Croatians celebrate history as beat England to reach World Cup final
Thousands of Croatian fans celebrated in Zagreb after Croatia yet again showed their magnificent resilience to come from behind and beat England 2-1 in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Mario Mandzukic's extra-time goal sent them into their first World Cup final and a possible revenge mission against France, the team that knocked them out in the semi-finals in 1998.
For the third successive knockout game the Croats trailed, this time to Kieran Trippier's fifth-minute free kick, but they fought back once more to force extra time.
Ivan Perisic leveled after 68 minutes and, having got past Denmark and Russia on penalties, Croatia rolled up their sleeves for another extra period.
This time they did not need the shootout as, seemingly gaining in energy when they should have been on their knees, they took charge and won it when Mandzukic struck with a well-taken low shot in the 109th minute.
The win made Croatia the 13th team to contest the final, and the first new finalists since Spain in 2010.
Since their dream run to the last four in 1998, their first tournament as an independent nation, Croatia have failed to get past the group stage in 2002, 2006, and 2014, with every subsequent failing team being compared unfavorably with the heroes of France.
This side, however, have gone one better and will get the chance to avenge the defeat of 20 years ago when they face the French on Sunday at the Luzhniki Stadium.
(Source: Reuters)
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