World Cup 2018: The Red Devils to meet England in the battle for third place
Croatia’s win over England means they will join France in the final of the World Cup 2018. Winning 2-1 after extra time in the second semifinal game of the 2018 World Cup on Wednesday night at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. Following this setback, England will now meet the Red Devils in the third place game on Saturday at 16:00 in St. Petersburg.
The Three Lions quickly found their way through the net after just four minutes of play. The referee gave a free kick for a foul by Luka Modric on Delle Alli after 4 minutes. Kieran Trippier sent the ball right into Danijel Subasic’s skylight to give the lead to his team with the 9th goal from a dead ball since the start of the tournament, the 12th overall (a record).
The Croatians were more accurate in the second half. Ivan Perisic went from a heavy shot long distance to the 58th, saved by Kyle Walker. But this was just a warning shot from former Brugge player, who equalized in the 68th minute.
The score did not move change and so the match headed for extra time. This is the third time that the Croatians have went to overtime, after their knockout stage against Denmark and their quarter against Russia, the equivalent of an extra match in the legs. Mario Mandzukic, in the 109th put one away and saw Croatia through to a historical win that puts them in the final
Croatia will play Sunday the very first final of its young history. The Croats had finished 3rd in their first World Cup and were eliminated by France, which they meet this sunday in the final twenty years later. France will play its third World Cup final, with them winning in 1998 against Brazil and losing in 2006 against Italy.
World champion in 1966, England had not reached the last stage of the World since 1990. They were then knocked out from penalties by West Germany. The English will find the Red Devils Saturday in the match for 3rd place. The two teams met on the third game of the group stage, when they were both qualified for the round of 16. Adnan Januzaj’s only goal of the match (1-0) placed Belgium in 1st place in Group G.
