Heartbreak for England as Croatia advance to first-ever FIFA World Cup final

Moscow: Goals from Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic saw Croatia romp into the final of the FIFA World Cup after a 2-1 win over England in the second semifinal on Wednesday night here.

They will now face France in the final on Sunday, whereas England lock horns with group rivals Belgium for the third place on Saturday.

Earlier, Kieran Trippier had got England the lead in the fifth minute, only to be denied by Perisic in the 68th minute.

The match then went onto extra-time with the score reading 1-1, but Mandzukic was the hero of the match as he ensured that Croatia would reach their debut World Cup final with a sensational goal.

England had more to ponder upon as Trippier limped off the field after suffering an injury. Also, Harry Kane too could not save the Three Lions' day as their World Cup dreams ended.

As it happened

120 + 4': FULL TIME! Croatia advance to their first-ever World Cup final to set up title clash with France on Sunday.

109': GOAL! Mario Mandzukic gives Croatia the lead. Will this be the goal that sends them to the final?

105': Two minutes added in injury time.

101': Andrej Kramaric comes in for Ante Rebic.

95': Substitution for Croatia as Josip Pivaric comes in for Ivan Strinic.

90 + 3': Croatia 1- England 1 after 90 minutes, and the match heads to extra-time!

74': Marcus Rashford comes in for Raheem Sterling as England make a substitution.

68': GOAAAAAALLL!!! Ivan Perisic equalises the score as Croatia strike back. It's 1-1!

60': Ivan Rakitic (Croatia) has an unsuccessful attempt on goal.

53': Kyle Walker receives a yellow card.

45': The second half gets underway!

45 + 1': HALF TIME! Croatia 0- England 1

45': One minute added in injury time.

30': Harry Kane goes right up front, aims a shot, but Croatia golkeeper Subasic successfully stops the ball.Immediately, the referee signals it as offside.

24': Lingard tries to cross the ball to Dele Alli, but the ball ends up being too far for Alli.

5': GOOOAAAAL! Kieran Trippier's free-kick is successfull as he gets England a 1-0 lead in style. This is also his first-ever goal for England.

1': The match is underway!

Lineups

Preview

A superpower- England football team and a confident Croatia setup will lock horns in the second semifinal of the 2018 FIFA World Cup here on Wednesday.

While Gareth Southgate's men will hope to inch closer to their first global title since 1966, Luka Modric and co are just one step away from history- They have never reached a World Cup final.

This, in fact, will be the first meeting between these two teams in a World Cup.
The winner of this match will face France in the final on Sunday.

Harry Kane has been the go-to man for the Three Lions, with the Tottenham attacker having scored six goals in the tournament so far. What's more, he heads to this match as the tournament's top-scorer.

Meanwhile, just like Belgium, this is the 'Golden Generation' of Croatia- who are boosted by the form of star players like Modric, Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic.

Where is the match?

The match will take place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

When is the match?

The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 P.M. IST on Wednesday, July 11th.

Live telecast:

With Sony Sports Network acquiring the broadcasting rights, the matches can be aired live on Sony Ten 2/HD and Sony Ten 3/HD.

Live streaming:

Live action can be streamed via the SonyLiv app or on SonyLiv.com.