Meep wrote:I hope Croatia win but I kind of knew at half-time in Croatia v England that neither was good enough to beat France. The cup is pretty much theirs already at this point.
It's not though. They are strong favourites but it's a one-off game and you have got to think you have some kind of chance. There are loads of variables that could possibly tilt your way and give you a slight edge - an early red card or penalty, a freak injury, the other team choking, your having the game of your lives, a flukey deflection, a flukey miss etc.
Obviously Croatia winning is going to upset the odds but they don't exactly need a miracle. It's not Man City versus Bromley Juniors. Croatia are a decent side, France are better. I think France would have probably preferred to play England to be honest. Though they probably would rather lose to Croatia if they had to, maybe.
I'm quite pessimistic in general and was uneasy with us playing Colombia or being ripped as overwhelming favourites against Sweden. But even had England got to the final, I would be clinging to that hope that in a one-off game, anything could happen. And in football, the odds are upset probably more often than in other sports. We wouldn't have been favourites, I wouldn't have expected us to win nor would I have been surprised at a defeat, but you go in to the game thinking that if things go your way you could win it.