Croatia crush England 2-1 … To fight France at World Cup final

Croatia soared to World Cup final as it beat England 2-1 in their semi-final encounter in Russia on Wednesday.

Croatia and England were locked at 1-1 at the end of normal time in their World Cup semi-final in Moscow on Wednesday.

Kieran Trippier gave England a dream start in the Luzhniki Stadium, curling in a free-kick past the despairing dive of Danijel Subasic in just the fifth minute.

But Ivan Perisic levelled for Croatia in the 68th minute, nipping ahead of Kyle Walker to steer home Sime Vrsaljko’s cross past a diving Jordan Pickford.

A goal by Mario Mandzukic in the 109th minute gave Croatia the edge.

Heartbreak for England as Croatia take the lead in the early stages of this second period of extra time. It is more tired defending from England, who are finally punished for their sloppy defender.

A poor clearance sends the ball looping into the air and it is nodded back hopefully into the box. Stones is caught sleeping for a second and that is enough for Mandzukic to get the wrong side of his man and sweep his finish past Pickford. Punch