As you can see below, England brought a little bit of Scotland with them for good luck.
All we can hope now is that Fox is smart enough to put the commentator team who has followed England all tournament on this match, Derek Rae and Aly Wagner. Aly is part of my favorite new trend in professional sports: female analysts at the highest level of men’s athletics. AJ Mleczko provided analysis and color this year in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, breaking ground for hockey commentating.
Aly Wagner has been stellar in this World Cup. She is easily my favorite analyst of the tournament. She never says obvious or cliche things, and you know she did a crap ton of prep because she literally knew the Iranian team’s substitute strategies as they played out. What an excellent talent! NBCSN really should speak to her agent about the upcoming Premier League season.
Regardless, this 2018 World Cup semifinal’s action starts today in Moscow at 2:00pm Eastern Daylight Time on Fox / Telemundo in the US. Here are your six reasons to watch:
Three English Reasons
Jordan Henderson
While Jordan seems like a pretty sports life straightforward guy, having gone to a sports college as a kid (whatever that is?) and being named Liverpool’s captain after Gerrard left, he’s actually a total — no, that’s really just who he is. Super focused, super driven, community oriented and gifted as a leader. Yes, I’m gonna say it: Jordan Henderson is beautiful inside and out.
Also, this:
Dele Alli
I wasn’t really feeling Dele until this year when he was in a commercial that he smiled really adorably in. I am a sucker for a good smile. Dele’s also had a really good tournament, including scoring the second goal in the quarterfinals to really shut down Sweden’s semifinal dreams.
Danny Rose
Danny usually comes on as a sub, but is still really adorable to look at. I talked about him before during the Euros, so I’ll just leave you with a photo of abs and a photo of Gareth Southgate.
Three Croatian Reasons
Before we jump into it, I have to just state for the record that Croatia is where you go to find men with blue eyes and dark hair. If that’s what you are into, go to Croatia. If you, like me, thought Loki was hot in Thor because he had dark hair and stunning eyes, go to Croatia because Tom Hiddleston is blond and that was fake. Croatia isn’t fake. Okay, let’s get started!
Ivan Rakitic
While Rakitic does not always know what to do with his hair (there have been some questionable choices over the years), he certainly knows what to do with his feet. His striking blue eyes do not hurt things either. He and Modric are Croatia’s top players, so keep an eye out for his mad skills.
Dejan Lovren
While Lovren can sometimes mess up on major plays, he is so pretty it generally makes up for it. And it isn’t like he’s a terrible player or anything. He is so pretty though! His Instagram has many photos to choose from, but I feel I should leave you with this one that really showcases his thighs.
Andrej Kramaric
Winning goal scorer and all around hottie, Kramaric definitely should make your list. His blue eyes are as dazzling at the Dalmatian Coast’s waters and his bicycle kick is one to write home about.
