Finally, England and Croatia have chance to banish semi blues
By Simon Evans
Two nations who have been waiting years to put right the bitter memories of World Cup semi-final defeats will face each other on Thursday (AEST) in Moscow with the chance to finally go one step further.
England's last appearance at this stage was in 1990 when they lost in a penalty shootout to West Germany in Turin while eight years later, in their first World Cup as an independent nation, Croatia lost to hosts and eventual winners France.
Ultimate team player Modric could be greatest individual
By James Ducker
Vedran Corluka was deep into his umpteenth interview of the night when the Croatia defender was asked if Luka Modric, his country's captain and conductor, might have a chance of winning the Ballon d'Or this year. "We are too small a country for Fifa or Uefa to consider a player from our country to be the best player in the world," Corluka replied, bluntly.
A little earlier, Modric himself had been asked the same question. "I'm not thinking about the Ballon d'Or. Croatia's success is much more important to me than that," he said.
'Croatia have suffered – now they are ready for everything': Bilic
If there was any doubt as to how much the World Cup semi-final against England means to Croatia, then listen to Slaven Bilic. "We have waited 20 years for this," says Croatia's former defender, and coach.
"For Croatia, there have been four, five tournaments in which they have cried, they have suffered but they have matured and had all the range of emotions and been brave to finally get to the position where they are ready for everything."
Mighty England, a World Cup Cinderella? The shoe fits
Jordan Pickford's journey to Luzhniki Stadium for England's World Cup semi-final against Croatia on Thursday – one to be witnessed by 80,000 on site and millions back home – passed through Haig Avenue, a century-old stadium in seaside Southport, England, with seating capacity for 1,600 and standing room for twice as many.
It stopped at a venue called The Lamb Ground, on a plot in Tamworth once used for a pig farm. In Braintree, he performed in front of 409 souls.
Football is not coming home… it is already there in English hearts
By Paul Hayward
From the questions about waistcoats, tea-drinking and plastic chickens thrown at Gareth Southgate, you would never guess international football is the "pinnacle", but England have reclaimed top billing for the masses back home – and for this generation of players.
Football, a global game, is not "coming home". But the England team have already returned, to every home and heart in the land that sent this squad to Russia. The truism that everyone owns the national team has not seemed so appealing since Euro '96, when English nationalism wore a benign face and Terry Venables's team played with verve.
