World No 23 Khosit is expected to be surpassed by the in-form Kantaphon (ranked 27th as of Wednesday) when the new BWF rankings are updated on Thursday as the latter has been in impressive form. His fine run of results has included a stunning win over 2016 Olympic champion Chen Long of China in the World Tour Super 750 in Malaysia and reaching the quarter-finals in the Super 1000 event Indonesia over the fortnight.

“He has been in better form than I have recently, so I have to accept that,” said Khosit after he ousted Thomas Cup teammate Pannawit Thongnuam 21-12 21-15 in the first round on Wednesday.

“It’s normal that you cannot hold on to the top spot all the time. What I can do now is to focus on my matches in this tournament as I expect to reach at least the semi-final.”

Khosit faces a second-round clash on Thursday with Briton Rajeev Ouseph.

Kantaphon meanwhile celebrated his No 1 ranking with a sweet revenge over Malaysian arch-rival Leong Jun Hao as he saved a match point to pip the 2017 World Junior Championships silver medalist  21-19 9-21 24- 22 after 81 minutes of tussles. The Thai lost their previous encounter at this stadium during the Princess Cup semi-finals in January. Former Thai No 1 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk also moved on after an upset win over eighth seeded Sameer Verma of Idia 21-18 21-16.

On the women’s side, Thai No 3 and world No 19 Pornpawee Chochuwong trounced Spain’s Beatriz Corrales 21-6 21-11 to set up another date with reigning world champion Nozomi Okuhara, whom she just beat in the Malaysia Open two weeks ago.

Pornpawee Chochuwong 

“I’m quite confident with myself after I won the last time we played. But I won’t underestimate her as she may come up with a new game plan,” said the world No 19.

However, Thai No 2 Nitchaon Jindapol crashed out of the first round, losing to Cheah Soniia of Malaysia 21-16 21-14. Former finalist Busanan Ongbamrungphan advanced after Sabrina Jacquet of Switzerland retired with injury.

Elsewhere, world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi, a month after spearheading Japan to the Uber Cup title in Bangkok, beat China’s Gao Fangjie 21-14 21-14.

In the women’s doubles, fifth seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai, who won the Princess Cup, a Super 250 tournament, in Bangkok in January, beat Chinese pair Tang Jinhua and Yu Xiaohan 21-13 21-16.

But Tinn Isriyanet and Kittisak Namdash, who came to public attention by surprisingly winning the Princess Cup’s men’s doubles title, failed to repeat theirs heroics as they lost 21-18 21-12 to Indonesia’s Akbar Bintang Cahyono and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani.

Bach, like many other major sports figures around the world, has been concerned about the 12 youngsters and their coach, who were brought out of the cave over three consecutive days, ending on Tuesday evening.

“It is with great joy and relief that I heard the fantastic news of the successful rescue of the boys and their coach,” Bach said in a statement to the PMt via  IOC member Khun Ying Patama Leeswadtrakul.

“My heartfelt congratulations go to all those involved in the rescue efforts. It was especially admirable that nobody gave up even in the most difficult of circumstances.

“Please accept my congratulations, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration and personal esteem.”

When 12 boys of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach went missing for several days in June and were discovered to be stranded in a Chiang Rai cave complex, Mitsatit jumped at the opportunity to help rescue efforts in any way that he could.

“We drove to Chiang Rai in the early morning, worried about the children. But I knew our team was very capable, and I knew we would do everything we could to find them,” said Mitsatit.

“Many people from all over the world came to help, it was a joint effort and a great sight to see everyone coming together for a common goal.”

The children, aged 11-16 years old, were exploring the Tham Luang Nang Non cave system on Saturday, June 23, when torrential rain and flash floods quickly filled up the entrance and trapped them inside.

Forced to seek shelter and to escape the rising floodwaters, the team and their coach ventured further into the cave system, reaching an elevated sandy area where they sought refuge until help arrived.

A major search and rescue operation was launched with efforts to drain the cave just enough so that Thailand’s Navy SEAL divers could go in and extract the victims. After some time, authorities were able to discover where the group had been holed up, and rescue operations were quickly underway.

Navy divers and volunteer rescue teams, including Mitsatit’s unit, worked together, traversing murky waters, treacherous cave chambers and narrow passageways. Divers had to use several heavy equipment such as oxygen tanks and various rock climbing gear in a complicated operation.

When rescuers reached the area where the footballers were discovered, photos and videos sent from the rescue team showed the boys smiling for cameras even after nearly two weeks of being trapped in the cave.

