Croatia 2-1 England: World Cup highlights and recap

Croatia beat England 2-1 in the semifinals of the World Cup on Wednesday, July 11 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Croatia became only the second team ever to overturn a halftime deficit in a World Cup semifinal against England on Wednesday, with goals from Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic enough to see them through to their first ever final.

England got off to the perfect start, with yet another set-piece goal. This one wasn’t another well-worked corner routine, though, but a brilliant free-kick from Kieran Trippier, who curled in from the top of the box after Luka Modric had fouled Dele Alli.

From there, the Three Lions were happy to sit back and play on the counter, with Raheem Sterling looking particularly dangerous as he outpaced center-backs Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida on a number of occasions.

England nearly doubled their lead after a half hour, when Jesse Lingard played in Harry Kane, whose shot was saved by Danijel Subasic, before he missed the rebound. The flag was up for offside, but a replay showed Kane was on.

Croatia, meanwhile, seriously struggled to break down England’s defense. Ante Rebic had a powerful effort saved in the 32nd minute, but it was telling that all of his side’s shots came from outside the box.

They improved after the break, though, as England began to drop deeper, seemingly content to protect their lead. Perisic eventually equalized in the 68th minute, beating Kyle Walker to knock in Sime Vrsaljko’s deep cross.

The goal seemed to rattle England, and Perisic almost got his second only three minutes later, beating Walker one on one before drilling a shot off the post. For the first time all tournament, Gareth Southgate’s side looked out of their depth.

They looked nervous in possession, and were far too quick to lump the ball forward under pressure from Croatia, but despite a couple of half-chances, for Perisic and Mandzukic, they held on to send the match to extra time.

Both sides had good chances in the first period of extra time. John Stones’ header was cleared off the line by Vrsaljko, while Jordan Pickford denied Mandzukic with an excellent, point-blank save in the 108th minute.

Mandzukic won it shortly after the restart, capitalizing on some sloppy, tired play from England’s center-backs, who failed to react when Perisic beat Trippier to a sliced clearance, sending the Juve forward through on goal to score the winner.

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Highlights

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1017140401172447232

Croatia will play France in the World Cup final on Sunday, July 15.