France take on Croatia in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 on Sunday in Moscow.
Can Croatia create history by breaking into an exclusive club of nations to have won the trophy or will Didier Deshchamps fashion a second title, 20 years after he led France to their only World Cup win in 1998?
These are the question that will be answered when a confident France side take on a determined Croatia team in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 on Sunday in Moscow.
Les Bleus have one of the youngest sides in the tournament led by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe. But they also have they experienced presence of veterans likes captain Hugo Lloris. On the other hand, Croatia will be led by Luka Modric, still in his prime at 32, who is one of world's dynamic playmakers.
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. Croatia have never reached a tournament final of any kind. They were semi-finalists in their first World Cup appearance in 1998 after gaining independence following the breakup of Yugoslavia, but lost to eventual winners France 2-1.
Croatia needed extra time and penalties to beat Denmark in the round of 16 and Russia in the quarter-finals. They also needed extra time to edge England in the last four. Croatia have played more than 360 minutes of football in those three matches, excluding time spent on the pitch for penalties in two of them. France needed just 270 minutes in their three knockout games to reach the final.
After topping their group, France beat Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium to reach the final but never needed more than 90 minutes each time.
France have also had an extra day of rest having beaten Belgium 1-0 in their semi-final on Tuesday. Croatia won 2-1 after extra time against England on Wednesday.
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, including their Euro 2004 encounter (2-2).
France v/s Croatia Final: Head to Head
The two sides have met five times, with France still unbeaten by Croatia. France have won three matches while two ended in a draw, including their Euro 2004 encounter (2-2).
France v/s Croatia Final: Probable starting XIs
France XI: Hugo Lloris, Lucas Hernandez, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane, Benjamin Pavard, Ngolo Kante, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.
Croatia XI: Danijel Subasic, Vedran Corluka, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic, Ivan Rakitic, Marcelo Brozovic, Ante Rebic, Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic.
France v/s Croatia Final: Prediction
Like many neutral fans, we would love to see a Croatian victory. However, France are a much better side and have improved a lot thorogh the course of the tournament. Croatia may finally feel the fatigue after three long matches, France have the pace and power to take adavantage of that. France 1-0 Croatia.
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