Family members of the young footballers were ecstatic and celebrated the news that their children had survived the ordeal and had been found without major physical injuries.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help find these kids alive,” said Mitsatit.

“It didn’t matter if I was in training for a big fight, I wanted to do everything I could to help those boys. This was bigger than everything else. The British divers saw them first and sent back photos and videos, I was so relieved. Just seeing them alive and well, it makes my heart feel full.”

Mitsatit knows what it’s like to face adversity, albeit in the cage. A ONE Championship strawweight contender with an unblemished 9-0 professional record, and widely-considered one of the fastest rising stars in the world of martial arts, Pongsiri had much to lose in risking his life. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“When we are given the ability to help others who are in dire need, we must do everything we can. It doesn’t matter whether we are rich or poor, we do what we can,” said Mitsatit.

“In my mind, I wanted to find those kids as soon as possible. Then to see them strong and doing well, it motivates me to be as strong as them.”

Rescue operations concluded yesterday, as teams worked round the clock to rescue the victims at the soonest possible time. All 12 boys and their coach are well and in good spirits after being airlifted to the nearest hospital as soon as they got out of the cave. Although Mitsatit’s role in rescue operations has concluded, he is more than willing to offer more help if need be.

“I would do anything if it meant saving those boys,” Mitsatit concluded.

Mitsatit is scheduled to return to action on 27 July at ONE: REIGN OF KINGS at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. He will face Baguio City’s Joshua “The Passion” Pacio of Team Lakay in the supporting card.

The final five members of the young football team – four youngsters and their 25-year-old coach – were rescued from a flooded Thai cave after spending 18 harrowing days trapped deep inside, completing an astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission that captivated the world.

The dozen players – aged 11 to 16 – and the coach had already received an invitation from Fifa chief Gianni Infantino last week to attend the World Cup final on Sunday in Moscow – although after their traumatic experience they may not be up to the trip physically or mentally.

Manchester United, though, tweeted an invitation just after the news that all had been rescued and with the Premier League season lasting from August through to May there will be plenty of time for them to recuperate and opportunity for them to take the offer up.

“#MUFC is relieved to learn that the 12 footballers and their coach trapped in a cave in Thailand are now safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected. We would love to welcome the team from Wild Boars Football Club and their rescuers to Old Trafford this coming season,” the club tweeted on its official account.

United – who this year commemorated the 60th anniversary of their own traumatic experience of the Munich Air disaster that decimated the celebrated “Busby Babes” – extended a similar invitation to the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days in 2010.

The idea for that invitation which was spread over several days came from Bobby Charlton – one of those who survived the crash and also came from a mining community – and 23 of the miners eventually came with the climax of the visit watching them play Arsenal.

Three-time champion Djokovic will open the Centre Court programme against Kei Nishikori followed by two-time winner and world number one Rafael Nadal facing Juan Martin del Potro.

Defending champion Federer, who has played all of his Wimbledon matches since the 2015 semi-finals on Centre Court, will instead open proceedings on Court One against Kevin Anderson.

The other last-eight tie, between Milos Raonic and John Isner, finishes off the Court One schedule.

Djokovic has featured just once on Centre Court — against British home favourite Kyle Edmund in the last 32 — in the opening four rounds.

By contrast, Federer and Nadal have played exclusively on the 15,000-seater Centre Court.

Djokovic had told reporters that he had been hopeful of playing his quarter-final match on Centre Court before telling Serbian media that he “deserved” the honour and intended to lobby the All England Club.

Djokovic has played twice on the 11,000-capacity Court One this year but was shunted off to the 4,000-seater Court Two for his second round clash against Horacio Zeballos.

Three times he has been scheduled last on court, putting him at risk of falling victim to fading light with the burden of having to return the following day.

He managed to finish off Russia’s Karen Khachanov in straight sets in the gathering gloom on Monday.

Twelve months ago, his last-16 match with Adrian Mannarino, also scheduled for Court One, was cancelled despite Centre Court with its retractable roof being available.

Djokovic had to play that fourth round match on the Tuesday and quarter-final on the Wednesday, when he was forced to retire against Tomas Berdych with an elbow injury.

– ‘Big war’ –

Djokovic, the 2011, 2014 and 2015 champion, will be favourite to see off Nishikori for a 14th time in 16 meetings.

Nishikori is playing in his first Wimbledon quarter-final.

