SWEDEN 0 ENGLAND 2 (Samara)
England will progress to the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990 after a comprehensive 2-0 victory against Sweden.
The English relinquished possession early on, allowing Sweden to shape the match and establish their dominance. Then, slowly, England began to claw their way back by pressuring Swedish midfielders and attaining set pieces. In the 31st minute, Ashley Young curled a shot into the post from a corner, finding Harry Maguire, who headed the ball past Robin Olsen for the 1-0 lead. The goal inspired England to grow in confidence, quickly overpowering a weakened Sweden.
The second half saw England return with an intense fervor to find another goal, intimidating Sweden into falling back. The Swedish found it hard to leash and mark England’s dominant presence in the box, allowing for Dele Alli to head Jesse Lingard’s cross into the net to double the lead in the 58th minute. Sweden forced English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford into action several times later, but could not break England’s stout defense.
CROATIA 2 RUSSIA 2 (4-3 Penalties) (Sochi)
Croatia returned to the World Cup semifinals for the first time in 20 years by defeating Russia 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout.
After a slow start to the match, Denis Cheryshev fired an unstoppable curling strike from 25 yards to give Russia the lead in the 31st minute. Just nine minutes later, Croatia retaliated as Mario Mandzukic weaved his way into the box, finding Andrej Kramaric, who headed the ball into the bottom right corner for the equalizer.
Neither side could find the winner in full time, sending the match to extra time. Only 11 minutes into the first period, Domagoj Vida headed a corner into the back of the net to give the Croats the lead. Only five minutes before the final whistle of extra time, Russia equalized when a cross found Mario Fernandez who nodded the shot into the net to send the game to penalties.
The shootout proved to be a back-and-forth affair, but in the final round Ivan Rakitic stepped up and buried his effort to send his nation to their first semifinals since the 1998 tournament.
