Showdown ahead
Croatia crushes England’s dream to meet France at World Cup final
MOSCOW — Croatia’s legs seemed heavy, burdened by the accumulated toll of consecutive penalty shootout wins needed to get this far.
England led early in St. Petersburg through a Kieran Tripper freekick, dominated first-half play and appeared headed to its first World Cup final since 1966.
Then the second half started and it was as if a different Croatian team had replaced the lethargic one.
Ivan Perisic equalized in the 68th minute, Mario Mandzukic got the go-ahead goal in the 109th and Croatia shocked England with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday that advanced a nation of just over 4 million to Sunday’s World Cup final against France.
“Mentally strong team,” midfielder Ivan Rakitic said. “It’s just unbelievable to get back in the game in this way.”
When the final whistle blew and they knew they were going to their first World Cup final, the Croatians ran to their ecstatic fans, almost all of whom donned the team’s iconic red-and-white checkered jerseys.
The Balkan country joined the exclusive club of 13 nations to reach a World Cup final, doing it in a tournament where traditional powers Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain made early exits.
“They’ve had an incredible route to the final. They’ve shown remarkable character,” said England coach Gareth Southgate.
France, which won its only title at home in 1998, will have an extra day of rest after beating Belgium 1-0 on Tuesday.
Coming off 360 intense minutes at soccer’s highest level, Croatia faces its biggest sporting moment since becoming an independent nation in 1991.
“We started slowly, but we’ve shown our character, just as we did in the previous two knockout rounds when we were one goal down,” said Perisic, of Inter Milan.
Fans back home in Zagreb took to the streets to celebrate, lighting flares and waving flags in a sea of exuberance.
“We are a nation of people who never give in, who are proud and who have character,” said coach Zlatko Dalic, who wore a checkered jersey to his post-match news conference. “There’s no weakness in a team that is in the final.”
England was not among the top 10 nations in ticket sales before the tournament, but the team’s progress caused supporters to flock to Moscow.
The front of the stands behind one goal was filled with dozens of St. George’s Cross flags, each bearing the name of a different English club, from Bournemouth to Wolves.
Back home, a crowd of 30,000 watched the action on a giant screen in London’s Hyde Park.
The British Beer and Pub Association predicted supporters would buy 10 million extra pints at pubs during the match, and No 1 Court at Wimbledon was less than a third full for the men’s quarterfinal between John Isner and Milos Raonic.
England looked on its way to a first World Cup final in 52 years when rightback Trippier curled in a superb fifth-minute freekick for his first international goal.
“We had a couple of chances after that to get the second, give ourselves a bit more breathing room,” England captain Harry Kane said.
Soccer will not be coming home to England, and there will be no title to match the 1966 triumph at Wembley Stadium as the squad deals with the same disappointment that felled Shearer and Platt, Gazza and Wazza, Beckham and Gerrard. And, of course, Southgate, whose missed penalty led to England’s previous semifinal loss in a major tournament, the 1996 European Championship.
“Impossible to say anything to them that is going to make them feel better at this point,” Southgate said after England’s fourth straight defeat in a major tournament semifinal.
“Three times 120 minutes and fresher legs today than the English team,” Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren said.
Mandzukic ran to a corner and was mobbed by teammates, who jumped on him and trapped a photographer under them in the crush.
Not long after, Dalic was thinking about the short recovery time before the final.
“It’s our fault. Why didn’t we score earlier?” he said. “Why didn’t we finish the job in regulation?”
Rakitic wasn’t worried, though.
“We still have lots of energy in the tank,” said the Barcelona star.