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England Beaten at the Toughest Stage of them All

It was a tough night for England fans last night when they saw their young lions beaten by Croatia 2-1 after extra time. The nation was behind this team in a way that many people will have never seen before, but unfortunately the night ended with heartache and misery for those dreaming of seeing England play in a World Cup final on Sunday.

When France booked their place in the final a day earlier, all eyes turned to the game betwen England and Croatia. The nation believed in the young team that had taken the country by storm, and millions of people across the country went out of their way to watch the game and will on the youngsters who have once again breathed life into the English national team.

Unfortunately despite the huge support from back home, and from the thousands of people that made it out to Russia for this game, England were not good enough on the night. They took the lead thanks to a wonderful Kieran Trippier free kick after just five minutes, something that led to jubilant scenes all over the country in fan parks and pubs. The Three Lions had their chance to finish the game there and then, with a couple falling to Harry Kane, the man who England wanted their chances to fall to.

However, in the second half Croatia came back into the game, and scored what can only be described as a deserved equaliser. From then it was game on, but Croatia had their second wind while England were looking like a tired group, desperately trying to hang on.

Extra Time Heartbreak for England

The game moved into extra time and just like much of the second half, Croatia looked to be the better and busier team. The moment England fans had been dreading came when the Croatians scored during extra time to take the lead. It would take a miracle and a huge effort from Gareth Southgate’s men to come back from that goal, and they just couldn’t muster up the response required.

While the wounds are open and hurt right now, in a few weeks the entire country will look back at this World Cup with a huge sense of national pride. Football may not be coming home right now, but the young players who have represented their country so well over the past three weeks have given us all a reason to believe in the national team again, and believe that one day football may indeed come home.

As fans, we can only look at what may have been, and how close we were to making it through to the World Cup final. However, we must also look forward with excitement for what is around the corner, because the youngsters will have learnt a huge amount from their experience. That will help them in the future, and whether it is Euro 2020, or the World Cup in 2022, England fans should be optimistic that this team can challenge for major honours once again.