Fans will be in for another all-European affair as Croatia battle England in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals on July 11th. This crunch clash, which will see two of this tournament's biggest revelations lock horns, will be taking place at Moscow's famous 78,011-seater Stadion Luzhniki with a kick off expected at 21:00 local time (14:00 EST/20:00 CET).
Croatia and England have successfully navigated their way past a slew of challenges to get to this point, and ahead of what is expected to be another intriguing match, here is a brief overview of how the Vatreni and the Three Lions made it to being within one game away from featuring in Sunday's final.
How Croatia got here
Simply put, Croatia did not start off qualifying on the best foot. Then under the guidance of Ante Cacic, the Vatreni struggled early on, which led to Cacic's sacking and current boss Zlatko Dalic being appointed in his stead. Dalic was fortunately able to steer the team back on track, but it was not enough to help Croatia pip a very ambitious Iceland to top berth.
However, after beating Greece, Croatia finally booked its ticket to this summer's tournament, but if Vatreni fans thought it would get easier, they were quite mistaken. Placed alongside Nigeria, Argentina, and familiar foes Iceland, Croatia's quartet was described as this competition's "Group of death" due to the overall strength of the four teams in it.
Argentina, naturally was expected to take top spot, but Croatia's stunning 3-0 win over La Albiceleste - which followed a resounding 2-0 opening day win over Nigeria - ensured that the small Balkan nation would at least qualify for the round of 16. But in beating Iceland - the team who had denied them top spot - on matchday three, Croatia completed its group stage with a perfect winning record and set up a favorable clash with Denmark.
It took penalties to see off the Danish Dynamite after a one-all stalemate, and Dalic's troops found it much more difficult than anticipated against Russia. Despite being the lowest-ranked side at this summer's World Cup, Russia has been steadily growing in confidence after its shock win over 10th-ranked Spain in the round of 16.
Nonetheless, Croatia again showed great mental and physical fortitude to see off the hosts, albeit the victory, which was the result of yet another penalty shoot-out, came at a major cost. Defender Sime Vrsaljko and first-choice shot-stopper Danijel Subasic are injury doubts after featuring in the game against Russia. Fortunately, however, another defender, Domagoj Vida, is set to take part despite receiving a warning from FIFA after posting a pro-Ukraine video online.
How England got here
If Croatia struggled through qualifying, well, England had the exact opposite experience. The Three Lions cruised through without much trouble, and had no problems sweeping aside debutants Panama and minnows Tunisia. However, Gareth Southgate opted to rotate his squad against Belgium - and it did not pay off as England suffered its first defeat of the tournament.
Against Colombia, England had to overcome a hoodoo that has long plagued the team in recent tournaments: penalties. A one-all draw could not be decided in extra time, but for the first time, the Three Lions were able to come out on top, much to the delight of very nervous supporters all over the world.
Despite featuring for a grueling 120 minutes, England was still able to see off a staunchly defensive Sweden with a resounding 2-0 victory, and now fans have started believing that "It's coming home" after 52 years of waiting to see England lift the game's biggest prize.
Tottenham star Harry Kane, who has six goals so far, is the front-runner for the coveted Golden Shoe, and will hope to add more to his tally after failing to score during England's win against Sweden in the quarter-finals. In terms of personnel, Southgate will have a fully fit squad available for selection after both Jamie Vardy and Jordan Henderson have seemingly recovered from groin and hamstring problems.
England vs Croatia: How the two sides compare
England and Croatia have faced off a total of seven times prior to Wednesday's meeting. The Three Lions enjoy the superior head-to-head record, with four wins versus the Vatreni's two.
Curiously enough, six of the last seven meetings between England and Croatia have taken place on a Wednesday, thus making this semi-final the seventh of eight games to be played on Wednesday.
However, the only competitive meeting between the two teams was at the EURO 2004 group stage game, which England won 4-2.
This is the third semi-finals appearance for England, who featured in the 1966 and 1990 editions, while Croatia is making its second semi-finals appearance since participating in 1998, where the Vatreni finished in third place.
Croatia is the second team to win two penalty shoot-outs in a single World Cup. The first was Argentina in 1990 (defeated Italy and the former Yugoslavia).
England have netted 11 goals so far (excluding penalties). Could this be a sign of things to come? Well, back in 1966, the Three Lions also scored 11 and went on to win it. That is the most the team has ever scored at this tournament - meaning that England is on course to set a new record this summer in Russia.
So with that in mind, all eyes will be on who will come out on top in Wednesday's fixture. One of these teams will have to settle for the consolation match against Belgium on Saturday, while the other will take on France in the big showpiece 24 hours later.
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