- Croatia have made it into the semifinal at the 2018 World Cup in Russia
- They defeated the host nation 4-3 on penalties on Saturday, July 7, in their quarterfinal tie
- Croatia will face England in their next semifinal game at the 2018 World Cup
Russia who are the hosts of the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been bundled out of the championship after losing 4-3 on penalties to Croatia on Saturday, July 7, in their quarterfinal game.
The regulation time ended 2-2 before Croatia sealed their qualification to the last four of the tournament winning on penalties.
Russia scored the first goal of the match in the 31st minute through Denis Cheryshev who was assisted by Artem Dzyuba to send the home fans into wide jubilation.
Croatia celebrate their win over Russia (photo: Getty)
But Croatia restored parity in the 39th minute when Mario Mandzukic provided a superb cross for Andrej Kramaric to score via an header.
The 90 minutes ended 1-1 before the referee signaled for the start of the extra time.
Domagoj Vida scored the second goal for Croatia in the 101st minute after receiving a nice pass from Luka Modric in which Russia goalie Igor Akinfeev was helpless.
Russia came back into the game five minutes before the end of the extra time as Mario Fernandes scored to force the match into penalties.
Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic scored the last penalty for Croatia to send them to the semifinal where they will face England.
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Earlier, NAIJ.com had reported how England’s Three Lions defeated Sweden 2-0 courtesy of two headed goals from Harry Maguire’s 30th minute and Dele Alli's 59th minute during Saturday’s quarterfinal fixture to book passage into the semifinals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia.
This will be the first time that England will reach the last four of the World Cup tournament since 1990 when the reached this stage last.
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Source: Naija.ng