Croatia somehow found the energy to play another 120 minutes of football, this time defeating England to book a place in the 2018 World Cup final.
Mario Mandzukic's opportunistic winner in extra time capped a robust display that drew praise from social media.
HOLLLLKFUFYDYDTXHHYTCKHSMANDZUKCKIC
— Jimmy Conrad (@JimmyConrad) July 11, 2018
Mandzukic always scores big goals!!!
— GIUSEPPE ROSSI (@GiuseppeRossi22) July 11, 2018
Mario Mandzukic there with a goal for all of Croatia.
— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) July 11, 2018
And Wales.
And Scotland.
And Ireland.
And Northern Ireland.
Brexit
— Alana Russo (@alanarusso) July 11, 2018
Then, on the final whistle, there were a few chuckles at England's expense.
Reminder that the 3rd place playoff invalidates the ‘they’re coming home’ tweet in your drafts
— Duncan Alexander (@oilysailor) July 11, 2018
when you think its coming home but then pic.twitter.com/9crXESKP9L
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) July 11, 2018
it is
— Erik Malinowski (@erikmal) July 11, 2018
⚪️ coming home
🔘 not coming home
— Miriti Murungi (@NutmegRadio) July 11, 2018
Google search: how to delete all tweets that say it's coming home
— Paul Neat (@NeatPaul) July 11, 2018
Football did come home tonight. Only to find his missus in bed with that fella who plastered the dining room . . . the absolute bastard #ENG
— David Preece (@davidpreece12) July 11, 2018
it was a magical run, but pic.twitter.com/hPKRkn5Pdz
— SB Nation Soccer (@SBNationSoccer) July 11, 2018
Gotta hand it to England and Belgium for successfully conspiring to play two meaningless games in the same World Cup.
— Chris Gaines (@bertinbertin) July 11, 2018
And finally, some props for Croatia, which went the distance in each of its knockout fixtures.
#CRO’s mental strength is something else.
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) July 11, 2018
2nd round - recover from Modric missing a pen.
Quarter-final - recover from a late equaliser.
Semi-final - back into the game after an early goal.
They may be exhausted but they never know when they’re beaten. #ENG
Croatia: population 4.1 million.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) July 11, 2018
Oregon: population 4.1 million.
Modrid and Rakitic -- pretty, pretty, pretty good.
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) July 11, 2018
When do Croatia start to tire?
— David Squires (@squires_david) July 11, 2018
