Former Gor Mahia coach Logarusic’s free advise to England fans as Croatia face off with England in semifinal

Zdravko Logarusic wants England fans to tone down their ‘It is coming home’ slogan, as Croatia are capable of snuffing the life out of Three Lions.

The surprise semi-finalists face off today at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, with the former Gor Mahia coach saying Croatia stellar midfield will decide the tie.

“I don’t see how England can win this clash except of course through individual mistakes, as it’s always with football,” Logarusic said.

“I think Croatia has one of the best midfield combinations at this World Cup with Luka Modric as the conductor of the orchestra,” he said.

“For me, England is the surprise team in the semis not Croatia. With Modric of Real Madrid, Marcelo Brozovic (Inter) and Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) you have a fearsome midfield and quality to be in the semis or final.

“All these players can dictate the tempo of the game and worse still for Croatia’s opponents, there is Ivan Peric (Inter) on the left and Ante Rebic (Eintracht Frankfurt) all skillful and fast players and it could become too much for England’s young team as Argentina discovered.

“Mandzukic (Juventus) and Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim) cannot be left unattended to in the box.

“So, if I were an English fan, I would tone down this ‘It is coming home’ thing,” the bubbly coach, now managing Sudan national team told The Standard Sports.

Croatia are unbeaten in the tournament having survived two penalty shootouts against Denmark and Russia in knockout stages.

England were beaten 1-0 by Belgium at group stage and topped Colombia 4-3 on penalties in the Round of 16.

Gareth Southgate’s men have scored five goals from set pieces (corners and free-kicks), the best in the tournament so far.

They have also scored three penalties adding up to a total of eight goals from dead-ball situations.

Logarusic, however, insists: “England has the potential to be a good team, but this is not their tournament.

“Southgate has done a fantastic job, but they beat an ordinary Swedish team to get here. All said, however, football is football and there can be individual mistakes by the players or even the referee.”

“Well England have a young team, full of energy but when push comes to shove, I think Croatia have the mental strength to deal with them,” he said.