England, Croatia book semi-final showdown
ENGLAND and Croatia will both aim to repair longstanding World Cup semi-final wounds when they meet in Thursday’s surprise, albeit epic, final-four encounter.
The winner faces off against Belgium or France in the final, which could be the most open of all-time, with an unprecedented number of upsets.
Adrenaline-filled Russia al- most produced another boilover, but the higher-calibre Croats won a tense penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw.
Earlier, Harry McGuire and Dele Alli secured a 2-0 win for England over plucky Sweden.
The win set off jubilant scenes in both nations, with England reaching the semis for the first time since Italia ’90, with Bobby Robson’s team which included Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker.
Croatia has matched the golden generation of 1998 that included golden boot winner Davor Suker and inspirational captain Zvonimir Boban, with current skipper Luka Modric saying it filled him with pride.
“We’re very proud to be in the semi-final for the first time in 20 years. We feel we can go a step further,” Modric said.
“Playing England is always special, they’re playing a great tournament like us.
“They’re suffering less, but they showed great quality and we are expecting a tough match. But we’ll be ready.”
England coach Gareth Southgate lavished praise on his players, but declared there was a long way to go.
“It’s an amazing feeling. I feel privileged to be in this position,” Southgate said.
“I spoke to the lads (pregame) and none of us fancied going home.
“We have to be here another week and it’s up to us now which games we play in.”
Croatia keeper Daniel Subasic was again a hero, playing through a hamstring injury to pull off a crucial save from Fedor Smolov’s opening spot kick which left the hosts on the back foot during the shootout.
Real Madrid dynamo Luka Modric was immense for Croatia, leaving him among the golden ball contenders, scoring his penalty before Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic slotted home the winner as he did against Denmark.