kompany, Alderweireld and Vertonghen have the class and ability to be sturdy and complete a solid line of defence.
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini and Axel Witsel (CMs), Eden Hazard (LM), Kevin De Bruyne (CAM), Dries Mertens (RM).
Fellaini and Witsel can pack a punch, will be rugged and loom tall over the likes of Matuidi and Kanté. This'll be fun. De Bruyne

So England take on Croatia in the second semi-final of the Fifa World Cup 2018. The Three Lions comfortably beat Sweden 2-0 in the quarters, with goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli. Both goals were supplied by United boys, Ashley Young and Jesse Lingard. However, that meant the end of the tournament for Victor Lindelof.       Elsewhere, Croatia fought hard for their win in the quarters against an extremely rampant Russia. Russia were very organised at the back and seemed comfortable being on the back foot. When they did concede, they charged upfront and got their equalizer. The game ended 2-2 which Croatia won on penalties.       That sets up a crunch semi finals tie between Croatia and England at the Luzhniki. With enthusiastic chants of "It's coming home!", the English seem fairly confident about the game and for good reason. They have been one of the better sides this World Cup and they will draw confidence from the fact that Croatia played a much longer an…

Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford.
At 24 years old, playing his first major international tournament and being a machine between the posts, he has been incredible to get his nation this far in the competition. Let's give him something to sign off with.
Defenders: Danny Rose (LWB), Gary Cahill, John Stones and Harry Maguire (CBs), Kyle Walker (RWB).
I'm going with Rose on the left flank, Young has been in decent nick and it's time for a well earned rest, as Rose played well coming on against Croatia. Trippier looks to have suffered a nasty thigh injury late in the semi final, so Walker will revert to his natural right (wing) back role like he was used to before. Cahill is an experienced and class defender, he'll be in the centre with Stones and Maguire beside him, being a leader in defence.
Midfielders: Fabian Delph and Eric Dier (CM), Jesse Lingard (CAM).
Delph should be full of confidence and as will Dier as they've both been pretty good throughout the competition. Lingard h…

Sweden vs England Match Analysis and Player Ratings FOOTBALL'S COMING HOOOME! I apologise for the repetiveness but it is just true. England played outstandingly as they knocked out a tough Swedish side in the Quarter Finals to reach the World Cup semis for the first time since 1990. This means they have set themselves up for a semi-final against Croatia, who beat Russia on penalties this evening after a 2-2 draw in extra time. While England kept an unchanged lineup from the side that beat Colombia on penalties, Sweden made two changes from their 1-0 win against Switzerland with Seb Larsson and the Emil Krafth coming in for Gustav Svensson and the suspended Mikael Lustig. 
Olsen, Krafth, Granqvist (c), Lindelof, Augustinsson, Claesson, Larsson, Ekdal, Forsberg, Berg, Toivonen
Pickford, Trippier, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Young, Henderson, Lingard, Alli, Sterling,  Kane (c)
England and Sweden both started nervously, neither side aiming to play dangerous or risky football and cautiously…

England vs Croatia Match Analysis and Player Ratings An utterly heartbreaking match for England fans as Croatia beat the Three Lions in extra time to seal their first World Cup final against France on Sunday. It was a game in which England played well for the first half and got sloppy for the remainder of the game and allowed Croatia into the game and came from 1-0 down to win it. England named an unchanged lineup from their 2-0 victory over Sweden with Henderson, Young and Alli all fit for the match. Croatia made one change after their penalty shootout win over Russia with Marcelo Brozovic coming in after being suspended against the home nation. 
Pickford, Trippier, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Young, Henderson, Alli, Lingard, Sterling,  Kane (c)
Subasic, Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strnic, Brozovic, Modric (c), Rakitic, Perisic, Rebic, Mandzukic
England started positively and Kyle Walker's long ball found its way to Dele Alli through Lingard's skillful play and the Tottenham playmaker…

