Wasted Weekend

Another weekend with no football to go to even though it feels like the season has started.

On Friday night (or Saturday morning to be exact) we are back to the MLS on Sky (Orlando City vs New York City at 1am followed by Los Angeles FC vs LA Galaxy at 3.30).

Saturday’s “highlight” is Clyde vs Motherwell in the League Cup at 3pm on BT Sport, which you can warm up for by watching Jiangsu Suning v Shandong Luneng in the Chinese Superleague on Sky. Toronto FC vs Chicago fire is on midnight.

Sunday has Guangzhou Evergrande v Chongqing Lifan then Hearts vs Inverness.

I’m going out.

Unless the Celtic under-23 team taking part in the South Shields FC International Tournament (along with the hosts, Southampton and Marseille, who Celtic play on Friday at 7.30pm) reach the final, which is on Freesports on Sunday at 5pm. Come to think of it, the 3rd-4th place playoff is also on 1pm. Jack Aitchison will be hoping to score a few as he faces the daunting prospect of muscling past Edouard, Dembele and Griffiths in the striker queue. Good luck there.

I’m staying in.

Celtic 3 Rosenberg 1

A much better result than the 0-0 a year ago so Celtic in a good place. Three goals, several times hitting the woodwork, and a very good penalty shout turned down. Next week will see the return of Simunovic, maybe Boyata and Lustig, and a fitter Rogic. Complacency seems to be the major enemy now.

Rosenborg looked the fitter side at the start, and so they should, being halfway through their season but once Brendan Rodgers corrected his faux pas of playing James Forrest behind Odsonne Edouard and moved him back out wide, pushing McGregor a bit further forward instead, everything clicked into place. And that is maybe Rodgers’ greatest attribute, his ability and willingness to make changes as soon as he realises they aren’t working rather than waiting for an hour or more to try and prove a point.

Hard to think of a recent game with three finer goals, Odsonne’s calm finish for the first, Ntcham’s glorious strike for the second (which would only have been bettered by the thunderblaster which hit the bar), and then Eddie’s second, the only word for which is (and I really tried to avoid using it but failed) Larsson-esque.

Gamboa was entertaining to watch in an Izaguirre fashion, popping up in the Rosenborg box in the first couple of minutes, and is surely an able deputy for Lustig this season, while Ajer is going to be fun too with those “Feed the Bear” style marauds forward. More of those please.

Another thrilling night in Paradise, let’s finish the job next week in Norway.

PS – please lay off Jack Hendry. Not that there was as much criticism of him from the stands as some are making out, but he is a young lad trying to raise his game so give him a break. Remember he is fourth-choice centre-back, and in normal circumstances wouldn’t be playing at this level yet. He is doing his best and played his part.

Celtic 3 Alashkert 0 (Agg 6-0)

No couch-potatoing here, but the first competitive game of the season at Celtic Park as the first of four Champions League qualifiers was safely negotiated.

The game was won in the opening twenty minutes as Dembele shrugged aside several defenders to score from the edge of the box, then slotted in a penalty (which was a very soft one, although not as soft as the one which got Rosenborg through against Valur - wow). The fact that Jozo Simunovic got himself sent off in between these two goals was almost an aside, an offence which may have more influence on the team next week when he is suspended that it did here. If he meant to do what he did then it was definitely a red and he is an idiot. However, it looked more mistimed than malicious, in which case it was harsh. Especially when the guy who elbowed Kieran Tierney only got a yellow. Any lingering doubts were ended when Edouard sent Forrest off on a run and he scored with aplomb.

The second period was a bit of a non-event, the real downside being Moussa Dembele's departure with what appears to be a tight hamstring.

A sell out crowd with no away supporters (apparently the two sitting on their own in the away section were actually Celtic fans), although quite a few empty seats due to season ticket holders not turning up. The new floodlights were switched on at half-time, and 50,000 people said "oooh!". They do look brighter, even on a summer's evening, but we won't get the full effect until the dark nights arrive. The pitch too is looking superb. An enjoyable evening out all round, and two games against Rosenborg to come home and away on the next two Wednesdays.

