- Croatia will play France in the final on Sunday
- Croatia into their first ever FIFA World Cup Final
- Mandzukic strikes in second half of extra time to win it
- Trippier and Perisic goals send it beyond 90 minutes
- Croatia and England were level at 1-1 after 90 minutes in their semi-final contest
- England led Croatia 1-0 at halftime after Kieran Trippier got them off to a flying start
What a stunning performance from Croatia! They are in the final! What a story for this golden generation!
England are down to ten men after Kieran Trippier has been carried off with Gareth Southgate having used all his substitutes.
England were the better team of the first period of extra time but Croatia take the lead! Mario Mandzukic scoring great goal from insidethe box!
Semi-finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
 Winner Match 57 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Winner Match 58 |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Winner Match 57 | 1 | - | 0 | Winner Match 58 | |
| Saint Petersburg – 10 July 2018 9:00 pm | |||||
 France | 1 | - | 0 | Belgium  | |
| Saint Petersburg – 10 July 2018 9:00 pm | |||||
 Croatia | 2 | - | 1 | England  | |
| Moscow – 11 July 2018 9:00 pm | |||||
Luka Modric is everywhere. Another stunning game from Croatia’s talisman so far. Vatreni played much better in the second half of normal time. How much energy do they have left after their two prior 120-minute knockout round matches?
Can Kane do it?
Harry Kane hasn’t been able to find his scoring touch so far today, heading wide in stoppage time.
This is the ninth semi-final to go to extra-time. Only three of the previous times has it been decided in the half hour. Five times it has gone to penalties…
120+4′ – Free-kick for England. Last chance?
120+2′ – Harry Maguire’s long ball was calmly collected by Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic
120′ – Four minutes added as stoppage time
120′ – Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric hit the side netting from the right
119′ – Time is running out for England
118′ – Substitution! Change for Croatia: Luka Modric is replaced by Milan Badelj
117′ – Bad news for England: Kieran Trippier limped off the ground
116′ – Corner for Croatia. Not much came off it
115′ – Substitution! Change for Croatia: Mario Mandzukic is replaced by Vedran Corluka
112′ – Substitution! Kyle Walker is replaced by Jamie Vardy
109′ – GOAL! Mario Mandzukic put Croatia in the lead
Mandzukic scored from close range to put Croatia in the lead late in the extra time.
108′ – Ivan Rakitic took a quick corner kick but Marcelo Brozovic shot it well wide of England goal
107′ – Ivan Perisic won a corner for Croatia
Second half of extra time underway…
HT of extra time: It’s still 1-1 in Moscow
105+2′ – SAVE! Jordan Pickford deflected it out for Croatia corner and denied Mario Mandzukic
105′ – Two minutes added as stoppage time
104′ – England enjoyed better possession in the first half of extra time
101′ – Substitution! Second change for Croatia: Ante Rebic is replaced by Andrej Kramaric
99′ – SAVE! John Stones header was headed out from the goal line by Sime Vrsaljko. Kieran Trippier with the delivery from the set piece
98′ – Eric Dier’s long ranger was deflected out for an England corner
97′ – Substitution! Third change for England: Jordan Henderson is replaced by Eric Dier
95′ – Yellow Card! Croatia’s Ante Rebic is booked for a foul on Danny Rose
94′ – Substitution! First change for Croatia: Ivan Strinic is replaced by Josip Pivaric
93′ – Dele Alli gave away the ball at the edge of the Croatia box
ET 1st half underway…
Extra-time Substitution: England’s Ashley Young is replaced by Danny Rose
End of regulation time: It’s 1-1 between Croatia and England. Extra time to follow
Croatia and England were level at 1-1 after 90 minutes in their semi-final after Croatia’s Ivan Perisic scored in the 68th minute to cancel out Kieran Trippier’s early free kick. Trippier curled the ball in after five minutes to get England off to a flying start but Croatia hit back when Perisic got in front of his marker to flick in a high cross from Sime Vrsaljko in the 68th minute. The match is going into extra time.
90+1′ – Free-kick for England from the right flank. Kieran Trippier curled it into the middle but Harry Kane’s header was well wide of the Croatia goal
90′ – Three minutes added as stoppage time
88′ – Free-kick for Croatia near their penalty area. The match looks heading towards extra time
83′ – SAVE! Mario Mandzukic’s attempt from a tight angle was palmed out by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
81′ – Kieran Trippier’s back pass almost cost England a goal. Ivan Perisic was on the prowl, John Stones avoided the disaster
77′ – Harry Kane found Jesse Lingard on the right side of the Croatian area, but the Manchester United player’s attempt went across the goal mouth
76′ – England are struggling to stop constant waves of Croatian attacks.
