Croatia beat England to reach first-ever World Cup final

● Belgium’s golden generation falls short again in World Cup

When the final whistle blew and they knew they were going to their first World Cup final, the Croatians ran to their exuberant fans, jumping in their iconic red-and-white checkered jerseys. Mario Mandzukic scored the winning goal in the 109th minute and Croatia shocked England 2-1 yesterday. Croatia, the first team in 28 years to come from behind to win a World Cup semifinal match, will play France for the title on Sunday in its biggest sporting moment since becoming an independent nation in 1991. France, which won its only title at home in 1998, will have an extra day of rest after beating Belgium 10 on Tuesday. Croatia will be coming off its third straight extra-time match.

Defender Sime Vrsaljko kept the score even by heading a shot off the goal line about 10 minutes before Mandzukic scored.

Kevin Trippier curled in a free kick for England in the fifth minute. Ivan Perisic tied the score in the 68th minute.

But football will not be coming home, and there will be no title to match the 1966 triumph at Wembley Stadium. Harry Kane & Co. will deal with the same disappointment that felled Shearer and Platt, Gazza and Wazza, Beckham and Gerrard.

Harry Kane and his England squad stayed on the field long after the 2-1 extra-time loss to Croatia, acknowledging the thousands of traveling fans who'd come to Russia to see the Three Lions play in a World Cup semifinal for the first time in 28 years.

Kane, who leads the tournament scoring list with six goals, says the hurt is going to last a long time.