No Celtic game at the weekend, and not much on TV either. The Hibs Europa League second leg against Runavik is on Premier Sports tonight, but not even they can Hibs this one. Sky have got a couple of Under-19 European Championships matches on Friday and on Saturday at 3 o'clock BT are showing Raith Rovers vs Hearts in the League Cup with Dundee vs Dunfermline at the same time on Sunday. Apart from that there are some Chinese Super League and MLS games. Told you it was slim pickings.

One game stands out though - Man Utd vs Celtic Under-19s, taking place in Coleraine. You can watch this on Saturday at 5pm on the BBC Red Button, online at www.bbc.co.uk/sportni or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/uniladmag

France 4 Croatia 2

Both sides at full strength, no injuries or suspensions to worry about, and no changes from the semis. Croatia have played three extra-times in a row to France’s none, and have had a day’s less rest, but then they looked the far fitter side against England. France though overwhelming favourites. 

ITV schedule their buildup to start five minutes before their rivals, although it turns out to be only two minutes after the adverts are done. The BBC panel are suited and booted to sit in the studio. Why on earth?

Croatia dominated the opening fifteen minutes, with even Mbappe being forced into defensive work. And it was Mandzukic who opened the scoring, but into his own net as he glanced a Griezmann free-kick past his own ‘keeper. Perisic though drew Croatia level with a good strike which took a big deflection.

Then drama - a VARPEN for France following a clear handball and long deliberation on it’s deliberateness by the referee, tucked away by Griezmann. Croatia well ahead on stats at the break but France ahead on goals.

France had the first shot in the second period but Rebic soon had a better one tipped ove by Lloris. Mbappe then sprang into life but his powerful run was thwarted by Subisic. The game was then briefly interrupted by a pitch invasion. No idea who it was or why. Which makes it a bit pointless.

A French breakaway brought them a third goal as Pogba curled the ball in after his first attempt was blocked. Two up, surely that was the clincher? No, Mbappe’s shot from way outside the box was, as he became the first teenager to score in a final since the greatest of all time, Pele.

But wait, Lloris then mystifyingly tried to dribble past Mandzukic and paid the price. 4-2. What a game. That seemed to knock the wind out of France just as they seemed to be coasting, and Croatia continued to probe, led by the imperious Modric. But even their superhuman efforts began to run out of steam and France were able to run down the clock.

No doubts in my mind that France were the best team at the tournament. They may have got a couple of decisions going there way in the first half here, but they would almost certainly have won anyway. Croatia deserve huge credit too, but as I said would happen way back on 10th of June, France are the Champions. 

Belgium 2 England 0

The game nobody wants to play and doesn’t really care if they win. So much for the last time these two met, what about today? Well Gareth Southgate has been talking about the players winning a medal (do you actually get a medal for being third?) so if they do win it’ll be hailed as a great achievement. If Belgium win it’ll revert to the status of a friendly. Both sides playing strong sides so taking it seriously.

As it turned out there was little doubt that Belgium were by far the better team, regularly cutting England open but settling for just the two goals. Quite incredible to think some people seriously thought this very limited side could actually win the World Cup. Incredible.

Funny how two weeks ago England were one of the best sides ever to play at a World Cup, on a par with Brazil 1970. Now they are way behind Belgium who are “ six years ahead of England” according to Glen Hoddle. Some turnaround.

It turned out there were medals at the end. For Belgium. For England it was just hard cheese and small beer.

Weekend Watch

With the World cup still to complete, and European qualifying just underway (well done to Hibs on a great result and to Rangers 2012 for their best ever European result), the Scottish League Cup starts tonight with Kilmarnock hosting St. Mirren in Group H at 7:45. The game is live on BT Sport 1.

The other tie in the group, as well as those in the other seven, are all at 3pm Saturday so no TV coverage of those. A test of loyalty for the fans of those teams as the World cup 3^rd/4^th place play off is on ITV at the same time. Will Brechin vs Peterhead pull in the crowds with that competition? The same applies to Celtic supporters with Standard Liege visiting for a friendly in which Celtic will field two teams. Not at the same time, one in each half. A chance to see the rarely-spotted Marvin Compper hopefully. Couldn’t they have made the start times 1 o’clock for these games?