He is also the first Japanese man to reach the quarter-finals since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995.

“It’s always like a big war for me,” said Nishikori on facing Djokovic.

Federer, who last went to Court One in 2015 for his quarter-final win over Gilles Simon, will be playing in his 16th Wimbledon quarter-final and 53rd at all Grand Slams.

His opponent on Wednesday is eighth-seeded Anderson, the first South African since Wayne Ferreira in 1994 to get to the last eight.

Top seed Federer, 36, has now won 32 consecutive sets at Wimbledon, just two behind his record run from the third round in 2005 to his title triumph in 2006.

He also holds a 4-0 career lead over 2017 US Open runner-up Anderson who has yet to take a set off the Swiss.

Federer hasn’t dropped serve at Wimbledon so far but is wary of the challenge posed by Anderson whose big serving style is flourishing on courts cooked by last week’s heatwave.

“It’s definitely helped a certain style of player, maybe the big servers,” said 20-time major winner Federer.

– ‘It’s about being smart’ –

Nadal has made the quarter-finals for the first time since finishing runner-up to Djokovic in 2011.

The world number one, chasing an 18th major, will now take on Del Potro boasting a 10-5 career lead.

Del Potro is in his first quarter-final at the tournament since 2013 when he reached the semi-final.

Nadal demolished the giant Argentine for the loss of just seven games in the French Open semi-finals last month.

He has also won both their meetings on grass, including at Wimbledon in 2011.

Many are already anticipating a Sunday final between Federer and Nadal, 10 years after their 2008 epic championship showdown widely regarded as the greatest final ever played.

“Facing Roger again will be something fantastic,” said Nadal.

“But if you ask me if I prefer another one, I say yes. It’s about being smart, no?”

Wednesday’s other quarter-final sees 2016 runner-up Raonic tackle US ninth seed Isner, making his Wimbledon last-eight debut at 33.

It won’t be pretty.

Isner, 33, has not been broken in 74 service games while Raonic has dropped serve just three times in 72 games.

Isner has unleashed a tournament-leading 135 aces while Canadian 13th seed Raonic is in second place, having fired 117.

Raonic has the fastest serve of this year’s Wimbledon at 147 miles (236.5 kilometres) per hour, while Isner is just behind on 144mph (231.7kph).

For the past few weeks Luka Modric’s side have been on everyone’s lips in the country of around four million people.

As they prepare to face England on Wednesday, coach Zlatko Dalic and his players are celebrated as national heroes and their names are chanted on the streets throughout Croatia, while they are described as embodying courage, perfection and humility.

But only a month ago the situation was very different.

“Pray to God they lose it all!” read graffiti and banners, dating back from Euro 2016, notably in the coastal town of Split and the surrounding region.

“Each of your defeats makes us happy, Split wishes you the worst!” read a banner on a bridge in Split after a defeat by Brazil in a friendly in June.

Critics say that murky management within the Croatian football federation has led to huge animosity among many football fans and the public towards both the federation and football in general.

The country has been repeatedly punished by FIFA and UEFA over unruly fans known for throwing flares at matches and chanting fascist slogans.

Recently, Modric and Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren were targeted over their links to the former boss of the Dinamo Zagreb club, businessman Zdravko Mamic, who was sentenced in June to six and a half years in prison in a multi-million-euro corruption case.

Mamic, widely seen as the real boss of the Croatian federation, is currently in hiding in Bosnia.

Both Modric and Lovren testified during Mamic’s trial, over their transfers from Dinamo Zagreb.

The evidence given by Modric, visibly confused and unable to even remember the year he made his debut for the national squad, infuriated fans who feared it could have led to a reduced sentence for Mamic.

The Real Madrid midfielder was indicted over false testimony, punishable in theory by a jail sentence, while Lovren was also investigated.

– Anger forgotten –

But the fans’ anger appeared to be forgotten after Modric’s brilliant performances at the World Cup.

Mamic’s trial, insufficient and outdated infrastructure at stadiums, poor-quality refereeing, and the fans’ revolt against the federation and its president Davor Suker created a negative atmosphere around the squad.

Although the success in Russia has lifted the grim mood, the problems with Croatian football remain.

“The worst thing is that the whole of society’s trust in football has been lost,” former international Dario Simic told AFP in April.

Suker, once the adored 1998 World Cup Golden Boot winner, is disliked by fans because he was named head of the federation in 2012 due to Mamic’s lobbying, and is accused of being his puppet.

