ENGLAND reached the World Cup semi finals for the first time since 1990 after a 2-0 win over Sweden in Samara.
Harry Maguire's header from an Ashley Young corner set the Three Lions on their way, breaking the deadlock following an inevitably cautious start by both teams.
Gareth Southgate's men then played well with the lead, as Raheem Sterling managed to get in behind the Swedish defence but could not extend the advantage.
Nevertheless, the tie was in the balance - and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford justified his place as the England number one with a trio of fine second half saves from Viktor Claesson and twice from Marcus Berg.
By the time Pickford saved from Claesson, though, England had already doubled their lead as Jesse Lingard lofted the ball to an unmarked Dele Alli at the far post.
Alli is not exactly famed for being particularly prestigious in the air - but even he could not miss this header from just a few yards out.
Pickford then took over as the star performer to keep his clean sheet intact - and, by England standards, this was generally as comfortable as it gets in the knockout stages of a major tournament.
Certainly, the quarter final against the Swedes was a far less bumpy ride than the Last 16 tie against Colombia.
Perhaps the kindest way to describe the Colombian tactics is that they took a physical approach to the match. Others have been less generous and John Stones later described the South Americans as the dirtiest team he had ever played.
Of course, Los Cafeteros did not escape without censure - and, although they were highly fortunate to keep all 11 men on the pitch, American referee Mark Geiger correctly gave England their fourth penalty at this World Cup after Carlos Sanchez rugby-tackled Harry Kane.
Colombia shamefully attempted to scuff the spot but Kane kept his cool to convert his sixth goal in Russia and extend his lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
England had just over half an hour to survive and win their first World Cup knockout match since 2006.
Frustratingly, though, the Three Lions went deeper - and, after Juan Cuadrado finished wildly, Pickford was forced to save a 30-yard pile-driver from Mateus Uribe in stoppage time.
Unfortunately for Pickford, Colombia found a last gasp equaliser from the resulting corner as Yerry Mina headed in his third goal of the tournament.
England, it seemed, had thrown it away - and the pangs of regret only became stronger when Colombia began to dominate the action in extra time.
Clear chances were at a premium, however - and it always looked as if the dreaded penalty shootout was going to be the most likely decider.
The Three Lions had previously been eliminated from the World Cup on penalties in 1990, 1998, and 2006 - while the European Championship campaigns of 1996, 2004, and 2012 had also ended in shootout failure.
So, when Jordan Henderson missed England's third kick following successful efforts from Kane and Marcus Rashford, the familiar sinking feeling quickly returned.
After four kicks each, though, England were back on terms as Uribe smashed his attempt off the underside of the bar while Kieran Trippier stroked confidently into the top corner.
Effectively, the shootout had turned into a sudden death - and, all of a sudden, it was over.
Pickford saved to his right from Carlos Bacca and Eric Dier stepped up to score - and seal a first ever win for England in a World Cup penalty shootout.
Penalties, meanwhile, have certainly been a major factor in Croatia's run to the semi finals - exactly 20 years after their previous appearance in the last four.
The Vatreni have required a shootout to progress past their last two opponents, Denmark and hosts Russia.
The Vatreni have required a shootout to progress past their last two opponents, Denmark and hosts Russia.
The Last 16 match against the Danes looked as if it was going to be one of the best matches of this World Cup when there were two goals inside the first four minutes.
Mathias Jorgensen scrambled the opener for Denmark inside the first minute before Mario Mandzukic took advantage of some comical defending to score an almost instant equaliser.
Thereafter, the match became progressively less exciting and the second half was particularly dreadful.
Extra time became inevitable - although Luka Modric should have prevented the need for penalties when he was presented with a spot-kick in the dying moments.
Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel saved, however - and he also saved kicks in the shootout from Milan Badelj and Josip Pivaric, only still to be on the losing side.
Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone, and Nicolai Jorgensen all failed to beat keeper Danijel Subasic as the Croatians advanced to a quarter final against Russia.
The Russians themselves had advanced on penalties and, impressively, were not overawed by 2010 champions Spain - even after having conceded an early own goal as a result of some horrible defending on a corner by 38-year-old Sergei Ignashevich.
