After weeks of believing it’s coming home, England suffered extra-time heartbreak in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final against Croatia, with the Vatreni edging them 2-1 thanks to a 109th-minute strike from Mario Mandzukic and Three Lions payers have taken to Instagram to express their disappointment.

Skipper Harry Kane, still the top scorer at the World Cup with six goals to his name, went missing on the night and he posted this:

It hurts a lot. It will hurt for a while. We can be proud and we’ll be back. Thanks for all your support. #ThreeLions #England #WorldCup

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A post shared by Harry Kane (@harrykane) on Jul 11, 2018 at 2:46pm PDT

Brave words from the Tottenham Hotspur striker, but then again, Gareth Southgate’s squad weren’t expected to go very far in Russia.

And, despite fielding a relatively inexperienced squad, they did reach the semi-finals and can still finish third if they beat Belgium on Saturday.

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Marcus Rashford came on in the closing stages of regulation time, but the young forward couldn’t quite have the desired impact and his immediate reaction to the loss said a lot despite there being no words in the caption:

💔

A post shared by Marcus Rashford (@marcusrashford) on Jul 11, 2018 at 3:21pm PDT

When the Manchester United forward recovered somewhat , he did post again:

Really tough right now but this team’s special.. we’ll be back. Hopefully this is the start of the future 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 #ThreeLions

A post shared by Marcus Rashford (@marcusrashford) on Jul 11, 2018 at 4:41pm PDT

Forward Jamie Vardy, another late substitute on the night, was understandably devastated as he penned:

Gutted….. Thank you to every one of you who have been there each step of the way! The support at each game has been incredible 🦁🦁🦁 Sorry we couldn’t cross that final hurdle. Congrats to Croatia and good luck to you in the final 💔 #England

A post shared by Jamie Vardy (@vardy7) on Jul 11, 2018 at 3:48pm PDT

Midfielder Jesse Lingard was proud in defeat:

Was an honour to represent my country at the world cup. The squad we have is a great bunch of lads who are willing to learn and give everything and we can hold our heads high. Thank you to everyone who supported our journey 👏🏾 we dont stop here! ⬆ @england #ThreeLions 🦁🦁🦁

A post shared by JLingz 🔱 (@jesselingard) on Jul 11, 2018 at 3:07pm PDT

Centre-back Harry Maguire, who has been one of the revelations of the tournament, posted this:

Devastated. Absolutely gutted. Thanks to the fans for your incredible support. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿❤🦁

A post shared by Harry Maguire (@harrymaguire93) on Jul 11, 2018 at 3:22pm PDT

Teenaged fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold, an unused substitute against Croatia, expressed:

Absolutely devastated that our journey is over! We enjoyed every moment as a nation, I’d like to thank all the staff and fans for being behind us. It has been an honour to be a part of this special team. We will be back stronger 💔🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A post shared by TAA (@trentarnold98) on Jul 11, 2018 at 4:27pm PDT

Despite taking the lead via Kieran Trippier’s 5th-minute free-kick, England couldn’t hold on and conceded in the second-half through contentious circumstances.

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However, Croatia were the better side over the course of 120 minutes and had it not been for some sensational saves from Jordan Pickford, Southgate’s men would have lost the game long before extra time.