FIFA World Cup 2018 quarterfinals: England beats Sweden, Croatia knocks out hosts Russia

July 10, 2018On Saturday, England defeated Sweden 2–0 in the FIFA football World Cup quarter-finals and the hosts Russia lost to Croatia 3–4 on penalties. Croatia are to play England for the spot in the finals.

Sweden vs England
Sweden faced England at the. England had higher ball possession. English forward missed a chance to open the scoring from outside the penalty area in the 19th minute from 's assist. The English side scored the first goal in the 30th minute as scored a header from 's assist. It was Maguire's first goal in an international match. Sterling had an opportunity in the 45th minute to double the lead for England, but his shot was blocked. The first half ended with Sweden trailing by one goal.

In the second half, Sweden got a chance to equalise, but England's goalkeeper saved 's header. Just before the one-hour mark, assisted, and Alli scored a goal from a header, doubling the lead for England. Marcus Berg's attempt to open the scoring for Sweden from 's assist was blocked by Pickford. Lingard had a chance to triple the lead in the 82nd minute from Harry Kane's assist but was blocked. In the 85th minute, England made a substitution when replaced. The match ended 2–0 as England advanced to the semi-finals.

After the match, England's coach said, "I can't speak highly enough of the whole squad and whole group of staff because it is so united in there. The level of work has been great and their commitment to each other, you don't get through with just 11 players. They are all top people and are the reason we are in the semi-final just as much as any other."

Russia vs Croatia
Hosts Russia faced Croatia at Sochi's. Croatia dominated ball possession. Russia opened the scoring in the 31st minute, when Denis Cheryshev scored a long-range goal from outside the penalty area in the top left corner, from 's assist. But Russia's lead did not last long as scored a header in the 39th minute, assisted by Mandžukić. The first half ended with both sides with one goal each.

In the second half, Ivan Perišić missed an opportunity in the 60th minute to double the score for Croatia as his shot rebounded from the woodwork. Russia replaced Cheryshev with in the 67th minute. Croatia's Mateo Kovačić came on for Kramarić in the 88th minute. The second half ended with both sides tied to one goal and the match progressed to extra time.

In the 100th minute, Croatia doubled their score as scored a goal from Luka Modrić's assist. In the 114th minute, was yellow-carded for a handball and Russia won a free kick. scored a header from 's free-kick as both sides were tied with two goals at the end of extra time and the match went on to penalties.

The Croatian goalkeeper saved Smolov's penalty while Fernandes missed his, sending the ball to the left. , Modrić and Vida scored their penalties for Croatia, while Kovačić's kick was saved. and scored for Russia, and Ivan Rakitić scored the winning goal for Croatia.

After the match, Croatia's coach said, "Congratulations to my lads but also to the Russia team, who fought well. This was not a beautiful game, it was a fight, a battle for the semi-final. We were lucky." Dalić added, "Of course there is some power left for the English. We do not want to stop, we will try to play our best game. We have two matches to play and we are very motivated. We're giving our all. It will be a battle again but I trust us, I have belief in us."