Football fans from around the world, this one included, owe an apology to Didier Deschamps. Hardly ever rated by the neutrals, Deschamps has proved everyone wrong and is now just one win away from the World Cup glory. He can be the third player in the history of this beautiful game to have won the World Cup both as a player and a manager if his French team reaches the promised land this Sunday. France hasn't always been scintillating to watch in Russia 2018, but they know how to extract a result from a professional performance.
Seeing the attacking assets at the display, everyone anticipated this France v Belgium fixture to be a high scoring one where both teams would go for each other's throats. It certainly started that way, with France struggling to even get a touch of the ball for the first 20 minutes or so. Belgians looked sharper and hungrier than their French counterparts and almost took an early lead with a Eden Hazard cracking shot from the left-hand side. But the Fren…

Not too long ago, I wrote an article here on Ronaldo's potential move to Juventus. And as it so happened, my prediction couldn't have been worse. Ronaldo officially signed for Italian champions Juventus yesterday in a deal that cost Juve about €100m. This is probably the deal of the summer and for Real Madrid to sell him for that kind of cash at the age of 33 is very smart business.        Ronaldo, as we know, is the kind of player who loves a challenge. He never rests and he loves to win. But no one ever saw Juventus as the club to buy him. But now that I think of it, it all makes sense. No matter how many times he has proved us wrong, Ronaldo's age is catching up with him. He is 33 now and soon he'll start waning off.        At Real Madrid, Ronaldo was an integral part in their league and Champions League campaigns. Despite this, they have a poor record in the La Liga. Ronaldo has won only 2 Spanish League titles in all of his seven years at the club. However,…

Belgium is into the semi-finals of the World Cup, only for the second time in their history. They defeated Brazil 2-1 in a scintillating game of a football at Kazan Arena in front of 42000 spectators. Brazil, yes the tournament favourites Brazil are heading home as Belgium prepares for the semi-finals clash with France next week.

Here are our 5 key points from the match:
1. Martinez Masterclass
Its been over two years since Roberto Martinez was sacked by Everton. And now he stands on the cusp of history as his team is just one win away from a place in the World Cup Final. Appointed after the debacle of 2016, he has been unbeaten over the past 24 games. His Belgium side breezed through the Qualifying campaign but he knew his real test would begin only in Russia. Many criticized his 3-4-3 formation but he stuck to his beliefs and tonight proved why he was right and others were wrong. He pulled out a tactical genius on his Brazilian counterpart Tite by dropping Mertens and going with the ph…

Golovin is something else, the youngster has so much potential. His passing ability and shooting are real strong points. He'll be one to watch in particular. Semedov and Zobnin will give some more solidarity to things in the middle of the park.
Forwards: Denis Cheryshev (LF) and Artem Dzyuba (RF).
Strong, commanding and lethal forwards, Know how to find the back of the net time and time again.

CROATIA:
Goalkeeper: Danijel Subasic.
Talented keeper. Performed well, didn't buckle under the pressure of a penalty shoot out.
Defenders: Ivan Strinic (LB), Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren (CBs), Sime Vrsaljko (RB).
Lovren and Vida have given Subasic a lot to think them for, with some robust performances in many big games. The right Vrsaljko has been a real stand out player for me, really top stuff from him. Strinic has been pretty good too.
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric (CMs), Ivan Perisic (LM), Andrej Kramaric (CAM/CF), Marcelo Brozovic (RM).
Two world class box to box midfielders, w…

Brazil vs Belgium Preview A huge battle will take place tomorrow in the Quarter Finals as the second highest ranking country in Neymar's Brazil takes on Eden Hazard's Belgium in the third ranked country (as of the 7th of June). Both teams have such attacking prowess that it should be a fantastic game to watch as both teams have pace and power on the counter and with both sides having erratic defenders, there could be many goals in this match. 
Tite, the Brazilian coach, has declared that Marcelo, who missed out on the Round of Sixteen game against Mexico, will return to the lineup in spite of Filipe Luis' good form in the tournament in the Real Madrid fullback's absence. Casemiro is suspended from the fixture after yellow cards in two consecutive games and so Tite has announced that Manchester City midfielder, Fernandinho will come into the side. Miranda will captain the side as the Selecao aim to advance past the Quarter Finals for the sixth time on their eighth atte…