Suker was re-elected to a four-year-term. A top official in the federation, Damir Vrbanovic, who was tried along with Mamic and sentenced to three years in jail, retained his position.

“The team’s success at the World Cup and all the other issues are not related,” prominent sports journalist Robert Matteoni told AFP.

“What is happening now is the consequence of pure football. Now we have great players and a coach who can draw a maximum from them and this is where this result comes from.”

– Deep changes needed –

After a dramatic win on penalties against Russia, Croatia will play England on Wednesday in front of 80,000 people in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium for a place in the World Cup final.

They have repeated the success of the 1998 team who reached the semi-finals in Croatia’s first World Cup  as an independent nation.

Some local media say that once the tournament is over, it could trigger a change for better.

“Maybe football is really coming home. Where it belongs, to Croatia,” commented the influential Jutarnji List paper, playing on the chants in England of “It’s Coming Home” — the resurrected theme song from the 1996 European Championships.

“Croatian football has a chance to turn this ugly page … and start a new history,” the paper said.

But it warned that “after showering in the champagne of victory, not only cosmetic but deep changes should be made.”

England manager Gareth Southgate said his inexperienced side must look to perform at their “regular level” despite the pressure of playing in a World Cup semi-final.

England face Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday after reaching the last four of a major tournament for the first time since Euro ’96, when Southgate himself missed a penalty in a shootout defeat against Germany.

He is now trying to minimise potential distractions as his young team prepare to take the next step in their bid to repeat the 1966 World Cup triumph at home.

Southgate told reporters on Tuesday that the most important thing was to keep things as normal as possible.

“We’ve been tucked away in our base camp preparing the same way,” he said. “Our preparation for the game has been identical. I think it’s important there’s consistency leading into matches like this.

“You don’t have to change things, you don’t have to do things differently. You don’t have to find another level, generally speaking.

“As a player if you can perform at your regular level in these games then very often that’s more than enough because people can be inhibited in big matches.”

Before their arrival in Russia, England had not won a knockout game since the 2006 World Cup.

They overcame Colombia on penalties in the last 16 in Russia after conceding a stoppage-time equaliser, before a 2-0 victory against Sweden sent England through to a first World Cup semi-final appearance in 28 years.

“We came here to enjoy our football. All the way through we have been one of the youngest teams in the tournament, the least experienced team, but we were never quite sure how far this team could go,” said Southgate.

“The hunger in the players has been apparent for all to see. We have dealt with difficult situations in games.”

– ‘Next step on the journey’ –

England thumped Croatia 5-1 at Wembley the last time the two nations met, in a World Cup qualifier in September 2009, but Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic are the only survivors from that match on either side.

With an average squad age of just over 26 and fewer combined caps than any other participating team, Southgate knows there is still plenty of room for improvement.

“We’re going into a semi-final but it just seems like it’s the next step on the journey,” he said.

“This team is nowhere near the level they’re going to be capable of, partly because of their age and partly because over the next few years, with us and with their clubs, they’re going to have more and more big-match experiences.

“So we’re excited about the future but we also want to make the most of the opportunity we have tomorrow.”

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson is one of just five players remaining from the England squad that crashed out of the group stage four years ago in Brazil.

He will have a central role to play against a Croatia side that relies heavily on the creativity of Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Rakitic, who plays for Barcelona.

“I’ve played against Modric a few times, he’s probably one of the best players I’ve played against,” said Henderson.

“It’s a massive game for us, we all know that, but there’s no need to make it bigger than what it already is.”

Excitement has reached fever-pitch levels in England, as the country dreams of Southgate’s team emulating the achievement of Alf Ramsey’s side more than half a century ago.

“We can take a lot of good things in the past in terms of ’66 and what they achieved then,” said Henderson. “But it was a long time ago so not too many of us can remember that far back.”

Williams avoided a major upset on Tuesday as the former world number one battled back to beat unseeded Camila Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a Centre Court thriller.

The 36-year-old’s quarter-final escape act set up a last four showdown with German 13th seed Julia Goerges on Thursday.

Serena hasn’t won a Grand Slam since the birth of daughter Olympia in September and her last trophy came at the 2017 Australian Open.

“You’re only as good as your last win. It’s been a while since I’ve won a championship,” Williams said.

But the 23-time major winner is heavily favoured to end her wait this week, fuelled by the thought of suffering the painful sting left by her rare defeats.

“I hate losing. I mean, that’s no secret. But I feel like every time I lose, I get better,” she said.

