Everything You Need to Know About Day 23 of the World Cup

England and Croatia will compete on Wednesday for the right to face France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, with the two underdogs searching to complete their against-the-odds runs through Russia.

The Croats are back in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since running to take the bronze medal in 1998, while the Three Lions haven't featured in the last four since 1990, when they finished fourth.

The midweek meeting at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium will dictate which of the two relative newcomer managers, Gareth Southgate or Zlatko Dalic, leads his team back to the capital for Sunday's decider.

France defender Samuel Umtiti's header was all Les Bleus needed to edge their semi-final clash with Belgium on Tuesday, posing a mighty challenge on whichever of these two teams meets them.

Here's a look toward Day 23 of the 2018 World Cup, including a match preview and a look at which key player will be worth keeping an eye on.

England vs. Croatia

It may be the less-glamorous and star-filled of the two semi-finals in Russia, but England and Croatia will bring with them their own potent selections of power players and no small amount of tactical wit to boot.

Croatia manager Dalic was, like England counterpart Southgate, named in the role last year. He took over a nation that's lived largely on the strength of its midfield, and this current edition is no different.

But along with the obvious playmaking talent the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic possess, writer Roy Nemer commented on their journey and the mental preparation they've undergone:

Croatia were close to flawless in topping Group D, and they've since notched penalty shootout wins over Denmark and Russia. England have only had one shootout victory, over Colombia in the round of 16, and their most recent outing was a far more routine 2-0 beating of Sweden.

The pressure hasn't gotten to the Three Lions just yet, and though this might be the point in the tournament where past iterations would have crumbled, the tournament's leading scorer, Harry Kane, is showing no signs of cracking.

In each of their last two extremely narrow wins, Croatia have in a way mirrored their opponent. They followed Denmark's first-minute strike with a swift equaliser, while a set-piece score from each team played a pivotal role in the match with Russia going to penalties.

If Southgate's side are to advance on Wednesday, they must continue promoting their own game and not get sucked into Croatia's rhetoric. For all the speculation as to why things are suddenly going so right for England, journalist Alastair Reid summed it up best: They've just got better players this time around:

One gets the sense that, on average across the board, England are the more talented outfit between the two, but then this World Cup hasn't paid much mind to who's better on paper.

Player to Watch: Raheem Sterling

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A much-talked-about figure in England's camp, and not always for the most fortunate of reasons, Croatia present Raheem Sterling with a prime opportunity to silence those who insist on criticising him.

The winger has shirked much of the bad press surrounding him, whether it's for matters on or off the field, and has become a vital linchpin in Southgate's setup, as recently explored by Tifo Football:

Sterling hasn't scored in Russia and has notched only one assist—hardly the kind of numbers one would expect from one who dazzled so frequently on Manchester City's rampant run to last term's Premier League title.

He's a particularly important foil for Kane to work alongside, often drifting beyond his frontman in order to steer defensive attention in his direction. If Kane were consistently allowed to be the only focus of his markers, and without Sterling's contribution in that regard, England likely would not have made it this far.

The beauty of Sterling's free-for-all assault style is that he has no outright home in England's attack, and Southgate has said Croatia would be wise to crack down on his movement, per Match of the Day:

For all the attention we pay to statistics in the modern age—goals and assists, material things that are obvious to spot—Sterling's tournament has been a success in the unseen. It's why he's been so effective.

For Kane and England's other midfield weapons to get their sights at goal, the impossibly irritating Sterling must keep up his diversionary tactics or, better yet, be ignored and permitted to dazzle in the more traditional sense.