"Of course, we are expecting some beautiful football from the English players. They know how it is done," Peskov told journalists.

England, who claimed their only World Cup title in 1966, will be playing in the last four for the first time since 1990.

Their showdown with Croatia takes place on Thursday morning at 4:00am AEST.

Belgium will face 1998 champions France in the other semi-final, which will be played in St. Petersburg at the same time on Wednesday morning.