Cheeky Goose Takes A Gander At The England-Croatia World Cup Semi-Final

It's not just every human being in England (and Croatia, probably) who was watching the semi-final today. Even animals were getting in on the action - as this picture by Twitter user Balderdash shows.

Yes, that is indeed a goose who was looking incredibly interested in the game - and why wouldn't it? It's been a blinder! Unless you're an England fan of course. They were eventually beaten by an extra time goal from Mario Mandzukic to lose 2 - 1.

The photo of the bird was taken back in happier times at a CenterParcs resort earlier on and has already gone viral, racking up almost 11,000 likes and nearly 3,000 retweets.

It was, to be fair, an intense, close match - and it's a great picture - although we feel the person who posted the picture should probably be a little more hospitable and invite the goose in. Maybe crack open a beer or two, offer it some peanuts. (Note: we're not seriously advocating feeding animals alcohol and nuts. We're not that irresponsible)

The match itself was full of both heart-stopping and heart-racing moments - but it didn't end the way we wanted it to.

Although England started off by scoring at the very start, courtesy of Kieran Trippier in the 5th minute, Croatia equalised in the 68th minute and the game went to extra time.

Despite a burst of energy by Gareth Southgate's team, Croatia's Mario Mandžukić scored in the 109th minute to take his team ahead.

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Things got worse for England as they desperately tried to level things when Trippier was injured with just a couple of minutes to go. Having used all their subs, the team were down to ten men. Despite playing valiantly, and a last minute free kick in dangerous territory, they were unable to pull it back.

Still - what a team and what a set of results. They should all be very proud of themselves - we certainly are. And you know what? That goose probably is, too. He knows a heroic team when he sees one.

England will now face Belgium (again) in the third place playoff on Saturday. Hopefully they can get their revenge on the team that beat them in the group stages.

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Let's hope the goose isn't there - he is obviously bad luck.

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa is a freelance journalist usually based in either New York or London. He has written for Kerrang!, Record Collector, NME, the New York Observer and FLOOD magazine, among others. Contact him at [email protected]