England v Croatia: Man by man
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ENGLAND
David James: No chance with Croatia's opener, despite making good initial block. Good save from Prso after 37min kept England in it. Marks: 6/10
Gary Neville: Tenacious when the going was tough, and moved forward repeatedly to create a sense of momentum for England.8
John Terry: Shaky opening, crucially disorientated after free-kick which created Croatia's early goal, but stuck to task with determination. 5
Sol Campbell: Another solid performance at the back, where his strength was required against muscular presence of Prso and Sokota. 7
Ashley Cole: Questionable positioning at far post before Croatia scored opener, but overlapped gamely to expose opponent's lack of pace. 7
David Beckham: Needlessly gave away free-kick which led to Croatia's early score. Still an intense but frustratingly peripheral presence. 5
Frank Lampard: Calming presence, moved the ball around efficiently and played sweet through pass for Owen, which led to England equalising. Cracking goal. 8
Steven Gerrard: Kept up the energy levels, despite wayward opening period. Added defensive solidness as game went on. 6
Paul Scholes: Reckless tackles, but kept getting into scoring positions despite early misses. Right place, right time for England's first goal - just like old times. 8
Michael Owen: Still missing the spark of old, but made game use of increasing space allowed by static back four, playing key part in all four England goals. 8
Wayne Rooney: Set up Scholes's opener with canny sideways header, then responded bullishly to Scholes' invitation to shoot. Cool finish for third.9
Substitutes: Ledley King (for Scholes, 69) 6; Darius Vassell (for Rooney, 71) 6; P Neville (for Lampard, 83).
CROATIA
Tomislav Butina: Survived for a while despite dodgy technique, punching rather than catching and coming out feet first. No chance with England's first-half goals. Marks 5/10
Dario Simic: Strong in the tackle, effective in keeping England at bay for bulk of the first half, but then struggled. 5
Robert Kovac: Strong enough in the air, but increasingly pedestrian throughout the first half, and distribution generally poor. 4
Josip Simunic: Neat defending to start with, but increasingly betrayed by lack of willingness to close up on England forwards. 6
Boris Zivkovic: Former Portsmouth player showed flexibility by moving from midfield back to defence at half-time, and Croatia benefited. 7
Giovannu Rosso: Saw a lot of the ball on the right of midfield in early part of the game, but faded as England grew dominant. 4
Igor Tudor: Strong in the air, but became increasingly static as the game went on, with Owen and Rooney running rings around him. Good headed goal. 6
Niko Kovac: Bright opening start, influential in midfield, and reacted well to stab home opening goal before Terry could clear. 5
Milan Rapaic: An effective presence on the left, provided sweet free-kick to far post, which created Croatia's opener. 6
Dado Prso: Only one shot in first half. Fearsome European Champions' League form for Monaco never surfaced. 4
Tomislav Sokota: Kept both Campbell and Terry on their toes in the first half as he linked with Prso. 5
Substitutes: Ivica Mornar (for R Kovac, h-t) Industrious presence on far right, caused Cole more than a few defensive worries with his hustling style. 6
Ivica Olic (for Rapaic, 54). 6
Darijo Srna (for Simic, 67). 5
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments