After scoring one of the goals of the tournament and upstaging Lionel Messi by leading his team to the top of their group, Croatia captain Luka Modric hopes to fulfil a dream that began when he watched his nation record a best ever World Cup showing.
Croatia's euphoric media ran out of superlatives as they hailed the Balkan nation's stunning World Cup win over Argentina which propelled them into the competition's knockout stages for the first time since the 1998 tournament when they finished third.
Neymar wasted little time in living up to his billing as Brazil's World Cup spearhead when he scored twice to lead the host nation to a 3-1 comeback victory over Croatia in a terrific opening game of the tournament on Thursday.
Two goals from Marcus Rashford gave United a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes and Juan Mata went close to a third with a bicycle kick inside the area. Liverpool had plenty of possession after the break but apart from Eric Bailly's 66th minute own goal, they created few real chances.
Gylfi Sigurdsson scored a stoppage time winner after Christian Eriksen's double as Tottenham Hotspur stormed back from 2-0 down to beat Southampton 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has been ruled out for around six weeks after sustaining a groin muscle injury in Saturday's friendly against lower division side Lippstadt, the Bundesliga champions said.
'I think they're in a big fight now'
Italy striker Mario Balotelli has joined Liverpool from AC Milan on a "long-term" deal, the Premier League club said on Monday.
Jordan Henderson has spent much ofhis Liverpool career being compared unfavourably with Steven Gerrard, but his stunning goal against Chelsea on Friday could have come straight from the copybook of the former Anfield hero. After Dejan Lovren had put Liverpool ahead, Hendersontook aim from 30 metres, curling home a superb effort that ended a goal drought stretching back more than eight months. It put Liverpool two ahead on their way to a 2-1 victory that ended the hosts' unbeaten start to the season and underlined the growing potential of Juergen Klopp's Liverpool side.
The World Cup final between Russia and Croatia in Moscow was briefly interrupted when three intruders ran onto the pitch before they were hauled off by stewards.
'Yes, I was sure this was the right decision. We brought Roberto Firmino on for Mo Salah. We could have scored before, we could have scored afterwards, we could have scored all the time. We lived more or less in their box'
'It's just a big job to do. We wanted to go as far as possible so it was clear at one stage we would face the best teams in the world. City are a special team, one of the best, if not the best team in Europe and they are deserved champions of the Premier League. But it's not about yesterday, it's about tomorrow'
Liverpool added another fairytale comeback to the history books as they fought back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Europa League semi-finals after Dejan Lovren's towering stoppage-time header secured a 4-3 win on Thursday.
This time Liverpool are at home, and victory would put them nine points clear.
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge is set for a January return, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, who hinted he was unlikely to dip into the transfer market to solve the club's current striker issues.
You would have been hard pressed at the start of the season to find anyone to bet on Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers becoming the first Premier League manager to get the sack, but he is now the bookies' joint favourite.
Chelsea need to improve a lot before they could be considered Premier League title contenders, manager Antonio Conte has said after his resurgent side beat Southampton 2-0 on Sunday.
Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
Riyad Mahrez scored one and set up another as Leicester City strolled to a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the Premier League on Monday.
Tottenham Hotspur routed Bournemouth 5-0 as they leapfrogged City into second place in the league, six points behind leaders Liverpool who thrashed Newcastle United 4-0.
Liverpool were on the end of the biggest sensation of the English Premier League season when bottom club Swansea City repelled a dramatic comeback from Juergen Klopp's title chasers to earn their first-ever league win at Anfield.
Jordon Ibe came off the bench to drive home the winner as Liverpool took a big step towards reaching the League Cup final with a 1-0 victory at Stoke City in the first leg of their last-four tie on Tuesday.
Liverpool players hail Juergen Klopp impact after defeating City.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Croatia ruthlessly exposed England's limitations in the second half of the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday as Zlatko Dalic's side fought back to secure a famous 2-1 extra-time victory.
Liverpool's half-baked pre-season transfer dealings have come back to bite them with Brendan Rodgers admitting his side have lacked the quality to finish in the Premier League's top four.
Liverpool's half-baked pre-season transfer dealings have come back to bite them with Brendan Rodgers admitting his side have lacked the quality to finish in the Premier League's top four.
Philippe Coutinho thumped home a second-half winner as Liverpool broke the resistance of Championship Blackburn Rovers to reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a gritty 1-0 replay victory on Wednesday.
It was not so much the maths, though Liverpool's nine-point advantage over defending champions City, with one point less over Leicester City and Chelsea, is a significant gap, especially as Juergen Klopp's side have lost one league game in 18 months.
Salah back in Liverpool squad but may not be risked at Genk, says Klopp
With the teams having played their second matches in the league stage in Euro 2020, at the conclusion of the Spain-Poland match in Group E on Saturday, here's a look at the best goals from those matches.
Mario Balotelli will be available for Liverpool's home Premier League match against Aston Villa on Saturday after recovering from illness, manager Brendan Rodgers said.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title since 1990 on Saturday when their 3-0 win at Bournemouth combined with Manchester United's 2-1 victory at Manchester City to leave the champions 14 points adrift of the Premier League leaders.
Five talking-points from the Premier League weekend after Manchester United extended their winning run against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool were made to work hard for their win at Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal losing at West Ham United.
Images from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
- 'The match epitomised our season really' - 'Today we were the better side in the first half but you can't concede the goals we did'
Records fell on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday as Manchester City beat Southampton 1-0 to become the first team to reach 100 points and Mohamed Salah established a new Premier League goalscoring mark as Liverpool clinched a top-four spot.
The last three league meetings between the two sides, including October's game at Anfield, have ended in draws but Lovren said Liverpool were intent on coming away with all three points on Saturday.
Liverpool kept alive their hopes of Champions League football next season with a comfortable 2-0 Premier League victory on Monday against a Newcastle United side who finished with 10 men.
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