England scored twice in 7 minutes against Croatia to secure their place in the UEFA Nations League semi-final stage.
Croatia, who beat England in the World Cup semi-final in July, looked like they would leave from Wembley with another win over the Three Lions when Andrej Kramaric put them ahead with a deflected finish early in the second half. England needed a quick response, as a win would send them through and relegate the Croatians. England could’ve been about three or four goals up in the first half, but chances were squandered and Kalinic, the Croatian goalkeeper, stayed resolute.
But, with twelve minutes left, Jesse Lingard prodded the ball home after Harry Kane’s knockdown, from pretty much the goal-line.
The atmosphere was ramped up a level, and this obviously spurred on the England team to try and grab a second goal. Up step Harry Kane, the golden boy of the World Cup campaign. A free-kick played into the box caused havoc in the defence, and Harry Kane poked in Ben Chilwell’s set piece.
Suddenly the Nations League became the talk of the nation. As the final whistle went, ‘It’s Coming Home’ rang out through the PA system. It felt like all 78,221 (minus the Croatian fans) were belting out the Lightning Seeds tune. The players noticed too, as Jordan Pickford told BBC Sport, “The atmosphere is probably the best we've had at Wembley, so credit to the fans,”
England will have to wait to find out who their opponents will be in next year’s semi-final in Portugal. However, another semi-final to look forward too – Gareth Southgate has become a very popular man around the country in recent months.
England – Pickford 7, Walker 7, Gomez 9, Stones 7, Chilwell 7, Delph 6.5 (Lingard 8, 73 mins), Dier 6, Barkley 6 (Alli 6, 63 mins), Sterling 6, Kane 7.5, Rashford 7 (Sancho 6.5, 73 mins)
Man of the Match – Joe Gomez
Attendance – 78,221 (Wembley)
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