My heart says Croatia, my head says France
Tiny (and tired) contender on brink of World Cup history
A tournament that has provided so much excitement draws to a close on Sunday when France and Croatia face off at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
The two sides have had entirely contrasting World Cups up to this point.
Croatia has had to slog through every knockout game (Wednesday’s semifinal win over England was its third straight requiring extra time), while France has rarely had to break a sweat.
France brushed aside Uruguay with ease, did just enough to get past Belgium in the semifinal, while the final score in its game against Argentina deceives — they were the far better team in that 4-3 game and deserved to win.
France is the clear and obvious favourite here, setting up a real potential underdog final.
It’s been one of very few teams to live up to pre-tournament expectations.
This is not to say it has blown away everyone in its path like its lineup might suggest. It has a star-studded team, but manager Didier Deschamps has opted for a more conservative approach to games.
He’s instructed his players to control games at their pace — made possible by France’s world-class midfield pairing of N’Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba — and they’ve scored the goals required to progress, without really wowing anyone.
Someone who gets people on the edge of their seats is Kylian Mbappé, who at 19 years old has been the standout forward of this World Cup.
As the Messi and Ronaldo era draws to a close over the next few years, Mbappé looks like the most likely player to topple their duopoly and challenge for the title of world’s best player.
His pace is frightening, giving him the ability to literally run rings around defenders, but what makes him such a huge talent is that even at his young age, his composure and decision-making are second-to-none.
Croatia, meanwhile, will just be happy to get an extra day of rest to recoup after another exhausting match.
It had to dig deep against England just like it did against Denmark and Russia, so it’ll cherish the extra time to prepare against France.
A lot of players will be nursing minor injuries but there’s no way they’ll allow that to get in their way.
They do, however, face a seriously difficult task in overcoming a far stronger French side on Sunday.
It will be the first time this tournament they face a team stronger than them on paper, and considering their struggles with dispatching the likes of Russia and Denmark, it will take a monumental effort to overcome France.
This game is not played on paper, however, and if this World Cup has taught us anything, it’s that matches don’t follow scripts.
No one could have envisioned Germany finishing last in their group, Spain losing to Russia, or England reaching the semifinals.
It’s been a World Cup filled with shocks. The French know what’s expected of them — especially after choking in the Euro 2016 final against Portugal — and there’s no telling how this pressure will affect their performance.
They’ve rarely needed to shift out of second gear so far but Croatia will make them work harder than they have all tournament.
Croatia has gone far and beyond what most people expected of them. A squad that struggled to even qualify for the tournament now finds itself in the final.
It hasn’t been spectacular but it has done what was needed and is only 90 minutes away from cementing its place as World Cup winners – making it the smallest country to win the World Cup, population wise, since Uruguay won in 1950.
Its road to the final has been an unprecedented struggle, but with history only one win away, there’s no way it’ll let tired legs stop it from fighting until the final whistle.
The likes of Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric will have their work cut out for them in the middle of the park, and the battle for supremacy in midfield is going to be key.
If the Croatian duo can assert itself and take control of the game like it did against England, then France will have to contend with a lot of pressure.
But France will feel confident in the ability of its midfield to combat the genius of Modric, and if it does end up controlling majority possession, then it will be a long night for Croatia.
My heart says Croatia, but my head still says France. Let’s see if the two teams can sign off this World Cup in style.