The big day has come! The final of the World Cup 2018 will see France and Croatia playing for the trophy. The game will take place at the biggest stadium in Russia, Moscow’s Stadion Luzhniki. For both sides, this is a historic moment. France are hoping to win their second World Cup trophy exactly twenty years after winning the first one. For Croatia, this is the biggest football match in their history. All of this means that we’re gonna see a real spectacle on Sunday afternoon.
France
France are big favorites here and for a reason. Their entire squad is made of top-class players, who play for some of the biggest clubs on the planet. It seems that France have at least one amazing player in each position on the pitch. That said, they don’t have a single player who would lead the team, but a bunch of them.
It’s really impossible to say which France player has been the best so far on the tournament. Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann are their top scorer as of this moment, with 3 goals each. On top of that, Griezmann has two assists to his name so far.
Paul Pogba has also been playing well, being instrumental in the midfield, where he always has help from N’Golo Kante, who’s proved to be an unstoppable obstacle for most of the opposition players. We also mustn’t forget France defenders, as well as their goalie. The fact that this team has allowed only 4 goals so far shows that Lloris, Umtiti, Varane, and the rest have been sensational on this tournament.
Croatia
Before this tournament, the biggest success in Croatia’s sports history was the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup. But, this time, they went one step further. Speaking of the World Cup held two decades ago, they lost to France in the semifinal. Surely, this fact can give an even bigger motivation to Croatia players.
Of course, they definitely won’t be lacking any motivation in this match. Winning the World Cup would put their names in their country’s history books, which is why it’s certain that Croatia players will give their utmost on Sunday afternoon.
But, what about their quality? They do have plenty of amazing players in the team, which they’ve proved so many times on this tournament. It all started with the impressive 3-0 win over Argentina, after which they finished on the top of their group.
Croatia then went to play in the knockouts, in which they struggled pretty much, but somehow managed to come to the very end of the tournament. They beat Denmark and Russia on penalties in the Round of 16 and the quarterfinal, respectively. The semifinal against England also went to the extra time, but in this match, they won after 120 minutes.
Similarly to France, Croatia are also superb in all areas. Still, the part of the team that really stands out is their midfield, where they have Luka Modric who is likely to be crowned the best player of the tournament.
Possible Lineups
France:
Lloris – Umtiti, Varane, Pavard, Hernandez – Kante, Pogba, Matuidi – Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud
Croatia:
Subasic – Vida, Lovren, Vrsaljko, Strinic – Brozovic, Rakitic, Modric – Perisic, Rebic, Mandzukic
France vs. Croatia Match Prediction
The stake couldn’t be higher than this, which is why both teams might decide to go into the match carefully. They probably won’t rush it until very late in the game. That said, I feel we might see a draw at the half time, possibly even after the 90 minutes.
France vs. Croatia Betting Tips
- Half Time Draw @1.95 (Unibet)
- Correct Score 1:1 @7.00 (bet365)