What might have been, eh?
1-0 up, Croatia on the ropes and Harry Kane put through one on one with Danijel Subasic to double the lead. Surely, England were on the brink of a World Cup final?
They weren’t.
Subasic saved Kane’s initial shot, and the Tottenham striker could only strike the rebound on to the post from an acute angle.
Or at least that’s what most of us thought happened.
As many are only just realising, Kane’s second effort was actually a brilliant last-ditch save from Subasic.
A slowed-down clip of the chance reveals that, after teeing himself up, Kane’s second shot is actually goal-bound, only for the studs on Subasic’s left boot to divert it onto the woodwork.
You’re probably aware by now that we’re not allowed to share World Cup footage with you. Instead, you’ll have to make do with the following screenshots until you go away and find the video of the moment itself.
Kane’s strike is on target
Only for Subasic to get a crucial touch
Enough to deflect the ball onto the post
Having hit the post, the ball looped away from danger, keeping England’s lead at just a single goal.
A glimpse at twitter reveals plenty of those watching the game missed that it was a save first time around…
Cannot believe he saved it.. I thought Kane hit the post!! Actually feel like crying
— James Rafter (@jamesrafter94) July 14, 2018
Not that this makes any Englishman feel any better about the situation…
Croatia kept the score down to 1-0 until the second half, where they were the better side. Having equalised through Ivan Perisic’s volley, Mario Mandzukic’s goal in extra-time was enough to send the country through to its first ever World Cup final.
They will take on France on Sunday afternoon while England face Belgium in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
