"Moscow, Croatians are arriving! Dear England, it's so nice to see you again!" read the Sportske Novosti paper.
'Croatian dream continues' - press hail World Cup win
Croatian media on Sunday praised their team after the dramatic win on penalties against World Cup hosts Russia that set up a semi-final against England.
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"Croatian dream continues," the paper said, remembering the success of the legendary 1998 team, who reached the semi-finals in Croatia's first World Cup as an independent nation.
"After 20 years we are in the World Cup semi-finals. And there, there are Englishmen who owe us something, ever since 2009."
England beat Croatia 5-1 in a World Cup qualifier in 2009. It followed another humiliating defeat the previous year -- Croatia lost 4-1 to England at home.
Saturday's game in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi finished 2-2 after extra-time but Croatia, led by captain Luka Modric, held their nerve to win the shootout 4-3, with Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic scoring the decisive spot-kick.
The press said Russia had been a tough nut to crack -- Jutarnji List said the "Russians had 100 lives and simply did not want to die".
"Croatians do not give up!" read the paper's frontpage headline, accompanied by a large photo of Rakitic on his knees.
Tens of thousands of red-and-white-painted Croatian fans partied late into the night in the capital Zagreb and other cities.