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Monday, Jun 23, 2025
While England enjoyed a relatively stress-free 2-0 win over Sweden in the last eight, Croatia had to come through a gruelling extra time against hosts Russia and then a penalty shootout.
Mario Mandzukic scored in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium giving the Balkan nation its first ever place in the final, surprising even some fans with the result.
Croatia reached the World Cup final for the first time after an extra-time goal from Mario Mandzukic gave them a 2-1 win over England.
Mexican snapper Yuri Cortez was perfectly positioned after Mario Mandzukic's extra time winner and ended up at the heart of the celebrations.
Croatia will pin their hopes on Real Madrid star Luka Modric who has possibly been the best midfielder at the tournament.
Croatia have arguably the strongest central midfield pairing of the tournament in Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric.
When Croatia stormed through the group stage with nine points from three games, they did in indeed look like serious contenders.
Two nations who have been waiting years to put right the bitter memories of World Cup semi-final defeats will face each other on Wednesday in Moscow.
Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic scored the winner in the 109th minute as he scored from inside the box.
Croatian keeper Danijel Subasic matched the World Cup record for most saves in a shoot-out, equaling the mark set by Portugal's Ricardo against England in 2006.
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