Croatia break England hearts to reach the Final

     

Mandžukić scores a brilliant goal against England.

 Croatia made history by reaching the World Cup Final for the first time after a great comeback, while England fans were grief-struck, after last nights action-packed match between the two European nations.

       England pressed high from the start, and a foul by Croatia captain Luka Modrić 5 minutes into the game resulted in a free kick just outside the box. Midfielder Kieran Trippier made an unbelievable strike and shot home a glorious goal, his first for England. Their captain Harry Kane almost added another in the 30ᵗᑋ minute but was denied two times by Subašić. The match went 1-0 for England at half-time, and both teams' managers had very different talks with their teams.

       At the start of the second half, Croatia looked more dominant, having defended very well a few times. When the clock showed 68', Vrsaljko crossed the ball to Ivan Perišić, who raised his foot above Kyle Walker's head and netted a wonderful equaliser to bring Croatia back into the game. 4 minutes later, Perišić showed some individual brilliance and almost made it 2 for Croatia, but the ball hit the sidebar. Normal time ended with 1-1 on the scoreboard.

       9 minutes into the first half of extra time, John Stones took a brilliant header towards goal but a goal-line save by Vrsaljko prevented him from scoring. 6 minutes later, Mandžukić stuck out a foot to Perišić's cross but England keeper Pickford blocked it and Mandžukić got scraped at the knee in the process. 11 minutes from end of extra time, Pivarić crossed the ball but it was half-cleared by Walker and got to Perišić, who headed it to a clear space for Mandžukić, and the latter struck with his left foot (see picture) to get Croatia the win and a ticket to the Final.