By half time, the hosts were level after Gerard Pique conceded an equally stupid penalty - and, with no further scoring, the match headed to penalties.
Painfully for Spain, Koke and Iago Aspas both had their kicks saved by Igor Akinfeev - and it meant another big name team was out following a turbulent campaign.
It was perhaps inevitable then that Russia v Croatia would also end with a penalty shootout.
First, though, the pair engaged in a tremendous quarter final encounter which came to life when Denis Cheryshev put the Russians in front with a cracking strike from 25 yards.
But Russia were not ahead for long as slack marking allowed Andrej Kramaric to steer in a header for the equaliser.
Croatia then had the better chances to win the match in the regulation 90 minutes as Ivan Perisic hit the post.
Nevertheless, the Croatians drew first blood 10 minutes into extra time as Domagoj Vida headed in from a corner.
Still, the Russians would not lie down - and, roared on by an ear-splitting noise in Sochi, hit back to equalise with just five minutes left through a header from Mario Fernandes.
For Fernandes, however, there would be a cruel twist to this tale as he became the second Russia player to miss in the shootout after Fyodor Smolov's failed Panenka.
Russia were out and Croatia through - but, having played an extra bout of extra time compared to England, at exactly what cost?
In the other semi final - played on Tuesday in St Petersburg - France will take on Belgium in another all-European affair.
More than any other team, France are responsible for the complete absence of any South American interest in the last four after they accounted for Argentina in the Last 16 and Uruguay in the quarter finals.
Those two victories extended Les Bleus' remarkable unbeaten record against South American teams to 10 World Cup finals matches, a sequence which stretches back to 1978.
And, unsurprisingly, the French are now outright favourites for the competition.
Shorn of his excellent strike partner Edinson Cavani due to injury, Uruguay talisman Luis Suarez failed to have a single touch in the opposition box, and did not register a single shot in the quarter final.
Nevertheless, it still took a set piece for France to take the lead as Raphael Varane glanced in a header from an Antoine Griezmann free kick.
The Uruguayans were almost level only a few moments later with a near identical attempt but Hugo Lloris produced a stunning one-handed save to deny Martin Caceres.
In the second half, France were finding more gaps as Uruguay committed men forward - and, from one such break, Griezmann hit a speculative effort from out on the left flank.
Spectacularly, the ball went straight through the hands of the Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera - and France had doubled their lead.
From then on, the task looked simply too great for La Celeste, and the French missed several chances on the break as the contest petered out.
France had finally played to something near their full potential against Argentina as La Albiceleste again fell apart at the back in the face of an outstanding performance from teenage forward Kylian Mbappe.
The 19-year-old became the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score a brace at the World Cup finals as Les Bleus devastated the Argentinian defence with their phenomenal pace.
At half time, the match had been neatly poised at 1-1 after Angel Di Maria had let fly from 30 yards to equalise following Griezmann's early penalty.
Then, early in the second half, Argentina took a lead which shocked even some of their own supporters when Gabriel Mercado diverted a shot from Lionel Messi into the net.
But it never looked as if the advantage was built to last - and, in a thrilling 11-minute spell, France went from 2-1 down to 4-2 up.
First, Benjamin Pavard joined his fellow right back Mercado on the scoresheet with an absolutely stunning goal, personally my favourite of the tournament so far.
Hit with the outside of his right foot, the ball spun wickedly across the goalkeeper and into the corner of the net. It really was a glorious effort.
Most importantly, though, it put France back in command and allowed Mbappe to take centre stage midway through the second half.
For his first, the Paris Saint-Germain striker positioned himself perfectly to drive past Franco Armani - and then, just four minutes later, he put the finishing touches to a seemingly decisive counter-attack.
Still, though, the scoring was not finished as Sergio Aguero netted - but, ultimately, it was only a consolation which made it 4-3 at full time.
Four years on from an appearance in the World Cup Final then, Messi and Argentina were out in the Last 16.
But, just four hours later, they were joined in the departures lounge by Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal after they were eliminated following a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay.
It was another Paris Saint-Germain striker who was the star of the show in the Black Sea port city of Sochi as Cavani scored in both halves.