Then it’s the big one on Sunday, with those of us who backed France from the start and have resisted the urge to cash-in hoping for a pay-out. And for a great game too of course. But it’s mainly the cash.

Croatia 2 England 1 aet

The battle for runners-up spot tonight as France will be overwhelming favourites for the final. Croatia clearly the stronger team of the two here, but they have had a much harder path to this stage, and had to endure two consecutive matches with extra-time periods. Still favourites to win though. In my book anyway.

Can’t tell you much about he ITV buildup as I simply can’t stomach any more of the smugness. I’m sure we can all guess anyway.

Trippier scored a free-kick after just five minutes as Croatia looked like a weary side. Clive Tyldesley waxed lyrical as he reminisced about Harry Maguire’s “legendary forehead”, just before he foreheaded the ball wide. And when Kane missed from a foot he nearly wet himself. But when Kane bounced off an opponent and rolled over on the turf several times the awful play-acting was completely ignored of course.

Croatia had a couple of half chances towards the end of the half but nothing really threatening apart from a penalty shout very similar to ones Kane got in previous games. But this intensified in the second as they got a second wind, England began to look nervy and Perisic got ahead of Walker (who I have been saying from the start of the tournament is out of his depth here) to fire in the equaliser. He also hit the post soon after as class began to tell.

They couldn’t get the winner their dominance deserved though so it was on to extra time. Stones had a header cleared by a defender at the “semi back post” according to Hoddle. Eh? Mandzukic almost scored right on the break despite being kicked by Pickford.

Three minutes into the second though he put Croatia ahead following chaos in the England defence after a ridiculous Walker attempted clearance. He was quickly hooked, just a little too late.

Despite their extra rest, it was England looking tired and ragged now and they offered little resistance from then on.

“England are contenders again” claimed Tyldesley at the end. Croatia’s seven shots on target to England’s one tell a different story. As do the facts that Harry Kane was anonymous while Luka Modric was immense. Know your place England.

France 1 Belgium 0

The semi-final everyone is looking forward to in the hope of some good football, and given past games it could be a cracker. This blog's tip France face their biggest hurdle yet against a very imprepressive Belgium.

Gary Lineker’s eleventh word of the preview is - oh you guessed it - England. Matuidi is back for France, Belgium revert to a back three and bring in Dembele. And it’s the Belgians who dominated the early stages, regularly threatening the French goal with Lloris repelling them. France slowly recovered, forcing Courtois to emulate his opposite number. No goals at the break, largely down to strong defences though rather than poor attacking.

France continued to improve and got their reward when Umtiti put them in front. For a spell it looked like Belgium were out of it but it was then their turn to haul themselves back into contention, again forcing Lloris back into action.

In the midst of this top-class battle the commentators turned of course to the fact that Gareth Southgate is a similar age now to Alf Ramsey in 1966. Oh. My. God.

Belgium continued to battle away and bombarded the French goal in the closing minutes but stout French defending took them to the final. Where they will be overwhelming favourites whoever they play.

Il rentre a la maison.

Alashkert FC 0 Celtic 3

The first of eight (hopefully) Champions League qualifying matches in eight weeks for Celtic, in the heat of Armenia, resulted in a comfortable 3-0 victory.

Brendan Rodgers boldly paired Dembele and Edouard up front with a defensive back three, and while this meant Celtic created chances it also meant that the home side also threatened at times. Thankfully our front players were a lot sharper than Alashkert’s.

It took until first half stoppage time for the breakthrough, Edouard expertly finishing a Forrest mishit. Hendry allowed Alashkert a chance as he dallied on a through ball but they couldn’t take advantage. Gordon was far from a spectator as he had to make a few saves, but further goals from Forrest - after some pinball in the box - and McGregor - with a typical finish into the corner after a great Ajer run - eased any worries and will allow for some players to be rested next week. Which will be useful as some hefty challenges left Hendry hobbling by the end and Ntcham with an ice pack on his thigh.

Job done, well done.

Russia 2 Croatia 2 aet 3-4 pens

Not for Russia the advantage of playing all their games in one stadium, they are off to Sochi for this one. Will home advance be enough to overcome technically superior opponents? 35 minutes in ITV finally turn their attention to tonight’s game. You can guess what they had been talking about beforehand. Croatia in black shirts.

