World Cup 2018: England to face Croatia as Russia’s fairytale ends

England celebrated reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in a generation but Russia’s fairytale is over.

England’s Dele Alli, left, heads home his side’s second goal against Sweden in Samara. Picture: AP

England celebrated reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in a generation as Russia came to terms with a heartbreaking exit from their own party.

Gareth Southgate’s young team swept Sweden aside 2-0 in Samara, sparking scenes of unconfined joy in London and around the country as World Cup fever reached new heights with England sweltering in a summer heatwave.

Leicester defender Harry Maguire headed England ahead in the first half and Tottenham’s Dele Alli added a second just before the hour as Southgate’s team enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in Samara.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was made man of the match after three outstanding saves kept Sweden at bay, further burnishing a reputation that has grown throughout the tournament.

“It’s a great achievement for the team, we owed it to the fans back home who believed in us,” Alli said. “It’s always nice to score, especially on occasions like this. It’s an amazing feeling to be going to a semi-final at a World Cup.”

Captain Harry Kane, who leads the scoring charts in Russia with six goals, failed to find the net for the first time but said confidence was high after England posted their best run at a major tournament since Euro 96.

“We’re buzzing. We know there is still a big game ahead, but we’re feeling really good,” Kane said.

World Cup 2018 semi-finals draw

There is still much work to do if England are to reach their first World Cup final since lifting the trophy on home soil at Wembley in 1966. But Southgate believes he has instilled the humble mentality in the dressing room that is required to keep the journey going all the way. “We don’t have renowned world-class players yet but lots of good young players who are showing on the world stage that they’re prepared to be brave with the ball, try to play the right way, have shown some mental resilience now,” Southgate said.

At the start of his tenure in 2016, Southgate realised he had to deliver an important message to his players: Any success with England will be greater than anything achieved with their clubs.

“They have been prepared to park their club rivalries at the door,” he said. “We’ve talked about how important it is to have that spirit.”

Southgate, though, wants more Englishmen playing alongside the Premier League imports. “The more remarkable thing is that we’re in a semi-final,” he said. “We only have 33 per cent of the league to pick from. So that is still a huge problem for us, and we’re playing some young players who are barely established at their clubs, never mind international careers.

“But we feel that they’re able to play the way we want to play, playing huge pride, playing with no lack of quality, showing the sort of mentality to work for the group.”

In the remaining quarter-final in Sochi, Russia’s fairytale run came to a halt as they were beaten on penalties by Croatia.

Russia — the lowest-ranked nation at their own tournament — refused to die despite enjoying just 36 per cent of possession against a superior Croatian team led by Luka Modric. Croatia thought they had won the match when Domagoj Vida rose to nod in a corner in the first period of extra time but Mario Fernandes headed home from a free-kick to pull Russia level at 2-2.

The host nation, who beat Spain on penalties in the last 16, failed to convert two of their spot kicks, leaving Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic with a match decider and he sealed a 4-3 win.

Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov lamented that fortune had not smiled on his side.

“Luck was against us,” Cherchesov said. “My guys feel like conscript soldiers whose term of service was over just when they were preparing to go into battle. They still want to fight that war.”

Croatia, who last reached the semi-finals in 1998, now face the challenge of trying to recover in time to play England in Moscow on Thursday morning (AEST) after their second consecutive penalty shootout drained their players of energy.

But Modric said they would be ready to face Southgate’s men.

“We have enough time to rest and prepare well,” said the Real Madrid midfielder. “We expect a very difficult, tight and demanding match. Every match at this World Cup is like that … We have to enjoy the moment, then tomorrow we prepare for England.”

Agencies