Portugal had briefly restored parity shortly after half time when Pepe headed in a corner - but when Cavani swept in his second, he ensured it was going to be his night.
Ronaldo - who wasted several attacking opportunities by taking optimistic long-range shots - could only look on forlornly as his World Cup dream died once again.
Now, his Brazilian counterpart Neymar may be seven years younger - but he must also wait at least another four years after La Selecao were dumped out by Belgium in the quarter finals.
The Belgians took an early lead when Fernandinho headed into the back of his own net from Nacer Chadli's whipped-in corner - and, for the rest of the first half, appeared to be able to pick Brazil off on the break at will.
Kevin De Bruyne struck a sweet low drive to make it 2-0 on 31 minutes and leave Brazil in deep trouble.
In fairness to the Brazilians, they reacted well in the second half - and, as Belgium dropped back, they began to feel their way back into the game.
With quarter of an hour left, Renato Augusto gave the five-time champions real hope as he glanced in a header from Philippe Coutinho's delicate cross.
But Brazil could not find an equaliser as Coutinho sliced wide before Neymar was denied by a fantastic save from Thibaut Courtois.
True, the Brazil will claim they should have had a penalty - especially with VAR in place - after Vincent Kompany upended Gabriel Jesus.
However, it was perhaps a case of the Brazilians crying wolf once too often with Neymar - in particular - guilty of diving and general playacting, something which has earned him widespread mockery on social media.
By contrast, the Belgians' previous opponents Japan have earned praise on and off the pitch for their efforts at this World Cup.
The Blue Samurai won their first finals match at a Europe-hosted World Cup - and almost won a second when they took a two-goal lead early in the second half against Belgium.
But the Red Devils hit back with a quick two-goal salvo of their own - and extra time beckoned when Courtois easily caught a Japanese corner deep into stoppage time.
Courtois had other ideas, though, and after rolling the ball out to De Bruyne, the Manchester City midfielder charged into the opposition half.
De Bruyne laid the ball off Thomas Meunier and he sent the ball across for Chadli to put the finishing touch to an astonishing break.
It was the last kick of the game but, despite the heartbreak, Japan can leave Russia with their heads held high and having commendably cleaned up after themselves in the stands and in the dressing room.
The England team will also look back on this tournament with pride having put several recent disappointments behind them to regain their place at the top table of world football.
Regardless of what happens on Wednesday - regardless of whether it is indeed coming home or not - Gareth Southgate deserves immense credit for proving his doubters wrong.
Southgate has done so with gentlemanly grace and a touch of humility throughout, and led his young squad by example.
England are, in fact, the youngest - and, in terms of caps, least experienced - squad at the tournament.
Alli is England's second youngest World Cup scorer after Michael Owen in 1998 while Pickford is the youngest ever England goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at a finals match.
The Three Lions are once again a team brimming with ideas, passion, and drive - and already this has been a very special summer.
Now, his Brazilian counterpart Neymar may be seven years younger - but he must also wait at least another four years after La Selecao were dumped out by Belgium in the quarter finals.
The Belgians took an early lead when Fernandinho headed into the back of his own net from Nacer Chadli's whipped-in corner - and, for the rest of the first half, appeared to be able to pick Brazil off on the break at will.
Kevin De Bruyne struck a sweet low drive to make it 2-0 on 31 minutes and leave Brazil in deep trouble.
In fairness to the Brazilians, they reacted well in the second half - and, as Belgium dropped back, they began to feel their way back into the game.
With quarter of an hour left, Renato Augusto gave the five-time champions real hope as he glanced in a header from Philippe Coutinho's delicate cross.
But Brazil could not find an equaliser as Coutinho sliced wide before Neymar was denied by a fantastic save from Thibaut Courtois.
True, the Brazil will claim they should have had a penalty - especially with VAR in place - after Vincent Kompany upended Gabriel Jesus.
However, it was perhaps a case of the Brazilians crying wolf once too often with Neymar - in particular - guilty of diving and general playacting, something which has earned him widespread mockery on social media.
By contrast, the Belgians' previous opponents Japan have earned praise on and off the pitch for their efforts at this World Cup.
