Croatia Beats England In Semifinal Match, Will Face France For The World Cup

Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic celebrates after scoring the winning goal in extra time as Croatia beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

Frank Augstein / AP

Croatia has advanced to its first-ever World Cup final in men’s soccer. The Croatian National team came from behind and upset favored England 2-to-1 in a semifinal match decided in extra time on Wednesday in Moscow.

Croatia was supposed to be a tired team coming into the match.

Its previous two games went to extra time and then emotionally draining penalty shootouts. But if anything, the grueling lead-up to the clash against England solidified Croatia’s mental toughness, which served the Croats well on Wednesday.