Corluka aims for repeat of famous win at Wembley

Croatia will draw inspiration from the infamous “Wally with the Brolly” debacle at Wembley as they bid to inflict more heartbreak on England, according to defender Vedran Corluka.

Steve Mcclaren watched from under an umbrella as Croatia beat an error-strewn England 3-2 in the pouring rain in 2007 to deny his side a place at Euro 2008, an image that invited that unfortunate epithet. England have since beaten Croatia 4-1 and 5-1 in World Cup qualifying games, but Corluka, who played in the win at Wembley, is hoping for a similar result to that night when the countries face each other in the World Cup semi-final in Moscow on Wednesday evening.

“Hopefully it will be a great game for the fans and like more like Wembley in 2007,” the former Manchester City and Tottenham player said. “More like that please!”

While England have one of the youngest teams in the tournament, five of the Croatia players who started in their quarter-final penalty shoot-out victory over Russia are in their thirties and Corluka says the prospect of this being the last and best shot of World Cup glory for half the side is an added source of motivation.

“Now it is probably the last World Cup for a lot of us,” said Corluka, 32. “So it’s a case of giving all that we have and going further than we ever have before. It’s not just another game. We watched England in all their games and they played really well. They are confident and have a young team. Before they didn’t have any pressure [coming into this tournament]. Now you are hoping it can come home, yeah?

“We will both want to have possession and we like to play against teams like this because we have really fast players. It will be a really open game, not like against Russia or Denmark. You can see the style of England is a little bit like Manchester City, especially with John Stones who is always on the ball.”

Davor Suker, the president of the Croatian Football Federation, said he was planning a dinner for all the players, management and staff to ensure they are as relaxed as possible. “I know what the players need,” he said. “A nice seafood dinner all together, which is a sign that everything is excellent with unity between the team, coach and staff. I would like to face the England from before, but now they are very strong. We have to respect them.”

Coach Zlatko Dalic pinpointed Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling as the danger men, despite insisting Croatia “don’t fear England or anybody else”.