The opening half-hour was similar to the earlier game even though the quality was a lot higher, but Russia suddenly produced a stunning goal as Cheryshev picked up a Dzyuba passs and slammed it home. Within ten minutes however, Mandzukic ran down the wing and chipped in for Kramaric to nod in. Decent game now at last. 

Croatia seemed to be getting on top in the second period and almost went in front with a shot off the inside of the post. But it always looked likely to go to an extra thirty minutes. Drama right at the end though as Subasic apparently pulled a hamstring while collecting an innocuous shot. All subs had been used so Croatia would have to wait until extra time to replace him with their fourth sub. Bizarrely though he recovered. 

Croatia had to make their final sub anyway six minutes in so had to hope that their ‘keeper - and Mandzukic who was also hobbling about - lasted the remaining twenty-four. Despite that, Vida headed down a corner and Corluka may or may not have got the slightest touch to send the ball trickling over the line. 

Although the Croatians appeared to be out on their feet in the second period they somehow still managed to look more dangerous. Russia had their moments but couldn’t mount any sustained pressure. The equaliser though came - from a free-kick naturally - as Fernandes powered in a header. 

“I can’t pretend it’s been a great game” said Jon Champion (who presumably didn’t see the earlier pile of dross) as it went to penalties. 

A couple of poor Russian spot-kicks - one easily saved, one screwed wide - allowed Rakitic to clinch it for Croatia. 

No doubt the better side has got through, but they will have to recover quickly for Wednesday’s semi after a draining night. 

Shamrock Rovers 0 Celtic 7

Celtic’s last warmup before the first Champions League qualifier was a stroll in the sun in Dublin.

A strong lineup played for just over an hour by which time they were five up through goals from Dembele, Edouard (2),McGregor (2). Ten changes at that point inevitably broke the rhythm a bit.

Stand-in captain Scott Sinclair scored a brilliant sixth after linking with Ryan Christie and Lewis Morgan ended a lung-bursting run with a fine finish to make it seven. Sinclair then hit the post but Celtic couldn’t quite natch the nine they got against the same opponents last year.

A perfect preparation for Tuesday though. And in case you are an avid tabloid reader, KT played. Yes, he is still here. What do they know?

Sweden 0 England 2

The European Championships - sorry - World Cup continues with all those pesky South Americans sent packing. You could kind of understand that back in the days when most players from that continent played there, but with such a globalised game now it seems strange that the location of the tournament still has such an influence.

Growing confidence in the England camp with all the big guns gone - barring this blog’s tip from the start, France - with one radio pundit even claiming that none of the Swedish players would get a game for England. Mmm, think Kyle Walker’s place might be under threat for a start. English pride so often comes before a fall though. The Colombia penalty shootout shown three times in the opening nineteen minutes of the buildup (which started thirty minutes earlier than billed). Then again twenty minutes later. 

The first half hour was probably the worst of the tournament so far, neither team able to play any football. But then, inevitably, a set piece led to a goal with Maguire heading in Young’s corner. Sterling missed a sequence of good chances and - well, that was it. Second half had to be better, didn’t it?

Not really. Pickford made a couple of decent saves from all that the limited Swedish attack could muster, and Dele Alli was left unmarked to head in a second.

And so a very poor Swedish side out and England into the semis. But another absolutely dreadful game for the neutral.

Brazil 1 Belgium 2

Another mouth-waterer in prospect. Belgium are unbeaten in 23 games, but they are playing an ever-improving Brazil. Which is often the key to winning the whole damn thing.

Six minutes before Pearce mentioned England - it’s a new record!

Thiago Silva kneed off the post, Chadli shot wide. Paulinho scuffed a chance. All in the first ten minutes.

Then, Belgium went ahead with a goal off Fernandinho’s shoulder following a corner. Pearce grumpy bacause the Belgian strikers celebrated. Dear God. Just imagine him if England go ahead with an own goal tomorrow.

Coutinho shot straight at Courtois. Belgium broke with Lukaku leading the charge, he laid it off to De Bruyne who finished superbly. Another spectacular Belgian breakaway goal. 2-0. Wow.