“It’s important for me to have the losses. Just the fewer the better for me!”

Williams is playing only her fourth tournament since becoming a mother for the first time.

Having shaken off the rust following her lengthy lay-off after the complications with Olympia’s birth, Serena is on the verge of a 10th Wimbledon final appearance and 30th in all four Grand Slams.

“Everything right now is a little bit of a surprise, to be here, to be in the semi-finals,” she said.

“I always say I plan on it. But when it actually happens, it still is, like, Wow, this is really happening.”

With Olympia’s arrival and her marriage to husband Alexis both taking place since Serena was last at Wimbledon, this year’s campaign has a unique feel.

“It’s different now obviously because I have the baby. Being a mom is totally different,” she said.

“I just want to be more of that role model for my daughter, for lots of people out there that just want to be inspired.

“Here is some good news. Right now there’s so much bad news in the world. We just need a good story.”

Having won the title in the previous two years she played Wimbledon in 2015 and 2016, Williams, who missed last year’s tournament due to her pregnancy, has extended her winning streak at the All England Club to 19 matches.

In contrast, Goerges is in the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.

The 29-year-old had suffered five successive opening round defeats at the All England Club before this year.

It also took her until her 42nd Grand Slam appearance to finally get through to the last four at a major.

Yet Goerges insists she can cause an massive upset against Williams.

“It is a great opportunity to play Serena here where she has won so many times and is a great champion. I think everyone here has a great chance so you have to take it,” Goerges said.

Angelique Kerber, the German 11th seed, faces former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the other semi-final.

Ostapenko struggled with the pressure of defending her maiden Grand Slam title, losing in the first round of the recent French Open.

But that lifted a weight off her shoulders at the All England Club, where she has become the first Latvian to make a Wimbledon semi-final.

The 21-year-old is the only female player yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament.

“At the French Open a couple weeks ago I had so much pressure. It’s now all gone,” Ostapenko said.

“I’m just enjoying the moment. It’s so much fun.”

However, Kerber, beaten by Serena in the 2016 Wimbledon final, doesn’t believe Ostapenko will be able to play completely free of anxiety with the title match within touching distance.

Kerber, the 2016 Australian and US Open champion, said: “I mean, the pressure is not always on my side. She (Ostapenko) won a Grand Slam, as well.”

A second-half header from Samuel Umtiti in Saint Petersburg gave France a 1-0 win, earning them a place in Sunday’s final in Moscow against either England or Croatia.

Thousands of crestfallen fans walked away quickly after the final whistle sounded on a giant screen in the town of Waterloo, south of the Belgian capital Brussels.

“We’re very disappointed,” 27-year-old Alice Cordier told AFP in Waterloo, where French emperor Napoleon was defeated by a mix of European forces in a huge battle in 1815.

“It’s really too bad to lose to France, Belgium’s national bad luck,” she added. “But we are still proud to be Belgian.”

Some echoed the love-hate relationship and inferiority complex many French-speaking Walons have with their bigger neighbour France.

“We will hear it spoken about for one hundred years,” 26-year-old supporter Stephanie Smeets said. “The French will take the mickey out of us.”

French speakers, who share a country with Dutch and German speakers, are particularly sensitive to what they see as France’s condescending attitude toward them.

It’s only the second time in history that Belgium have reached the World Cup semi-finals, 32 years after Diego Maradona’s Argentina beat them at the same stage in Mexico in 1986 before going on to win the title.

France won the World Cup in 1998 and are now in their third final.

But Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was full of praise for the Red Devils.

“Bravo @BelRedDevils for your performance and having thrilled us until the semi-final,” Michel tweeted.

– ‘Harsh logic’ –

For many observers, this generation of talented players including Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany and others had a real chance to come home victorious.

“Regrets are eternal. It will not be our day of glory on this 10 July,” a presenter of Belgium’s French-language RTBF television station said after the final whistle.

But he thanked the team.

“Thanks for having allowed, thanks to football, to forget everything a bit and enjoy moments of pleasure.”

Analysts have also praised the multicultural team, including those whose parents are Congolese and Moroccan immigrants, for helping to unite a country split by political tensions over the Dutch and French language.

In Brussels, the national colours — black, yellow and red — were draped over cars, balconies and cafes that showed the match on television.

In one cafe, Mathieu Geslan, a 32-year-old French baker who has lived in Brussels for nine years, wore Belgium’s red jersey to watch the match with his Belgian partner Aurore Szabo.

