“I think we played extremely well in the first half," Southgate said.

"Given the size of the game I was really pleased with the way we controlled possession, and our decision-making was good…

"I think when you are in charge of the game as we were, and you have chances we had, you probably need to take a second goal at that point… Croatia came really strong, they obviously have some outstanding players and some huge experience within that team."

He added that in extra time his players “regained their composure” and chances of winning for both teams were equal, but Croatia “took their chances, and England were not able to respond.”

He also praised his team for a good game and for all the games preceding the semi-final and wished Croatia success in their final match against France on Monday (AEST).

England will now face Belgium in the third place play-off in St. Petersburg on Sunday (AEST).

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the final between France and Croatia to be held at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.