As much as the journey has been fantastic and enjoyable, to see the newfound connection between the team and fans, on a different day I think many involved in the England set-up will rue the chance of not being able to make it, at least, to a final which would have been a psychological boost going forward in other tournaments.
They started energetically and deserved to be 1-0 up but those chances missed in the first half could have killed the game and by that time Croatia had got their mojo back and were in control after that point, but also the line that they would fatigue having played in two 120 min matches plus penalties before yesterday proved incorrect as they were in control of their energy levels and stamina whilst England faltered.
Southgate, tactically, didn't try to stop Croatia and the substitution of Sterling was too early especially as Rashford was so ineffective. Modric is such a fucking beautiful player to watch, never get bored seeing him grace his talents on a pitch, Rakitic was influential as the game wore on plus Mandzukic was a menace until the end.
Final will be a dull affair, for all the exceptional talent on show, France play defensively (very well, I must add) and Croatia will try to work the ball around their defensive structure so may be another 120min match.
Croatia winning it would be amazing, and would surely help Modric's case to break the duopoly of Messi and Ronaldo on the Balon D'Or. But Pogba, Mbappe, Varane have played consistently well at the tournament so it would be fitting for their efforts also.
For England, they've got a base to build on for the Euros 2020 which the final is being held in England and for the WC in 2022 (held in Qatar), and Southgate's created a new relationship with the fans that could endure, but maybe need to identify other options on the bench that could help (someone who can navigate the ball in the middle of the park, perhaps)
But this World Cup has been awesome, will miss it when it's finished