DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Noel, I was in London last week, and I got to see what that city looks like when it is in soccer euphoria. The streets were crazy. Every pub was packed. It was amazing.
NOEL KING, HOST:
You happy you're not there now?
GREENE: (Laughter) Probably, yes. I think English soccer fans are in mourning today because they lost yesterday in the semifinals to Croatia.
KING: And this, David, is what Croatia's capital, Zagreb, sounded like yesterday.
(CHEERING)
KING: People in the main square were waving flags and setting off flares. Croatia is pretty much the underdog in this year's World Cup.
GREENE: Yeah. And it didn't look very good yesterday. England scored first, but Croatia tied it up in the second half.
KING: And then a goal from Mario Mandzukic in the extra time gave them the win. Croatia has never been to a World Cup final, so this is huge.
GREENE: And, you know, it's funny. We associate England so much with soccer, but England has not been in a World Cup final since 1966. And that streak is now going to go on. England's coach, Gareth Southgate, tried to stay positive.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
GARETH SOUTHGATE: If you'd said to us before the tournament we'd get to a semi-final, we'd probably thought that was beyond where we thought. But when we were here, you know, we really believed we could go another stage.
KING: In Russia, where the tournament is taking place, England's fans stuck around the stadium to commiserate together through song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER")
OASIS: (Singing) My soul slides away...
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Singing) My soul slides away...
(LAUGHTER)
GREENE: If you don't recognize that, they are singing "Don't Look Back In Anger" by the British band Oasis - maybe a fitting way to sum up England's World Cup run. Croatia, though, doesn't have to look back. They just get to look forward to the World Cup championship against France on Sunday.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER")
OASIS: (Singing) So Sally can wait. She knows it's too... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.