England are out of the World Cup after a dramatic, heart-rending extra-time defeat to Croatia in Moscow. A wonderful three-week journey to the final four was ended at the penultimate hurdle by Mario Mandzukic's late, late goal leaving a team and a nation back home wondering what might have been. Gareth Southgate's side have inspired supporters far and wide to fall back in love with their football team again but they will head home empty handed but only after Saturday's third place play-off against Belgium.
We will have all the reaction to last night at the Luzhniki from our men on the ground in Russia plus all the build-up to Sunday's World Cup final where France will play last night's victors Croatia.
Follow all the latest in the live blog below...
Live Updates
17:06
That's it from me today guys, but don't despair there are still two matches left in the World Cup.
England face Belgium in a repeat of their final group stage match on Saturday and the the big one.
France vs Croatia, World Cup Final, Sunday 4pm.
We'll be covering it all and bringing you the remaining news coming out of Russia, so stick with us and we'll see you tomorrow.
16:46
All day today, the plaudits have been coming in for the England team and the players themselves have been responding, here's a collection of the best and most heartfelt messages from the team to the fans.
16:31
Our Indy Football Podcast is now online for your listening, It was recorded at 3am and it's a doozy!
16:14
What do you all think of our front page?
16:07
Just under an hour before one of the last World CupLions Den episodes.
Want to get in touch with Gareth Southgate and Harry Kane, here's how...
15:59
In non-World Cup news Chelsea have sacked manager Antonio Conte, after they failed to qualify for the Champions League
Miguel Delaney with the report.
Chelsea have sacked manager Antonio Conte
The IndependentThe Blues have moved to dismiss Conte after just two years at the club after they missed out on Champions League qualification last term
15:46
Dejan Lovren meanwhile has been focusing on his sides triumph over England, how they've usurped the side of 1998 and how he's one of the best centre backs in the world.
Miguel Delaney has the details:
Dejan Lovren doubles down on claims to be one of world’s best defenders
The IndependentThe Liverpool defender insists Croatia have now usurped the famous 1998 team
15:27
Paul Pogba's been speaking ahead of Sunday's final, he really wants to earn a second star on France's shirt and he's looking back at the 2016 European Championship for inspiration.
15:10
In my opinion Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir and his linesmen had a poor game officiating England vs Croatia and I wasn't the only one to hold that view.
England vs Croatia referee criticised over ‘high foot’ in Ivan Perisic goal
The IndependentThe Croatia winger volleyed the ball home with his foot raised above Kyle Walker’s head, much to the anger of the England team
14:56
England's fairy tale World Cup is over (apart from the third place match) and we've watched every game, collated all the statistics and come up with a scientifically proven* method to rate all the players.
*Not really we rated them ourselves
Who tops the England World Cup squad power rankings?
The IndependentHere’s how each player ranked during a tournament they will all remember forever
14:47
A 20 year wait for a second title or will Les Bleus succumb to World Cup final newcomers Croatia?
14:37
Just when you thought his stock couldn't rise any further, Gareth Southgate goes and does this... what a man!
Revealed: The handwritten letter Gareth Southgate's wrote to his England staff
The IndependentEngland lost in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night meaning they go into the third-place play-off
14:21
There's nothing quite like family to console you after the biggest game of your life!
14:13
Speaking of TV ratings, there's always those who try and get around the rules, one of Saudi Arabia's broadcasting channels, beoutQ, is one such organisation.
They've been broadcasting the WorldCup illegally and Fifa are looking at legal action against them.
Fifa to take action against illegal World Cup stream channel beoutQ
The IndependentIt is unclear who owns or operates the channel
14:04
Records where broken all over the place last night, including a new ratings record of 24.3 million viewers, that's a hell of a lot of people watching England!
13:55
Still more reflection on England's exit, this time JonathanLiew has the reaction from Gareth Southgate and Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic.
Pride, progress but not yet many positives for Gareth Southgate after England's World Cup exit
The IndependentThe Three Lions' fairytale journey ended after a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Croatia in Moscow
13:46
Doubling down on our analysis Jack Pitt-Brooke poses the question of England's mid-field, with no world-class play-makers, what can be done to improve it?
How England were posed a midfield problem that Gareth Southgate is yet to solve
The IndependentWhen you only bring legs to a game like this, what are you left with when those legs run out?
13:25
Were England tactically outplayed? Will Southgate rue his attacking formation?
Michael Cox breaks down the tactics that sadly led England to defeat.
How Gareth Southgate’s tactical immaturity cost England a World Cup final
The IndependentAs England lost control on the match, Southgate needed to reinforce the midfield - yet his decision to keep two up front ultimately cost his side dear
13:10
Let's look forward now, England had the youngest average team at this World Cup, which means should this team stay together over the next four years they could pose a powerful threat at the next World Cup.
Miguel Delaney goes into more detail on how the regrets of this year may work in our favour moving forward.
England left with regrets, but this could be the future platform they need
The IndependentGareth Southgate’s side will know just how big an opportunity slipped through their fingers, but just like Germany in 2006, this can be the catalyst to even greater things
12:58
Back to England now and I think this speaks for itself...
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