England, eyeing a place in the FIFA World Cup final for the first time since the 1966 triumph at home, take on the dangerous Croatia in the second semifinal of the championship on Wednesday night. The winner of semifinal will face 1998 winner France in the final while the losing team will play against Belgium to decide the third and fourth places.
England came second in Group G behind Belgium, who crashed out of the World Cup after losing 0-1 to France in the first semifinal on Tuesday. England then defeated Colombia on penalties after their Round of 16 match ended 1-1 after extra time and went on to snuff Sweden's challenge in the quarterfinals by a margin of 2-0.
Croatia were the winner of Group D and won their pre-quarterfinals against Denmark on penalties after a 1-1 draw. They sent hosts Russia out of the tournament in a penalty shootout after the match was tied 2-2.
Below is the schedule of the semifinal:
Wednesday, 11 July
England vs Croatia
Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Time: 11:30 pm
England and Croatia have never met a FIFA World Cup. Croatia mauled twice champions Argentina 3-0 in their Group D encounter and are carrying the confidence of shackling Lionel Messi and the feared Argentine attack into the semifinal against England. They have won both their knockout matches on penalties which shows that goalkeeper Danijel Subasic is in top form.
Croatia have one of the most creative midfield in world football today and their style of play is unlike England who prefer fast build ups. In captain Harry Kane, England have a striker who is leading the race for the Golden Boot.
