And then there were four

At a glance

colourful nickname too. Jamie Vardy dubbed national team and Leicester teammate Harry Maguire Slab Head during training camp and punked him during an interview.

Vardy joined reporters and asked the final question. ‘‘It’s Jamie Vardy from the Vardy Express. How big is the diameter of your head?’’

When Maguire scored the goahead goal in the 2-0 quarterfinals win over Sweden, his shout of joy was so intense it looked like a shriek of pain.

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku earned the Rocky nickname at Manchester United, where teammates compared his work ethic to that of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa.

Kylian Mbappe, the 19-year-old French forward sensation, was nicknamed 37 by teammates after they said he reached 37kmh during a sprint against Portugal – Fifa clocked it at a slightly more leisurely 32.4kmh.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL TRIUMPH

No matter which team wins, the final four is a triumph of the Big Five – Europe’s top professional leagues. Eighty-one of 92 players on semifinal rosters are with clubs in England (40), Spain (12), France (12), Germany (nine) and Italy (eight).

All of England’s players are home-based, with 22 in the Premier League and one in the second-tier League Championship. They face many of the world’s best each week.

‘‘The reason that foreign players play in the Premiership is because we pay the most money, so that is very straightforward,’’ Southgate said.

France has nine from its Ligue 1, six from La Liga, five from the EPL, two from Germany’s Bundesliga and one from Italy’s Serie A.

Nearly half of Belgium’s roster – 11 – was in the Premier League season, joined by three from Germany, two apiece from France, Spain and China, and one each in France, Italy and Scotland. Defender Leander Dendoncker is the lone player to stay at home, with Anderlecht.

Croatia has six in Serie A, four each in Spain’s La Liga and the Bundesliga, and one apiece in England, France, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The only two from home are midfielder Filip Bradaric, whose sole appearance was as a secondhalf substitute in the group phase, and backup goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

Dalic hopes in a year of the outsider, the least-heralded team prevails.

‘‘We don’t want to stop. We will try to play our best game,’’ he said. ‘‘I trust us.’’

GETTY IMAGES France striker Kylian Mbappe, above left, is know as 37 for his speed, while Belgium star striker Romelu Lukaku, above right, is know as Rocky for his undying work ethic.

AP, GETTY IMAGES Croatia goalkeeper Danujel Subasic, left, waves to fans after their win over Russia yesterday. At right, England’s Harry Maquire is known as Slab Head by team-mates thanks to Jamie Vardy.