Football isn’t coming home just yet as England fell to a 2-1 defeat in extra time to Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals. Here are my player ratings…
Jordan Pickford – The keeper had no real saves to make in the first half, and could do nothing about the two goals that saw England off. He made a big error in misjudging whether a ball would reach the box but his post came to the rescue, while he made a brilliant block to keep out Mario Mandzukic’s effort before the winning goal. 6/10
Kyle Walker – Defended well for the most part and was always willing to throw his body on the line, but he was beaten by Ivan Perisic for the equaliser when he probably should have looked to clear with his foot rather than his head. 6/10
John Stones – He was a big presence at the back and made a number of blocks and interceptions. He could have won the match with a great header that was cleared off the line, but he was then caught out for the winning goal as Mandzukic got ahead of him to fire Croatia into the final. 7/10
Harry Maguire – He was huge again throughout the game in putting himself behind everything while also providing a threat in the other box, and he possibly should have done better with a chance in the first half. 7/10
Kieran Trippier – He can now be safely called the Bury Beckham for life after curling in a stunning free-kick to give England the lead after less than five minutes. One of England’s biggest attacking threats as usual, but found himself dragged further back as Croatia started to dominate. He was forced off with a groin injury to leave England down to ten in the final minutes. 7/10
Jesse Lingard – Didn’t get in behind like in previous matches, but did have a couple of chances to score with a good one placed wide from the edge of the box in the first half and a half volley deflected over in the second. 5/10
Jordan Henderson – The holding midfielder contributed well in defence but was less effective getting the ball forward and picking the right passes. Looked tired in the second half and was replaced by Eric Dier in extra time. 5/10
Dele Alli – Looked brighter in the first half than he had done in previous games and provided a real threat, including winning the free-kick for Trippier’s goal, but he became much less effective as England were pushed back. 6/10
Ashley Young – Wasn’t a huge outlet down the left side but he did his job really well in defence. He was understandably knackered at the end of the 90 minutes after a monumental effort at this World Cup, with Rose taking his place for extra time. 6/10
Raheem Sterling – He was always a dangerous threat running in behind or dropping back with the ball, giving the defence more to worry about than any other player did, but he couldn’t create a big opportunity for himself or a teammate and was replaced by Marcus Rashford. 6/10
Harry Kane – The striker had a quieter game but did have a couple of chances. The biggest came in the first half when he was played in behind, with the first effort saved by Danijel Subasic and the rebound coming off the post from a narrow angle, and he also had a header to win it injury time but couldn’t find the target. 5/10
Marcus Rashford – Came on and had more than 50 minutes on the pitch, but with England under pressure he was left with scraps on the break and couldn’t make a difference. 5/10
Danny Rose – Moved into the left wing-back role in place of Ashley Young at the end of normal time, but couldn’t create an opportunity for England. 6/10
Eric Dier – Took over anchoring duties from Jordan Henderson in extra time. 5/10
Jamie Vardy – Brought on with eight minutes left but didn’t see a chance come his way. 5/10
Box-to-box journalist 