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When England tried to score against Croatia from kick-off while they celebrated at the World Cup

When England tried to score against Croatia from kick-off while they celebrated at the World Cup

England players made a cheeky attempt to level matters against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final.

England tried to score directly from kick-off as Croatia players celebrated in the 2018 World Cup and it explains why Bernardo Silva remained on the pitch against Switzerland.

Manchester City midfielder Silva wasn't overly involved in the Portugal's wild celebrations near the stands for Goncalo Ramos' opener.

While the scenes were still ongoing, the former Monaco man made his way back onto the field of play much quicker than his colleagues.

And eagle-eyed viewers reckon he did it so that Switzerland couldn't restart the match and try and get an instant equaliser.

After all, in the previous World Cup, England did just that when they conceded against Croatia.

Mario Mandzukic put Zlatko Dalic's side 2-1 up in extra time with the goal that broke England hearts and sent Croatia through to the final.

But what many might not be aware of is that England made a cheeky attempt to level matters straight away. It wasn't televised but with all the Croatia players still celebrating, footage showed Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard taking kick-off and running towards goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, who had now defenders near him.

Dele Alli was also darting forward but the Three Lions were pulled up by the referee.

They had seen an identical passage of play from their group stage opponents Panama. After Harry Kane had tucked away a penalty and every outfield player celebrating with him, a Panama player grabbed the ball, raced up to the halfway line and took a kick-off.

Against Tunisia, after a last-gasp winner from Kane, full-back Kieran Trippier did not feature in the pile-on and instead stayed in his own half.

Alamy
Alamy

However, it should be noted that the rule isn't quite what many had thought and the aforementioned routine from England would not have been legitimate.

FIFA's Law 8 states: "For every kick-off, all players, except the player taking the kick-off, must be in their own half of the field of play.

“In the event of any other kick-off procedure offence the kick-off is retaken.”

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@yadhuhar

Topics: England, Football World Cup, Croatia, Bernardo Silva, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford