Croatia defeat Russia 4-3 on penalties to reach 2018 World Cup semifinal

Croatia have made it into the semifinal at the 2018 World Cup in Russia - They defeated the host nation 4-3 on penalties on Saturday, July 7, in their quarterfinal tie - Croatia will face England in their next semifinal game at the 2018 World Cup Russia who are the hosts of the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been bundled out of the championship after losing 4-3 on penalties to Croatia on Saturday, July 7, in their quarterfinal game.

The regulation time ended 2-2 before Croatia sealed their qualification to the last four of the tournament winning on penalties. Russia scored the first goal of the match in the 31st minute through Denis Cheryshev who was assisted by Artem Dzyuba to send the home fans into wide jubilation. But Croatia restored parity in the 39th minute when Mario Mandzukic provided a superb cross for Andrej Kramaric to score via an header.

The 90 minutes ended 1-1 before the referee signaled for the start of the extra time. Domagoj Vida scored the second goal for Croatia in the 101st minute after receiving a nice pass from Luka Modric in which Russia goalie Igor Akinfeev was helpless. Russia came back into the game five minutes before the end of the extra time as Mario Fernandes scored to force the match into penalties. Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic scored the last penalty for Croatia to send them to the semifinal where they will face England.