World Cup 2018
Semi-Final 2
Wednesday, July 11th
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Kick-off at 19:00 (7pm) GMT
CROATIA VS ENGLAND
The date is November 21
st 2007. Steve McLaren stands under his umbrella on a rain-soaked evening at Wembley contemplating the unfathomable feat of failing to qualify for the forthcoming
European Championships after witnessing his England side succumb 3-2 to Croatia – his reputation in tatters. That image will live long in the memories of fans that follow the Three Lions with fervent passion, and not for the right reasons either.
Fast-forward ten years and England, under the guidance of Gareth Southgate, find themselves on the brink of a first World Cup final in 52 years since that famous day in 1966. They have the opportunity to avenge that dreadful display against Croatia a decade ago when they clash in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia on Wednesday. All this after overcoming their dreaded penalty curse against Colombia and even the die-hards who harboured little hope for their national team just weeks ago are now starting to believe that football’s biggest prize may indeed be coming home.
‘Hrvatska’ can go one step-further than their golden generation of twenty years ago when take their place in the last four of the
2018 World Cup in Russia. The exploits of Stanic, Bilic and Suker in their famed run to the semi-finals in what was their first World Cup appearance in 1998, where they ultimately finished in third place, could be eclipsed by the current crop of Modric, Rakitic and Mandzukic.
After finishing ahead of Argentina in Group D, Zlatko Dalic’s men have had to navigate back-to-back penalty shootout victories in consecutive knockout round matches against Denmark and Russia respectively.
Goalkeeper Daniel Subasic, the hero in each of those encounters, is expected to be fit for their crunch encounter with the English after injuring his hamstring in the latter stages of their match against the hosts.
Croatia World Cup 2018 results:
16/06/2018 – Croatia 2-0 Nigeria
21/06/2018 – Argentina 0-3 Nigeria
26/06/2018 – Iceland 1-2 Croatia
01/07/2018 – Croatia 1-1 Denmark – Croatia won 3-2 on penalties (R16)
07/07/2018 – Russia 2-2 Croatia – Croatia won 4-3 on penalties (QF)
Harry Kane is currently the leading marksmen at this years tournament with six goals to his name from five matches and England’s number ‘9’ carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders as they prepare for their first semi-final since Italia 1990.
The Three Lions have already surpassed all expectation in Russia but if they were to bow out at this stage would be a heart-breaking, bitter pill to swallow. Jordan Pickford turned in a man-of-the-match display against Sweden, keeping his first clean sheet of the competition and will be key to any chance his side have of overcoming Croatia who boast an impressive 100% record in Russia.
England World Cup 2018 results:
18/06/2018 – Tunisia 1-2 England
24/06/2018 – England 6-1 Panama
28/06/2018 – England 0-1 Belgium
03/07/2018 – Colombia 1-1 England – England won 4-3 on penalties (R16)
07/07/2018 – Sweden 0-2 England (QF)
Wednesdays affair will be the eighth time that the pair will face-off in international football but just the first at a FIFA World Cup, after coming up against other a handful of times in European Championship and World Cup qualifying matches.
Croatia vs England head-to-head:
Played: 7
Croatia Wins: 2
Draws: 1
England Wins: 4
Croatia Goals: 10
England Goals: 18
Their most recent encounter ended in a hugely convincing 5-1 win for England at Wembley in September 2009. Wayne Rooney added to doubles from Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard respectively as the home side completed the double over Croatia and booked their spot at the World Cup finals in South Africa in 2010 at the expense of their opponents.
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Croatia vs England recent results:
09/09/2009 – England 5-1 Croatia
10/09/2008 – Croatia 1-4 England
21/11/2007 – England 2-3 Croatia
11/10/2006 – Croatia 2-0 England
21/06/2004 – Croatia 2-4 England
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