The Blue Samurai won their first finals match at a Europe-hosted World Cup - and almost won a second when they took a two-goal lead early in the second half against Belgium.
But the Red Devils hit back with a quick two-goal salvo of their own - and extra time beckoned when Courtois easily caught a Japanese corner deep into stoppage time.
Courtois had other ideas, though, and after rolling the ball out to De Bruyne, the Manchester City midfielder charged into the opposition half.
De Bruyne laid the ball off Thomas Meunier and he sent the ball across for Chadli to put the finishing touch to an astonishing break.
It was the last kick of the game but, despite the heartbreak, Japan can leave Russia with their heads held high and having commendably cleaned up after themselves in the stands and in the dressing room.
The England team will also look back on this tournament with pride having put several recent disappointments behind them to regain their place at the top table of world football.
Regardless of what happens on Wednesday - regardless of whether it is indeed coming home or not - Gareth Southgate deserves immense credit for proving his doubters wrong.
Southgate has done so with gentlemanly grace and a touch of humility throughout, and led his young squad by example.
England are, in fact, the youngest - and, in terms of caps, least experienced - squad at the tournament.
Alli is England's second youngest World Cup scorer after Michael Owen in 1998 while Pickford is the youngest ever England goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at a finals match.
The Three Lions are once again a team brimming with ideas, passion, and drive - and already this has been a very special summer.
| LAST 16 | ||||||||||
| BBC | 3pm | Sat 30-June | FRANCE | 4-3 | ARGENTINA | Kazan | ||||
| Griezmann 13 pen Pavard 57 Mbappe 64, 68 | Di Maria 41 Mercado 48 Aguero 90+3 | |||||||||
| ITV | 7pm | Sat 30-June | URUGUAY | 2-1 | PORTUGAL | Sochi | ||||
| Cavani 7, 62 | Pepe 55 | |||||||||
| ITV | 3pm | Mon 02-July | BRAZIL | 2-0 | MEXICO | Samara | ||||
| Neymar 51, Firmino 88 | ||||||||||
| BBC | 7pm | Mon 02-July | BELGIUM | 3-2 | JAPAN | Rostov-on-Don | ||||
| Vertonghen 69 Fellani 74, Chadli 90+4 | Haraguchi 48 Inui 52 | |||||||||
| BBC | 3pm | Sun 01-July | SPAIN | 1-1 | RUSSIA | Moscow | ||||
| Ignashevich 11 og | AET (3-4) | Dzyuba 41 pen | ||||||||
| ITV | 7pm | Sun 01-July | CROATIA | 1-1 | DENMARK | Nizhny Novgorod | ||||
| Mandzukic 4 | AET (3-2) | M Jorgensen 1 | ||||||||
| BBC | 3pm | Tue 03-July | SWEDEN | 1-0 | SWITZERLAND | St Petersburg | ||||
| Forsberg 66 | ||||||||||
| ITV | 7pm | Tue 03-July | COLOMBIA | 1-1 | ENGLAND | Moscow | ||||
| Mina 90+3 | AET (3-4) | Kane 57 pen |
| QUARTER FINALS | ||||||||||
| ITV | 3pm | Fri 06-July | URUGUAY | 0-2 | FRANCE | Nizhny Novgorod | ||||
| Varane 40 Griezmann 61 | ||||||||||
| BBC | 7pm | Fri 06-July | BRAZIL | 1-2 | BELGIUM | Kazan | ||||
| Renato Augusto 76 | Fernandinho 13 og De Bruyne 31 | |||||||||
| BBC | 3pm | Sat 07-July | SWEDEN | 0-2 | ENGLAND | Samara | ||||
| Maguire 30 Alli 58 | ||||||||||
| ITV | 7pm | Sat 07-July | RUSSIA | 2-2 | CROATIA | Sochi | ||||
| Cheryshev 31 Figueira Fernandes 115 | AET (3-4) | Kramaric 39 Vida 100 |
| SEMI FINALS | ||||||||||
| BBC | 7pm | Tue 10-July | FRANCE | 1-0 | BELGIUM | St Petersburg | ||||
| Umtiti 51 | ||||||||||
| ITV | 7pm | Wed 11-July | CROATIA | 2-1 | ENGLAND | Moscow | ||||
| Perisic 68 Mandzukic 109 | AET | Trippier 5 |
| THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF | ||||||||||
| ITV | 3pm | Sat 14-July | BELGIUM | 2-0 | ENGLAND | St Petersburg | ||||
| Meunier 4 E Hazard 82 |
6 Harry Kane (England)
