Ivan Perisic said his equaliser that helped Croatia come from behind to beat England 2-1 after extra time and reach the World Cup final was a goal that "he could only dream of" as a child.
The Inter Milan winger poked home a cross from Sime Vrsaljko to haul Croatia level midway through the second half having fallen behind to an early Kieran Trippier free-kick.
Mario Mandzukic completed the turnaround around with the winner on 109 minutes to send his country through to Sunday's final against France.
"It was a very difficult game. We all know what was at stake and how important a semi-final is for a small country like Croatia," said Perisic.
"We started slowly, but we showed our character just as in the previous two knockout games when we were a goal down. We didn't used to be that resilient."
"I would like to thank everyone who came to support us in Moscow and everyone back home in Croatia who are sending their incredible support to us."