FIFA WC SF 2 : It Isn’t Coming Home For England, Croatia Advance To Finale

Croatia, a country with only 4.2 million population, size one-thirteenth of England and ranked 20th in the world will play the World Cup Finale against France on 15 July. It will be the smallest country to play the World Cup Final since Uruguay in 1950 after beating England 2-1 in the Semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Kieran Trippier’s first international goal, an exquisite free-kick in the fifth minute, gave England a lead which was negated when Ivan Perisic drew his team level in the second half.

Croatia had a poor first half but came back strongly in the second. Mario Mandzukic scored in the 109th minute to send Croatia to their first-ever World Cup final. This is the third time on the bounce that Croatia have managed to win a match after it went into extra-time.

                             Happiness for Croatia

The 1966 Champions, England were one of the most inexperienced sides in the World Cup. After years of misery at major tournaments — from agonizing penalty shootout defeats to group stage exits and, arguably the nadir, defeat to Iceland at the European Championships two years ago — it was a surprise that Gareth Southgate’s team had even reached the last four, which made the occasion all the more joyous for the country’s fans.

England will face Belgium for the 3rd spot.