At 9pm in Moscow, an intriguing and promising semifinal duel of the second world championship began. Two elite European teams - Croatia and England - fought for a dream ticket to the final. Croatia marched only victoriously in this competition, but in the knockout stage, this team won only twice after penalty shootouts. England once lost to Belgium, but Gareth Southgate's team demonstrates excellent play and is considered the favorites of this pair. Both teams started the meeting cautiously, but in the 4th minute, Dele Alli was fouled by Luka Modrić near the Croatian penalty area. England did not waste the opportunity - K. Trippier scored a great penalty kick - 1:0. Gareth Southgate's team did not give up and started pressing the opponents to score another goal. In the 14th minute, England had a corner, but H. Maguire's shot was inaccurate. Finally, Croatia created danger near J. Pickford's goal - I. Perišić sent a shot over the crossbar. H. Kane missed two opportunities - in the 30th minute, his shot was saved by D. Subašić, and soon after, the sniper hit the post. However, the sideline referee also noted an offside. Croatia lacked energy, and their leader L. Modrić got caught in the defensive pressure. At the beginning of the second half, Balkan football representatives received two yellow cards - the referee punished A. Rebić and M. Mandžukić. H. Kane was close to scoring, but as he fell, he missed the ball. In the 68th minute, England had to pull the ball out of the net - expertly played, the winger Ivan Perišić scored (1:1). Soon after, he hit the crossbar. In the 74th minute, England began to make substitutions and planned an assault on the opponents' goal. However, both teams did not score in dangerous opportunities and had to play extra time. In extra time, striker Mario Mandžukić's star shined - he scored the winning goal in the 109th minute and led the team to the match for the first place (1:2). Starting Lineups: TEAM NEWS // #CROENG Here are the Starting XIs for tonight's semi-final...#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/28C4ZvnP8x — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 11, 2018