Courtois saved a deflected Marcello cross and a shot from the resultant corner. De Bruyne free-kick was pushed over by Allisson.

Gabby Yorath finally ran out of questions for Southgate so played word association with him. Dear God. It was a hard watch.

Firminho on at half-time. Marcello fizzed a low cross in, no takers. Neymar dived in the box, but not booked. Brazil penalty claim turned down after VAR review. Danny Murphy wonders if they saw the same replays he did. Have a wild guess Danny.

Brazil began to dominate, sub Douglas Costa had a close-in shot saved but Hazard shot narrowly wide after another break. Costa had another long-range effort easily saved as they seemed to be running out of ideas. But suddenly, another sub, Renato Augusto, glanced in a Coutinho cross and they had fifteen minutes to save the game.

Firminho shot just over the junction of bar and post. Augusto shot wide from a good position. Coutinho sliced wide after a great Neymar run. Neymar dives in the box again. Courtois brilliantly tipped over from Neymar (Gary Neville probably thinks he should have held it).

Some terrific performances from Belgians tonight, especially Lukaku, Hazard and De Bruyne, but no failures. Brazil had the possession but lacked flair, even from Neymar when he stayed on his feet. Thoroughly deserved.

Uruguay 0 France 2

And we're back! After two days spent recovering in a darkened room with a wet flannel on my head, it's back to the action today. And it should be great action. First up is Godin, Suarez and Stuani (cover for Cavani who is not fully fit) against Pogba, Mbappe and Griezmann. And some others too of course. France missing the suspended Matuidi, but this is where their strong squad comes in with Bayern Munich's Tolisso coming in.

Uruguay were first to show, getting forward in the opening minutes, but France also got on the attack. Mbappe had a chance, but with his head which is not quite as good as his feet. England training tops have sold out by the way. What’s the relevance? No idea, but we were told that anyway.

There were an awful lot of crosses in this game, and France went in front from one of them as Varane cushioned a harder beautifully into the corner. Even though it had been a close contest up to this point, this was France’s first attempt on target. Lloris preserved the lead with a brilliant save.

Uruguay kept pressing forward after the break, but just after an hour Griezmann’s speculative shot squirmed through Muslera’s hands. A very reliable goalkeeper, but this was a horrendous mistake. This gave Gary Neville a chance to go off on a rant, claiming the ball didn’t deviate and that it was the ‘keeper who moved out of the way. Rubbish, the ball clearly swerved.

Neville then had a go at everything - the referee for not instantly brandishing cards after a kerfuffle, the ball for not being in play enough (like this would bother him if England were two up), Uruguay for getting upset and Mbappe for showing skill (like he would care if Harry Kane did it). A late bid for most annoying pundit.

France once again played within themselves, while Uruguay badly missed Cavani. Stuani and his replacement Gomez just not in the same class.

Overall, a much higher quality game than the last one I watched.

Colombia 1 England 1 aet 3-4 pens

Big blow for Colombia as James Rodriguez is ruled out but can England take advantage and finally win their third knockout match in twenty-eight years? ITV bill the game as England vs Colombia even though it’s actually the other way round, the big clue being England’s away strip.

A pretty dire first half, no real chances, a yellow card for Barrios after a stupid nod towards Henderson who channelled his inner Neymar in a desperate and pathetic bid to get him sent off. Disgraceful. Luckily he didn’t actually need any treatment.

Henderson praised by Gary Neville at half time for “not being naive”. Jesus wept. Sterling was bumped into going off the pitch by a Colombian official, ITV wanted him arrested for an “elbow”.

Harry Kane repeated his stumbling-right-beside-a-defender trick to earn yet another penalty but Stones was incredibly lucky to stay on after kicking an opponent in the head and Maguire incredibly lucky not to be booked for a blatant dive. The fact he then indicated he had done so apparently showed his honesty. Eh? Lingard also went down with no contact and got away with it as the English attempts at cheating got even more embarrassing. 

Colombia’s first real chance to score came from a predictable source, a Walker mistake, but they couldn’t capitalise. Then a brilliant shot was tipped over by Pickford but Colombia equalised from the corner. A real sense of justice being done there.  

