Lovren hails Croatia's historic World Cup achievement
Dejan Lovren made history with Croatia on Wednesday night but wants to rewrite it immediately by helping his country lift the World Cup.
Zlatko Dalic’s team ended England’s pursuit of glory at the tournament in Russia with a 2-1 victory against the Three Lions after extra-time at Luzhniki Stadium.
Lovren and his compatriots, who have already surpassed the nation’s best World Cup run to third place in 1998, will now face France in Sunday’s final.
“This is something we will never forget. People are crying. It’s something historical for us,” the Liverpool defender said.
“We will never forget this. We beat our record from 20 years ago. We’ve had this weight on our shoulders all the time, and now people will never forget us.
“We have the chance to do something better, and hopefully we can do it on Sunday.”
Croatia played extra-time for the third successive knockout match, having previously beaten Denmark and hosts Russia on penalties.
Kieran Trippier had put England ahead with an early free-kick but Ivan Perisic levelled after the break and Mario Mandzukic sealed the turnaround in the 109th minute.
“It was a tough first half. We couldn’t control the ball or control situations,” said Lovren.
“They had also good chances, but second half we did it much, much better. In extra-time we showed we are still able with the fatigue to play our game.”