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Three things England must do to beat Croatia

By Harneet Singh Sethi

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 09: A general view of the Luzhniki Stadium ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final match between England and Croatia on July 9, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
MOSCOW, RUSSIA - JULY 09: A general view of the Luzhniki Stadium ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final match between England and Croatia on July 9, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /
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NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA – JULY 01: Mario Mandzukic of Croatia celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Croatia and Denmark at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA – JULY 01: Mario Mandzukic of Croatia celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Round of 16 match between Croatia and Denmark at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on July 1, 2018 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Keep Mario Mandzukic quiet

For all of the talk about Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, people seem to have forgotten the threat posed by the amenable Mario Mandzukic, whose willingness to be anything but one-dimensional is worthy of a research paper. This is what makes him a tough player to handle for any centre-back in the world.

John Stones, Kyle Walker and Harry Maguire have been excellent at this tournament, but in Mandzukic, they’d have a totally different challenge: a striker who is here, there and everywhere, causing chaos with his physicality, with his intelligence, with the ability to play just as well on the field as under the skins of his opponent.

Next: Leicester City in negotiations with Juventus’ Stefano Sturaro

Sure, England’s defence is well equipped to deal with Mario Mandzukic, but there’s a clear line that differentiates being up to a job, and actually doing it. It is the latter that matters.