England reject Hart plays cricket rather than watch WC

Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart has joined Serie A side Torino on loan until the end of the season, the player's agent confirmed on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old has been out of favour at Manchester City since the arrival of new manager Pep Guardiola and dropped to number three in the pecking order behind 17 million pound signing Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero.

Hart's agent Jonathan Barnett told Tuttosport: "Yes, Joe Hart will play at Torino. It's done.

"He has said 'yes' to the club and now Manchester City have given the OK. It's all true, it's certain."

Hart is on international duty with England this week but has been given permission to fly to Italy to resolve his future with the British media reporting that he was due to arrive in Turin later on Tuesday.

Champions League top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was a frustrated spectator as his Real Madrid side played out a slow-burning 0-0 draw at Manchester City in Tuesday's semifinal first leg.

Injury prevented the Portuguese superstar from adding to his 16-goal tally and in his absence the visitors were unable to convert the handful of chances they created, with a sensational late Joe Hart save to deny Pepe the closest either side came to a goal at the Etihad Stadium.

As an occasion, City's first semi-final appearance in the competition was a let-down, but by preventing Madrid from notching an away goal they safeguarded their hopes of reaching the final ahead of next week's return leg at the Bernabeu.

There was concern, though, for Manuel Pellegrini's side in the shape of a first-half injury to Spanish playmaker David Silva, which leaves both him and Madrid counterpart Zinedine Zidane sweating on the fitness of key attackers going into the teams' reunion.

Neither fellow semi-finalists Bayern Munich nor Atletico Madrid, however, were given much to sweat about by the on-pitch fare.

City's semi-final arrival was an event seven and a half years in the making for the club's Emirati owners and there was a carefully stage-managed attempt to generate an atmosphere prior to kick-off, with fans given blue and silver foil flags and a flurry of streamers greeting the teams.

The star attraction, alas, was on the bench, glowering in a grey Real Madrid anorak. Ronaldo took his place among the visiting officials after failing a pre-match fitness test on a thigh strain.

City seemed determine not to let their guests settle into a rhythm and with Fernandinho setting the tempo for their pressing, they did exactly that.

But with neither side able to create any chances, the most notable act of the first half was the departure of Silva after he appeared to injure his thigh in a challenge on Gareth Bale that earned him a booking, which saw 19-year-old Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho join the fray.

Madrid striker Karim Benzema, a pre-match doubt with a knee problem, was replaced at half-time by Jese and despite the touchline exhortations of Zidane, who split his trousers for the second Champions League match running, his side could not find a breakthrough.

When they belatedly hit the target, Sergio Ramos hanging in the air to meet Toni Kroos's corner from the right with a firm header, Hart saved comfortably.

And when they conspired to beat Hart, Jese looping a header towards goal from Dani Carvajal's right-wing cross, the crossbar came to the England international's rescue.

City started the second half with a left-foot sighter from Sergio Aguero that whistled over the bar, but they did not threaten again until a stoppage-time Kevin De Bruyne free-kick that Keylor Navas tipped over.

In the minutes prior to that, the visitors had started to knock on the door.

After Bale had given City a scare by curling narrowly wide from the edge of the box, Hart produced two demonstrations of the razor-sharp reflexes that have come to his side's rescue so many times on big European nights.

First, he stuck out his left boot to deflect away a downward header from Casemiro and moments later a starfish-style block prevented Pepe from snatching a late winner from point-blank range.

Can Croatia cross one final hurdle come Sunday night and become the ninth nation to win the World Cup? Standing in their way are France, whose sole ambition will be to claim that coveted piece of glory for the second time at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

As an independent nation, Croatia might not have a rich history as far as their participation in the biggest show on Earth is concerned but since their World Cup debut in 1998, eight years after being liberated from Yugoslavia, it has been a spectacular journey for them.

Coincidentally, it was also the year that France became the seventh nation to win the World Cup, which was on their home soil, by defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

More interestingly, it was France who shattered Croatia's dreams by defeating their first 'golden generation' in the semifinal of that tournament 2-1, thanks to two quick blows from Les Bleus defender Lilian Thuram after Croatia's Davor Suker had scored in the 46th minute.

Even in that defeat, Croatia became only the second team after Portugal to have the best finish as debutants. They were placed third following a 2-1 win over Holland in the position deciding game, where Suker scored his sixth goal to win the Golden Boot.

If that was a big statement by an up and coming footballing nation, then the exploits of their next generation, now marshalled by Luka Modric, is no less spectacular as they have reached the finals despite a below-par qualifying campaign.

Croatia launched their campaign in Russia with a 2-0 win against Nigeria before pulling off a magnificent 3-0 win against two-time winners Argentina. They beat Iceland in the last group league game to move into the round of 16 with the maximum number of points.

And in the last three knockout games, where they had to battle it out beyond regulation time, Croatia showed tenacity and the will to fight till the end.

Croatia's round of 16 game against Denmark was a classic example of their never-say-die attitude. After conceding an early goal, they equalised and took the game to extra time, where Modric missed a penalty. However, the Real Madrid midfielder showed courage and stepped up in the shootout to convert his spot kick.

In the quarterfinal against hosts Russia, which they won in the shootout after a 2-2 draw, they faced a similar scenario. This was also the case in the semifinal against England before Mario Mandzukic hit the winner in the 109th minute.

The Juventus forward might not be as prolific as Suker was on the big stage but he has the knack of scoring goals from out of nowhere. Croatia actually have individual winners in Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic, the Inter Milan forward who has been in fine form.

Croatia's last three games might have started slowly but gradually picked up with the progression of the game, which is a hallmark of a good team.

They also showed how athletically fit they are as they had to play for 120 minutes in all three previous games.

Against England at Saint Petersburg, many thought it would be impossible for them to survive if the game went beyond regulation time. Surprisingly though, it was England who slowed down as the game progressed. In addition, when the Turkish referee blew the final whistle, Croatia were heading for another crack at the goal.

France midfielder Paul Pogba previously said that he wants to earn his own star on the shirt on Sunday. However, the world will not be surprised to a see the birth of a new star.

Torino boss Sinisa Mihajlovic is delighted with Joe Hart's attitude after his move to the Italian side.

Hart began training this week and Mihajlovic has been impressed with his mentality, and willingness to speak in Italian to his defenders.

"He's very determined. I spoke to him before the signing to ensure he was fired up," he said.

"He's already formed a good rapport with the other guys, communicating in Italian. I am pleased. He speaks a little Italian, he's learning those words that you need on the pitch to lead the defence and he's using them in training."

Belgium finished third in the World Cup, their best-ever performance, when they beat England 2-0 with an early Thomas Meunier goal and a breakaway finished by Eden Hazard in Saturday's playoff between the losing semi-finalists.

Meunier finished off a devastating move when he turned in Nacer Chadli's low cross at the far post in the fourth minute after Romelu Lukaku's pass sliced open the English defence.

Belgium, who beat England 1-0 in a group match in the tournament, were more dangerous throughout a lively first half. But England improved after the break and nearly equalised when Eric Dier got clear and chipped over Thibaut Courtois, only for Toby Alderweireld to make a sliding clearance off the line.

Belgium continued to threaten on the break and finished off the game when Kevin de Bruyne set Hazard clear and he swept his shot past Jordan Pickford.