England's starting line-up for their World Cup semi-final against Croatia on Wednesday remained unchanged for the third knockout match in a row, with coach Gareth Southgate sticking to his trusted 5-3-2 system.

Captain Harry Kane, leading scorer in the tournament with six goals, will spearhead the attack alongside Raheem Sterling, who has not scored in more than 1,000 days for England, as they look to reach their first World Cup final in 52 years.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, set to start, will equal Dario Simic's national record of 11 appearances at World Cups.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic brought in midfielder Marcelo Brozovic in place of forward Andrej Kramaric in an effort to control the pace of the game.

Key defender Sime Vrsaljko was passed fit to start after recovering from a knee injury.