By Tim Parsons-
England’s dream of world cup glory was crashed by Croatia who exposed the limitations of a good side that lacked the tenacity to fight with full steam the whole way. England had overcome 30 years of misfortune in getting to the semi finals, but are also the first world cup team to fail to reach the finals after a lead in the first half.
This was a game England seemed destined to win, but the missed chances of the first half proved costly in the end. English fans all over the Uk were visibly saddened by the loss- the dream of bringing the cup back home remains just that- a dream! So the
Kieran Trippier gave England a confident lead after just five minutes when he buried a free kick from just outside the box into the net . It was England’s sixth set piece goal in the tournament that got fans excited. England was meant to double its early lead and there were many opportunities to do that which were missed.w you, because the pretence fails to pass first muster. Harry Kane squandered two chances to put the ball in the net. Once when it was just him and the goal keeper , and secondly his failure to follow-up his opportunity against the post.
Those were goal opportunities Kane should not have missed. Then there was the Jesse Lingard curler that Kane could have connected into the net with his legs, but didn’t do.
When Ivan Perisic levelled matters in the 68th minute of the second half by tapping in a Sime Vrsaljko cross from the right, the game was now up for grabs. England had lost the golden lead they needed to be in the driving seat. England had dominated most of the first half but let their dominance slip away as Croatia took over the second half , almost in total dismissal of the first half that England had just controlled.
In the 68th minute, Mandzukic responded to a header by Perisic and hit a hard shot into the net, beating English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. England’s loss marks the first time since 1990 that a team did not reach the World Cup final despite leading at halftime in a semi final. Croatia and France are now set to square off in Sunday’s final at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. England are to face Belgium in the third-place match in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, but that’s nothing to compare with the opportunity they had to get in the finals and probably win the tournament.