Italia ’90. That night in Turin. Andreas Brehme’s goal against play and Lineker’s equalizer. Gazza’s tears, Lineker having a word with him, Gazza’s miss. Penalties: “Psycho” Stuart Pearce missed, Chris Waddle missed. Germany won. And yet, in the minds of England fans all over the country, they lost. It was England that won it, and that was the final; Germany went and actually won it in Rome, beating Argentina 1-0, but that didn’t matter. England had won it.

It’s slightly hyperbolic but true when considering just how large the semifinal against Germany looms in England’s footballing history. Pre- and post-1966, England had never won a semifinal and Bobby Robson’s team – ignoring those already mentioned included Peter Shilton, Des Walker, Terry Butcher and David Platt - genuinely looked like they could go all the way for the first time in 24 years.

In reality, they never. They really did lose and it perhaps says something about the English psyche that a loss is the nation’s most cherished World Cup result that took place in living memory. The Jules Rimet Cup of 1966 is at this point (and by that point too) a legend, a footballing myth, the FA’s equivalent to King Arthur claiming Excalibur so, maybe, the loss is what was needed to give the country’s football a relatable story that could really be believed in. No one would ever beat Geoff Hurst, no one could be Geoff Hurst again, but maybe someone could be a new Gary Lineker and right the wrongs of Turin.

That’s the only explanation for the build-up to the game. Even though France were waiting in the wings for the winner and Belgium menacing the loser in the third-place play-off, the game against Croatia was the final. It was the game that mattered most. Penalties have already been conquered, now it was on to beating destiny itself.

From the first whistle, the first half seemed to be getting played in reverse. England scored their last-gasp goal in five minutes with a gorgeous free kick from Kieran Trippier. Up, over, around and down past Subasic, it was the kind of set piece that only comes when pressure is applied - much like Ronaldo’s versus Spain on the first day of games. It sent Croatia scrambling for an equalizer like their life depended on it, even though there was still 84 minutes of regulation time remaining (and the possibility of more to come).

An immediate response was blocked by Jordan Pickford and Raheem Sterling responds in kind. England were showing the kind of energy and wherewithal that had been lacking in their games up to that point and it easily frustrated Croatia who, perhaps still thinking they were facing Rooney’s lads, clearly expected something stodgier and simpler. Sime Vrsaljko bundled into Harry Kane at around the 15-minute mark; perplexed that the England man got up very easily, Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren grabbed him with two hands and shoved him to the ground only five minutes later.

The game stayed open with both sides getting their chances and taking them how they could. On the stroke of half an hour, Kane got through the Croatian defense thanks to a cheeky pass from Jesse Lingard and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Daniel Subasic. The keeper went to his left while the ball went to his right, letting Kane in behind him - he played it too tight and hit the post, making what will most likely be the most important miss of his life. With five minutes left, Croatia start playing like it’s the beginning of the half and dominate possession, keep the ball away from England’s feet, do nothing with it because it was halftime.

No change at the break, but it’s clear the gap has allowed the events of the game to sink in for both sides. If the first half was upside down, the second was business as usual. England were shaky, with Harry Maguire fumbling easy headers and Kyle Walker losing his cool for no apparent reason; Croatia were playing with more intensity but not enough to inspire this kind of England response.

With just over 20 minutes to go, Croatia equalized with a stunning show of skill. Vrsaljko curled it in from far on the right and Ivan Perisic burst over Walker to flick it past Pickford, who, up to that point, had been a brick wall in front of the net. England hung on but their body language made it seem like they had expected this, and when the game went into extra time, the swap of Jordan Henderson (who missed a penalty against Colombia) for Eric Dier (who scored the winning penalty against Colombia) showed what they were planning for.

It was Southgate’s only major blunder of the entire tournament and, as with his most famous moment as a player, came at the decisively wrong time. The switch came with 23 minutes of extra time remaining, and that was plenty of time for Croatia to force the game against a team looking to bunker down. Mario Mandzukic may not be as fast as he once was, but he still has the box-to-box energy that made him a threat for Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Juventus, and with 10 minutes to go, he finally made a breakthrough.

A bad, high clearance landed at Perisic who headed it down to Mandzukic who was clear in front of goal. His low shot was too quick and powerful for Pickford and the game was 2-1. Southgate sent on Jamie Vardy but it was far too late.

It’s impossible to say if this game will live in the memory like the Italia ’90 semifinal did but one thing already seared into the minds of England fans are the contrasting images of Kieran Trippier: five minutes into the game is, he’s a vision of pure elation; five minutes from the end, he’s hobbling off the pitch in pain as his team is 2-1 down. Ecstasy before agony. The life of an England fan.