74′ – Substitution! First change for England: Raheem Sterling is replaced by Marcus Rashford
72′ – MISSED! Ivan Perisic hit the far post from the left side of the England area. And on the rebound, Ante Rebic shot it straight to Jordan Pickford
68′ – GOAL! Ivan Perisic scored the equaliser for Croatia
Sime Vrsaljko with a brilliant cross in from the right flank and Perisic beat Jordan Pickford with a high boot touch in front of Kyle Walker’s head
67′ – Harry Kane hit the side netting from a tight angle
65′ – BLOCKED! Ivan Perisic’s goal-bound shot was blocked out by England’s Kyle Walker with his body. Walker needed some assistance to recover from the thunderous shot
61′ – Ivan Rakitic attempted a half-volley from the edge of England box, but he mishit it and the ball went well wide of the goal
59′ – Ante Rebic’s cross in into England box was miscued for a Croatia corner. Then Luka Modric’s delivery was punched out by Jordan Pickford
56′ – Jesse Lingard’s attempt from the edge of Croatia box was deflected out for an England corner. Kieran Trippier’s delivery was cleared out
55′ – Corner for Croatia. It ended with a free-kick for England for a foul inside the penalty area
54′ – Yellow Card! Now England’s Kyle Walker booked for blocking Croatia from tacking quick throw in
50′ – Yellow Card! The booking was for Mario Mandzukic for showing dissent and not for Ante Rebic
48′ – Yellow Card Cancelled! Croatia’s Ante Rebic penalised for hitting Kyle Walker with his arm while vying for a header. But he was not booked
46′ – Early attack from Croatia in the second half. Ante Rebic fumbled and gave away the ball inside the England box
Second half underway…
HT – England lead Croatia 1-0 at the halftime break
England led Croatia 1-0 at halftime in their World Cup semi-final after Kieran Trippier got them off to a flying start by scoring from a free kick after five minutes. Trippier curled the ball over the Croatia wall and into the top corner from the edge of the area. England looked much more dangerous throughout and missed a golden chance to go two goals ahead when Jesse Lingard, completely free on the edge of the penalty area, curled his shot wide.
45+1′ – Somehow England cleared out the cross in by Luka Modric from a set piece
45′ – One minute added as stoppage time
44′ – England attack from the left flank, won a throw-in near the Croatia box
40′ – Free-kick for England near their own area after Ashley Young was brought down by Ante Rebic from behind
36′ – WIDE! Jese Lingard shot it wide of Croatia goal from the edge of the box. He received the ball from the left from Dele Alli. Good chance missed
33′ – Ivan Perisic’s shot was blocked out by Ashley Young for a Croatia corner. Nothing came off the set piece
31′ – SAVE! This time it was the turn of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to make the save. Ante Rebic with the long ranger
30′ – SAVE! Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic denied Harry Kane from one-on-one situation. And from the rebound, Kane hit the post from tight angle
27′ – Free-kick for England from the left. Dejan Lovren brought down by Raheem Sterling. Ashley Young’s delivery was punched out by Danijel Subasic
25′ – Good counter run from the right by Jesse Lingard, but his final pass was wayward and behind the charging Harry Kane and Dele Alli
22′ – Raheem Sterling found himself with the ball at the top of the Croatia box, but it was good defending by the Croatians. Sterling was forced to release it for Harry Kane, who was caught off-side
21′ – Free-kick for England at the half line for a foul on Harry Kane
19′ – WIDE! Ivan Perisic’s attempt from diatance went just wide of England goal
14′ – Second corner for England. Kieron Trippier’s delivery for the corner kick found Harry Maguire in the middle, but the England defender headed it wide of Croatia goal
12′ – Corner for England. Ashley Young with the delivery from the set piece, but the ref whistled for a free-kick for Croatia
9′ – Corner for Croatia. Luka Modric with the delivery but England cleared it out.
5′ – GOAL! Kieran Trippier scored a free-kick to put England in the lead
WHAT A GOAL! England’s new ‘David Beckham’ Trippier hit the back of the top right from the set piece. What a timing to score his first international goal. No chance for Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic
4′ – Free-kick for England from a dangerous position. Luka Modric brought down Dele Alli just outside the Croatia area
3′ – Mario Mandzukic penalised for a foul on Jordan Henderson
Here we go….KICK-OFF TIME
*Time for National Anthems*
Starting line-ups
Croatia (4-3-3): Danijel Subasic; Sime Vrsaljko, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic; Luka Modric (capt), Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Rakitic; Ante Rebic, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic. Coach: Zlatko Dalic (CRO)
England (3-5-2): Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier, Jesse Lingard, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Ashley Young; Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane (capt). Coach: Gareth Southgate (ENG)
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (TUR)
TEAM NEWS
England’s starting line-up for their semi-final against Croatia remained unchanged for the third knockout match in a row, with coach Gareth Southgate sticking to his trusted 5-3-2 system. Captain Harry Kane, leading scorer in the tournament with six goals, will spearhead the attack alongside Raheem Sterling, who has not scored in more than 1,000 days for England, as they look to reach their first World Cup final in 52 years.
Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, set to start, will equal Dario Simic’s national record of 11 appearances at World Cups. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic brought in midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in place of forward Andrej Kramaric in an effort to control the pace of the game. Key defender Sime Vrsaljko was passed fit to start after recovering from a knee injury.
credit: The Times of India & FIFA
