England are through to their first World Cup semi-final in nearly three decades
Days on from winning their first ever penalty shootout in the tournament’s history to see off Colombia in the last-16 stage, headers from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli helped them beat Sweden 2-0 in a quarter-final in Samara. They will now take on either Croatia or Russia in the Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday for a place in the World Cup final.
Clearly this meant a lot to England’s players, as was shown by the reaction of Marcus Rashford after full-time.
The Manchester United youngster appeared as a second half substitute against Sweden. Shortly after the game finished, he was seen hunched on his knees, many assuming he was receiving treatment for an injury.
England are #WorldCup semi-finalists.
HOW GOOD DOES THAT SOUND?
Reaction: https://t.co/9FTkw8DQjk#bbcworldcup #worldcup #ENG #SWE #SWEENG #ENGSWE pic.twitter.com/8jM1HLMsGb
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 7, 2018
Others, however, tweeted that the 20-year-old was simply overcome with emotion at reaching the last four of a World Cup.
Marcus Rashford in tears at full-time ❤️ pic.twitter.com/c0U9STDU0d
— Dardi (@dardishala) July 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/1015628975295647746
https://twitter.com/TheManUtdWay/status/1015625906029809665
Minutes later, a tweet from Rashford – showing a picture of himself wiping his face with his shirt – appeared to show that it was indeed the enormity of the occasion that had prompted his emotional reaction.
Words can’t describe.. part of something special 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/4fDNQn5nH9
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) July 7, 2018
England will now return to their base near St Petersburg to prepare for Wednesday’s game in Moscow, which will be their first semi-final since the penalty shoot-out defeat to West Germany in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Should they win their next game, they’ll play their first World Cup final since 1966 a week on Sunday.
Roberto Martinez’s Belgium side, who topped England’s group, will take on France in the other semi-final. Goals from Manchester City duo Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne were enough for the Red Devils to beat Brazil 2-1, while a Raphael Varane header and a late Antoine Griezmann goal gave France victory over Uruguay in the other quarter final to be played on Friday.
