FIFA World Cup 2018: Croatia beat Russia in penalty shootout to reach semi-finals

Croatia beat hosts Russia 4-3 on penalties after the teams were level at 2-2 following extra time in their FIFA World Cup 2018 quarter-final on Saturday and will meet England in the semi-finals. Croatia defender Domagoj Vida put them 2-1 ahead from a Luka Modric corner in the first period of extra time but Russia's Mario Fernandes headed an equaliser with five minutes remaining, much to the delight of the partisan crowd at the Fisht Stadium. Denis Cheryshev's swerving left-footer from the edge of the box had opened the scoring for Russia in the 31st minute of normal time but an unmarked Andrej Kramaric headed in a cross from Mario Mandzukic eight minutes later to restore parity. Croatia will play England, who earlier beat Sweden 2-0 in Samara, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Wednesday.

Updated on: Jul 08, 2018 3:03 AM IST

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Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties on Saturday to set up a FIFA World Cup 2018 semi-final against England after a dramatic match full of twists and turns. (REUTERS)

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Russia's Denis Cheryshev celebrates scoring their first goal. (REUTERS)

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Croatia's forward Andrej Kramaric (C) scores the equalizer. (AFP)

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Croatia's defender Domagoj Vida (R) celebrates after scoring a goal during extra time. (AFP)

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Russia's Mario Fernandes scores their second goal. (REUTERS)

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Denis Cheryshev embraces Mario Fernandes after losing the penalty shootout. The latter’s miss in the shootout was the tipping point of the game. (REUTERS)

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Croatia's Ivan Rakitic scores the winning penalty during the shootout. (REUTERS)