All roads led to Moscow for England fans 10 CHARTER FLIGHTS FROM ZAGREB CARRIED CROATIAN FANS TO CAPITAL

During the day England fans were planning the best and least expensive way to get hold of a ticket for the final. By evening they had crashed down to earth, as by far their largest number of travelling supporters at the tournament saw the team lose to Croatia in extra time.

Many had dared to believe after the victory on penalties against Colombia and the regulation win against Sweden that things this year could be different. There had been huge optimism during the day that while France in the final would be a tough proposition, there was little doubt that England would make it.

In the end, it was not to be, though amid the disappointment there was also a feeling that the tournament was still something to savour, the first such World Cup for a long time. At the England end, fans stayed singing and congratulating the team for some time after the final whistle. A packed stadium provided an intense World Cup atmosphere for the game, after thousands of England and Croatia fans had flown into the Russian capital. After the strangely subdued atmosphere of the quarter-final victory against Sweden in hard-to-reach Samara, the atmosphere inside the tournament’s biggest stadium was electric. The Croats were 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 out-sung for the first 70 minutes, after Kieran Trippier’s early goal, but found their voice after their equaliser, and were sent into delirium by the extra time winner.

At England’s first two group games there were only about 2,000 fans present each time, but as fears of hooliganism and violence in Russia have so far proved unfounded, and Gareth Southgate’s team have progressed further in the tournament than most expected, the dash to Moscow commenced. Flights from across Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday were packed with England fans scrambling to make the last-minute trip. Several thousand Croats also made the journey to see their country’s first semi-final appearance since 1998, with 10 charter flights from Zagreb landing in Moscow on Wednesday. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Reuters Croatian fans celebrate after their team’s brilliant win over England on Wednesday.

AFP A Croatia fan poses with a heart sign before the start of the semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Antonin Kélian Kallouche/Gulf News A Croatian supporter cheers as her team made it to the final of the World Cup at the Atlantis World Cup Fan Zone.

Clint Egbert/Gulf News Fans catch the semi-final action at Zero Gravity on Wednesday.

Clint Egbert/Gulf News Things did not go as planned for the England supporters during the World Cup screening at Zero Gravity.

Antonin Kélian Kallouche/Gulf News England supporters react during the semi-final against Croatia at the Atlantis World Cup Fan Zone in Dubai.