Exhausted and battered, Croatia reaches its 1st World Cup final

If they had beaten Croatia, England would have reached only their second World Cup final.

If they win, they head to the final against France.

The Three Lions once again scored from a dead ball situation, their eighth set-piece goal of this World Cup.

"It's been an incredible run and I feel lucky to have been here for this match". In almost three seasons since its inception, the Soccerbot is up an incredible 1,800 percent on bookmakers' closing odds. Croatia cruised through their group without a loss but needed penalty kicks to defeat both Denmark and Russian Federation in back-to-back games in the knockout stage.

"England fans in Hyde Park waste about $10,000 in beer on team's first goal against Croatia", suggested one sports reporter while tweeting out the clip. The result: Croatia stamped its ticket to the Russian Federation 2018 final with a thrilling 2-1 victory.

Croatia and England are joined in the last four by France and Belgium after a World Cup at which several heavyweights, namely Germany, Brazil and Spain, were eliminated earlier than expected. Anyone who has followed it is way, way up. "They've broken through a number of barriers in the past weeks".

"What more could we ask for?" And you can only see that 2018 World Cup pick over at SportsLine.

It prompted a glowing assessment from Mourinho, who added: "It's a great achievement for a country where the league is a minor league and the majority of the players don't player in Croatia but overseas".

Despite taking the lead early in the first half on Wednesday, England suffered the familiar story of World Cup heartbreak as Croatia equalised in the second half and then claimed the victor in the second period of extra time.

The sound of screaming, chanting and swearing fans filled Winston's English Pub during the World Cup semi-final between England and Croatia. "I think France will win the title".

"This team have over-achieving by getting to a semi-final and they can all be absolutely proud". Les Bleus will face off against Croatia on Sunday.