Extra time started with an over the top foul from Young which somehow resulted in an England free-kick, but Colombia began to take control of the game as England looked to be falling apart. They did rally a bit in the second period but looked knackered despite all those players being rested for the Belgium defeat. 

England actually won a penalty shootout. Wow. 

Sparta Prague 0 Celtic 1

Celtic’s third match in Austria (fourth if you count the closed-door 2–1 win over BW Linz earlier today, goals from captain Sinclair and Johnston) and Moussa Dembele makes his first start following an extended break due to his involvement with France Under-21s earlier in the summer. 

And he had an eventful first half, showing great power and strength to score, looked like he was pulled back in the box without getting the penalty and missed a couple of other good one-on-one chances. Still a bit of rust there. 

He was withdrawn at the break leaving Edouard up front on his own and French Eddie did a pretty good impression of him.

Sparta were a very physical side, picking up a few bookings (yes, in a friendly) and threatened the Celtic goal on a couple of occasions but Celtic hung on for their second win of the day. 

Sweden 1 Switzerland 0

Pre-match discussions on who England would rather play in the quarter-final. Without the slightest hint of irony. Alex Scott informed us that both sides “maximise their strengths” without elaborating what they are. Jermaine Jenas tips Sweden to win because he doesn’t like Shaqiri. This is getting ridiculous.

Two teams maybe not sure whether to twist or stick here, and as a result there were very few chances. A couple came for Sweden from defensive errors but not a lot to get excited about. Apart from a fine save by Sommer from a Berg shot. Lustig booked so misses the quarter final. Switzerland enjoying almost two-thirds of possession but restricted to a handful of long-range potshots. Lustig set up Sweden’s best chance but it was wasted by Ekdal who blazed over while unmarked.

On the hour mark the Swedes finally made the breakthrough, a weak Forsberg effort in keeping with the game but a lucky deflection took it past the ‘keeper. Switzerland eventually managed to exert some pressure in response, but were badly lacking in incisiveness.

One of the poorer games of the tournament, enlivened slightly by a penalty and red card incident right at the death. The penalty was overturned after VAR review, but the red card stood. However, as this was for Switzerland it didn’t make any difference to the outcome.

Belgium 3 Japan 2

Boyata extremely unlucky to be dropped for this one and bringing in Kompany must be a high risk given his recent injury record. Or maybe he is just being rested for the quarter-final.

Gary Lineker’s tenth word of the preview is England. Damn, I had eleven. Really can’t wait until they get knocked out, although then we’ll just get “surely England could have beaten this side had they got through”.

Japan had a shot at goal within the first minute and looked the better side for a while but Belgium gradually took control and created some half-chances. Japan did get forward too though so it was anybody’s game going into the second half.

And it was Japan who went ahead a few minutes in as Belgium's changed defence blundered to allow Haraguchi in to score. Hazard almost hit back immediately but hit the post and incredibly Japan quickly went two up with a great Inui strike.

Lukaku missed a great chance (Keown still thinks saying “he has to score” adds anything to our understanding) as things began to look bleak for the Belgians. Until, that is,Vertonghen came up with a brilliant/fluky header (take your pick) which looped in over the ‘keeper, then Fellaini scored a more deliberate header with his hair to equalise as the game swiftly transformed into a cracker.

And it was rounded off in sensational fashion as a Japanese corner was caught by Courtois who rolled it out to De Bruyne, who swept it wide to Meunier who crossed it into the box to Lukaku who brilliantly dummied it for Chadli who fired home. What a goal. What a finish.

Sympathy for Japan of course, although they showed naivety right at the end when they probably had too many players forward for that corner. Credit to Belgium for coming back from a seemingly hopeless position. Not sure how they’ll fare against Brazil, but that’s a worry for another day. Friday to be exact.

Brazil 2 Mexico 0

Brazil for this surely? We can’t have another big name going out can we? Nice to see both sides in their first choice kits, something of a rarity at this tournament.

Mexico gave as good as they got in the early stages but Brazil steadily got on top although neither side created real clear-cut chances in a disappointing half.

