Croatia have reached the World Cup final for the first time ever after defeating England 2-1 in Moscow.Zlatko Dalić’s men went 1-0 down after Kieran Tripper scored an excellent free-kick in the fifth minute, but Ivan Perisic’s second-half equaliser changed the whole complexion of the match.Croatia, who went to extra time and penalties in both the Round of 16 and quarter-finals, looked much brighter than their opponents in extra-time and broke English hearts when Mario Mandzukic beat Jordan Pickford after capitalising on some shoddy defending.Asked to explain the reasons behind Croatia’s comeback, Dalić was quoted as saying by Sky Sports: "Because we were the better team in all segments of the game."We did not underestimate them. We respected them because we analysed them. We knew what they were doing and where."We played a high press on their backline. We closed down (John) Stones and (Jordan) Henderson. We nullified them."We let the centre-halves play. (Luka) Modric and (Ivan) Rakitic pressed their backline and we had the ball possession.”

England fans are proud but bitterly disappointed

It’s hard to disagree with Dalić’s analysis. Over the course of the 120 minutes, his side probably were the better team.

For England, though, this was a huge missed opportunity. They were agonisingly close to reaching only their second ever World Cup final but failed to produce the goods when it mattered most.

English football supporters are proud of Gareth Southgate and his players after what they’ve achieved together over the past four weeks - but they’ve been left bitterly disappointed by this semi-final defeat because they expected victory.

This wasn’t a Brazil, a Germany or a Spain. This was Croatia. But Croatia were the better team on the night.

Vedran Corluka's dig at England after full-time

Croatia’s players felt they were underestimated by people in England in the build-up to this semi-final and the truth is they’re probably right.

Despite the fact that pre-tournament expectations were so low, many thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Three Lions would face France in Sunday’s final after defeating Colombia and Sweden in the knockout stages.

Among the Croatian players who featured at the Luzhniki Stadium was the former Tottenham and Manchester City full-back Vedran Corluka, who came on for Mandzukic in extra-time.

The 32-year-old was asked to stop for English press in the mixed zone after the match but couldn’t resist taking a dig.

Per the Independent’s Miguel Delaney, Corluka simply smiled and said: ‘It’s not coming home!’ before continuing to walk away.

It seems very unnecessary, that, especially from a player who has spent so much of his career playing in England.

And needless to say, English football fans who’ve already heard about this incident aren’t best pleased.

England fans: do you now hope Croatia lose to France on Sunday? Let us know by leaving a comment below.