“The French have won once the World Cup. So why not have the Belgians win this time?” he said at half-time when the score was still 0-0.

After the match, there was plenty of analysis of what went wrong.

“The Belgians did not manage the last half hour well,” 79-year-old Jean Dhave said in the Brussels suburb of Uccle.

“We are sad but it is deserved,” said Dhave, a manager of a tennis club who organised a special evening for the match.

He said that key men De Bruyne and Hazard were not on form.

Belgian comedian Benoit Poelvoorde had predicted a 1-0 France victory in newspaper Le Soir.

“I think our team will lose Tuesday evening because it has every chance of winning. That’s the harsh logic,” he said.

In scenes reminiscent of France’s 1998 World Cup win, delirious crowds surged up the Champs-Elysees avenue and surrounded the Arc de Triomphe, waving flags and letting off flares.

A header from Samuel Umtiti in Saint Petersburg was enough to give Didier Deschamps’ team a 1-0 win against Belgium.

The 49-year-old coach is now just one win away from winning the World Cup — 20 years after he captained the team to victory on home soil.

The tournament favourites must wait 24 hours to discover whether they will play England or Croatia in Sunday’s final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium but they will approach the game brim full of confidence.

Belgium started the stronger of the two teams but Umtiti’s header from a corner in the 51st minute was the pivotal moment as the defender stole the limelight from jet-heeled Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

France’s other hero was goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who made a spectacular fingertip save in the first half to deny Toby Alderweireld and then kept out Alex Witsel’s drive as Belgium cranked up the pressure towards the end of the match.

Deschamps said he was delighted to have the chance to bury the pain of the Euro 2016 final, which Portugal won in Paris.

“I am very happy for my players,” he said. “It was hard against a very good Belgium team. I take my hat off to my players and my staff.”

“Finals have to be won because we have still not got over the one we lost two years ago,” he added.

People cheer as they gather at a fan zone in Paris

France started the tournament in Russia slowly, struggling for goals in the group stages but hit their stride in an impressive 4-3 victory against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the first knockout round.

Boasting an impressive combination of experience and youthful zest, they controlled their quarter-final against Uruguay, running out comfortable 2-0 winners.

The defeat is painful for Belgium, foiled at the semi-final for the second time in their history, as the clock ticks on their so-called “golden generation”.

Captain Eden Hazard dazzled in patches but Kevin De Bruyne was quiet and Romelu Lukaku was a shadow of the player he had been earlier in the tournament, even though Belgium enjoyed most of the possession.

Martinez bemoaned the goal his team conceded from a corner.

“I couldn’t ask more of the players’ attitude,” he said. “If you are going to have to lose such a match, which is bearable, it is the manner in which our players lost, pushing for everything, trying everything until the final whistle.”

– England dream –

England face Croatia on Wednesday in the Luzhniki, seeking to reach their first World Cup final since 1966 against a background of near hysteria at home.

Manager Gareth Southgate said his inexperienced side must look to perform at their “regular level” despite the pressure.

Captain Harry Kane is leading England’s charge with six goals so far, putting him top in the race for the Golden Boot.

England are in the last four of a major tournament for the first time since Euro ’96, when Southgate himself missed a penalty in a shootout defeat against Germany.

Belgium’s midfielder Marouane Fellaini (L) reacts after his shot misses the goal.

He is now trying to minimise potential distractions as his young team prepare to take the next step in their bid to repeat their World Cup triumph at home 52 years ago.

“We’re going into a semi-final but it just seems like it’s the next step on the journey,” he said.

“This team is nowhere near the level they’re going to be capable of, partly because of their age and partly because over the next few years, with us and with their clubs, they’re going to have more and more big-match experiences.

“So we’re excited about the future but we also want to make the most of the opportunity we have tomorrow.”

Croatia defender Dejan Lovren believes his tired team are ready to seize the opportunity of a lifetime.

It is the first time since 1998 that the nation of just over four million people have reached this stage of the competition, after they eliminated Russia in a penalty shootout at the weekend.

There are concerns that fatigue could be a factor for Zlatko Dalic’s side, given they were forced to come through 120 minutes and penalties against both Denmark and the hosts in the last two rounds.

However, Liverpool centre-back Lovren does not think that will be a factor.

“I am perfectly ready and fit and I can say the same for my teammates. We know what it takes and in such moments you forget any fatigue you may feel,” said the 29-year-old.

“This is maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It may repeat itself once, maybe never.”