Coutinho at least had a shot on target just after the restart and five minutes in Neymar turned in a Willian cross-cum-shot. Paulinho then had a shot saved by Ochoa as Brazil went for the killer second but Mexico showed they hadn’t given up as Vela had a shot tipped over. Willian joined the list of failed shooters as Ochoa again kept him out.

Layun stupidly stood purposely on Neymar’s ankle, leading to the usual theatrics from the world-renowned cheat who looked like he was trapped in a tumble dryer, but the Mexican incredibly got away without a card.

Mexico mounted a spirited attempt to get forward in the closing minutes but couldn’t threaten Brazil’s goal and with only two to go Firminho prodded in a blocked Neymar shot to end the contest.

Mexico out at this stage for the seventh tournament in succession, Brazil through but it’s sad to say that a lot of the joy of watching them has gone, partly due to eejits like Neymar but also to the much more pragmatic style they now employ.

Croatia 1 Denmark 1 aet 3-2 pens

Suddenly every team in this half of the draw will fancy their chances of reaching the final, and as Croatia  have looked the best of the bunch they must be getting excited. Although Spain were probably thinking the same way earlier today.

Except that within a minute Denmark went ahead after a long throw, a stramash and some calamitous goalkeeping. But more comedy defending at the other end allowed Croatia a quick equaliser. Sadly the rest of the half didn’t live up to that start.

Nor did the second as both teams hugged and puffed but made little progress.

In extra time Denmark were slightly the better side but one spark of magic from Modric with five minutes left sent Kramaric through, he rounded Schmeichel and was hauled down. Definite penalty. Modric himself stepped up and - saved! No time left for a winner so onto the second penalty shoutout of the day.

Eriksen hits the post, but Croatia’s first is saved. Schmeichel complains about Kramaric stopping his run up and Gary Neville obviously has no idea what the rule is. Embarrassing. Modric scores his this time to make it 2-2. Subasic then makes a good save to give Croatia the edge, but Schmeichel makes an even better one. Still 2-2, one left each. Another save from Subasic leaves Rakitic with the chance to win it - and he does so calmly. 3-2 Croatia.

Hard to envisage them as Champions though.

Spain 1 Russia 1 aet (3-4 pens)

Spain obvious and heavy favourites for this as they seem to have got over their managerial problems and have a clear path all the way to the final. They are even confident enough to rest Iniesta. Russia meanwhile seem to be happy just to have got out of the group having avoided the humiliation of not doing so and the reality check of the thrashing from Uruguay. Amazingly, they have even left top scorer Cheryshev out of the team in favour of a more defensive formation.

Alan Shearer has been doing this analysis lark for several years now so why does he still sound so nervy? “He’s through on, er, goal but went, eh went wide, and hit the ball in, the ball in to the box where it er went, it went out of, er out of play.”  Aargh! This will really annoy you now I’ve pointed it out incidentally.

Russia started fairly well, getting forward in the early stages but an extraordinary own goal gave Spain the lead as Ignashevich turned his back on a cross, wrestled Ramos to the ground then inadvertently back-heeled the ball into the net.

Russia continued to make a decent fist of it but rarely threatened the up-to-now shaky De Gea. Until they got a soft penalty for a handball from Pique. His arm was raised but the ball came from behind him. Hard to make a case for that being deliberate. Dzyuba though scored with aplomb to draw the Russians level at half-time.

The game was in danger of petering out in the second period so both sides made changes - Dzyuba off and Iniesta on among them. Didn’t make a lot of dfference until the last five minutes when Iniesta had a shot saved and Spain began to exert a bit of pressure without breaking through.

So to the first bout of extra-time in the tournament. The first period was a non-event - with the exception of the historic use of fourth subs by each side. In the second Rodrigo had a great run and shot saved and Spain had a penalty claim turned down after a VAR review, probably the correct decision as there was no clear and obvious foul.

A tense last few minutes of Spain pressure couldn’t produce a goal, with just another Rodrigo effort to show for it.

The penalty shootout (Russia’s first ever) was 50-50 according to Rio Ferdinand (thanks Rio) and went Russia’s way when Koke’s was saved and their victory was confirmed when Aspas’s was too despite De Gea getting close to three of Russia’s.

So the pretty-dire-to-watch Russians are through in what is now an incredibly weak half of the draw.