This is it!

Moscow, July 14 

A month on and 63 games later, the 2018 World Cup reaches its climax tomorrow as a young France side spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann look to win the trophy for the second time when they take on Croatia in Moscow. It is a final very few people could have anticipated four weeks ago, when the competition in Russia was just beginning. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar have all gone home. Instead it is a gifted French side with the second-youngest squad at the tournament, who face a Croatian side inspired by Luka Modric, arguably the finest midfielder at the moment. 

‘The game of our lives’

“A World Cup final, it’s a bit like a boyhood dream coming true,” said France midfielder Blaise Matuidi. “We are so close to the trophy that we want to touch it. This is the game of our lives.” Beaten on penalties by Italy in the 2006 final, France’s hunger is all the greater after the agony of their defeat as hosts against Portugal in the Euro 2016 final.

“It serves a lesson to us, and it means we know what it is to play in a final,” added Matuidi. France, however, look better now, especially with Mbappe having burst onto the scene. His explosive performance in the 4-3 win over Argentina in the last-16 lit up the competition. 

France are rightly favourites in the final, which is a repeat of the 1998 semifinal. Back then, two Lilian Thuram goals sunk a Croatia team playing in their first World Cup as an independent nation. Twenty years on, Croatia have gone a step further, becoming the smallest nation, with a population of just over four million, to reach the final since Uruguay in 1950.

Exhausting 

After winning all three group games, Croatia have beaten Denmark and Russia on penalties and defeated England in extra-time in the semifinals. It has been a gruelling, exhausting run for Zlatko Dalic’s team, and they must rouse themselves for one last effort. “We took the difficult path, probably we will be the only team to have played eight games to get to the final if you tally up all the minutes,” said Dalic. — AFP

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Numbers game

• 3 France are making their third World Cup final appearance, after winning the trophy on home soil in 1998 and losing to Italy in the 2006 showpiece.
• 0 Croatia have never reached a tournament final of any kind. They were semifinalists in their first World Cup appearance in 1998 after gaining independence following the breakup of Yugoslavia, but lost to eventual winners France 2-1.
• 360 Croatia have played more than 360 minutes of football in their last three matches, excluding time spent on the pitch for penalties in two of them. 
• 90 France, on the other hand, have never needed more than 90 minutes in their knockout wins over Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium 
• 2 is the second international tournament final for France in two years, after also reaching the final of Euro 2016 on home soil only to lose to Portugal.
• 5 In total the two sides have met five times, with France still unbeaten by the Croats. The French have won three matches while two ended in a draw.

Croatia want to settle old score

Croatian soccer fans streaming into Moscow for Sunday’s final are hoping their team can settle an old score with the French dating back to the 1998 tournament. “They are fighting all the time,” said Croatian fan Nikola Kresic. “Maybe we don’t have the best team but they’ve got the biggest heart for sure.”  

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Matchups that could decide the final 

Luka Modric v N’golo Kante

Modric, technically gifted and rich in big match experience, is the beating heart of the Croatia team and can be elusive as he prompts, probes and switches the line of attack. Apparently indefatigable, Modric plays a full role in the defensive effort and has the ability to suddenly pull a defence-splitting pass out of the bag at a key moment.

‘When Kante plays well, France play well’ is a saying with much currency, largely because of the holding midfielder’s ability to snuff out danger in the space in front of the back four. His distribution skills also help in the rapid transition from defence to attack that make France such a threat on the break

Mbappe v Lovren, Vida

Teenager Mbappe is already established as one of the players of the tournament with his raw pace causing huge problems for opposing defences from the start of France’s campaign. His two goals against Argentina illustrated he has a sublime touch to go with his speed. 

Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida have formed a rock-solid central defensive partnership for Croatia during the run to the final, encapsulating the backs-to-the-wall attitude of their resilient side. They were exposed early in the semifinal by the pace of Raheem Sterling, however, and in Mbappe they face a player with a considerably better record of delivering the final product than the England forward.