Croatia stuns England in extra-time to reach World Cup final for the first time in their history
Croatia will face France in the final of the 2018 World Cup in Moscow after defeating England 2-1 in extra-time tonight.
Mario Mandzukic's extra-time strike completed a battling turnaround
as Croatia beat England 2-1 in Moscow to reach the World Cup final for
the first time in their history. England made an electric start with
Kieran Trippier's early goal and for a large period of the game looked
good value to book their passage to the final for the first time since
1966, but Croatia somehow battled through their apparent jadedness and
tamed the Three Lions, Mandzukic landing the decisive blow.
Gareth Southgate consistently downplayed the euphoria in his team in
the build-up, and for a while England gave every indication they were
going to take charge of their own destiny, as Trippier found the net
with a delightful free-kick in the fifth minute. But Croatia rallied
and gave England's back three more of an examination upon the start of
the second period, eventually restoring parity – Ivan Perisic providing a
clever finish in the 68th minute.
England managed to hang on to force an extra 30 minutes and initially
looked the more threatening of the two teams once again in the
additional period. But Croatia kept their focus and Mandzukic struck
left-footed in the 109th minute, ending England's dreams for another
four years and setting up a final with France on Sunday, as Zlatko
Dalic's men move another step closer to a first World Cup title.
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