4 Romelu Lukaku (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Denis Cheryshev (Russia)
3 Eden Hazard (Belgium), Yerry Mina (Colombia), Antoine Griezmann (France), Kylian Mbappe (France), Artem Dzyuba (Russia), Diego Costa (Spain), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay)
2 Sergio Aguero (Argentina), Mile Jedinak (Australia), Philippe Coutinho (Brazil), Neymar (Brazil), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Luka Modric (Croatia), Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Mo Salah (Egypt), John Stones (England), Takashi Inui (Japan), Ahmed Musa (Nigeria), Son Heung-min (South Korea), Andreas Granqvist (Sweden), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
1 Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Gabriel Mercado (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Marcus Rojo (Argentina), Michu Batshuayi (Belgium), Nacer Chadli (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Marouane Fellaini (Belgium), Adnan Januzaj (Belgium), Dries Mertens (Belgium), Thomas Meunier (Belgium), Jan Vertonghen (Belgium), Renato Augusto (Brazil), Roberto Firmino (Brazil), Paulinho (Brazil), Thiago Silva (Brazil), Juan Cuadrado (Colombia), Radamel Falcao (Colombia), Juan Quintero (Colombia), Kendall Waston (Costa Rica), Milan Badelj (Croatia), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Ivan Rakitic (Croatia), Ante Rebic (Croatia), Domagoj Vida (Croatia), Christian Eriken (Denmark), Mathias Jorgensen (Denmark), Yussuf Poulsen (Denmark), Dele Alli (England), Jesse Lingard (England), Harry Maguire (England), Kieran Trippier (England), Samuel Umtiti (France), Raphael Varane (France), Toni Kroos (Germany), Marco Reus (Germany), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Iceland), Alfreð Finnbogason (Iceland), Karim Ansarifard (Iran), Genki Haraguchi (Japan), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Shinji Kagawa (Japan), Yuya Osako (Japan), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Hirving Lozano (Mexico), Carlos Vela (Mexico), Khalid Boutaib (Morocco), Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco), Victor Moses (Nigeria), Felipe Baloy (Panama), Jose Luis Rodriguez (Panama), Andre Carrillo (Peru), Paolo Guerrero (Peru), Jan Bednarek (Poland), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Poland), Pepe (Portugal), Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal), Mario Figueira Fernandes (Russia), Yury Gazinsky (Russia), Aleksandr Golovin (Russia), Salem Al Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Salman Al Faraj (Saudi Arabia), Sadio Mane (Senegal), M'Baye Niang (Senegal), Moussa Wague (Senegal), Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia), Kim Young-Gwon (South Korea), Iago Aspas (Spain), Isco (Spain), Nacho (Spain), Ludwig Augustinsson (Sweden), Emil Forsberg (Sweden), Ola Toivonen (Sweden), Josip Drmic (Switzerland), Blerim Dzemail (Switzerland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), Steven Zuber (Switzerland), Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Tunisia), Dylan Bronn (Tunisia), Ferjani Sassi (Tunisia), Jose Gimenez (Uruguay)
11 own goals
Aziz Behich (Australia) v France
Aziz Bouhaddouz (Morocco) v Iran
Oghenekaro Etebo (Nigeria) v Croatia
Ahmed Fathy (Egypt) v Russia
Thiago Cionek (Poland) v Senegal
Denis Cheryshev (Russia) v Uruguay
Edson Alvarez (Mexico) v Sweden
Yann Sommer (Switzerland) v Costa Rica
Yassine Meriah (Tunisia) v Panama
Sergei Ignashevich (Russia) v Spain
Fernandinho (Brazil) v Belgium
RED CARDS
- Carlos Sanchez (Colombia) v Japan
- Jerome Boateng (Germany) v Sweden
- Igor Smolnikov (Russia) v Uruguay
- Michael Lang (Switzerland) v Sweden
