Cinderella side croatia has A chance to beat france
Composed France must contain opponent’s dangerous attack, writes Bob Lenarduzzi.
The World Cup’s final is set, with Cinderella side Croatia facing France on Sunday.
Croatia is the smallest nation to reach the final since Uruguay did it in 1950.
France is the favourite and has been the most consistent team over the course of the FIFA tournament in Russia. It’s a young squad, but well-organized and composed.
Didier Deschamps is a conservative coach who focuses on the fundamentals and doesn’t like to take chances. He left a lot of talented attackers off of the team because he wanted better balance.
The key player for France is Antoine Griezmann.
He’s been fantastic. Every time he’s on the ball, you feel like he’s going to make something happen.
Young Kylian Mbappe is a handful with his pace and skill, while in the midfield, Paul Pogba has looked better with each game.
Up front, Olivier Giroud has played 465 minutes and has yet to score in the tournament. He’s still going to start for France, and deservedly so. Giroud has a role with this team and he’s doing his job well at both ends of the pitch. Scoring would be icing on the cake.
In its semifinal match, France did a good job of limiting the space in which Belgium’s dangerous front three could operate. Much of the credit goes to the young and mobile central defenders Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti.
They’ll look to do a better job of watching Mario Mandzukic than England did.
Croatia’s main weapon, though, is its midfield. Look for N’Golo Kante’s tireless running to try closing down Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. When Croatia does break through, goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris will need to come up big.
Two years ago, France reached the final of Euro 2016 and lost to Cinderella side Portugal. Maybe France underestimated its opponent then, so I don’t expect the team to make that mistake now.
As for Croatia, a key factor is coach Zlatko Dalic. You look at his resume and ask: Who is this guy and how is he coaching in a World Cup final? He was hired just nine months ago on an interim basis, despite having no international experience as a coach or player.
Dalic has never coached at even a medium-sized European club, and spent the last eight years in Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates with mixed success.
But when I see him on the bench, he always looks calm and composed. Body language like that rubs off on players.
What’s impressive about Croatia is the team’s ability to turn it up when needed. And when Croatia has raised its game, its opponents have had no answer.
Against England, it started from the back, with Croatia pushing its fullbacks forward, allowing wingers Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic to cut inside.
Perisic in particular, destroyed England.
The fullbacks, Sime Vrsaljko on the right and Ivan Strinic on the left, could be key figures in this game.
Croatia has seen three consecutive games go to extra time. That’s 90 minutes more than France has played. But if fatigue and injury is a worry, Croatia hasn’t shown it.
Modric hasn’t slowed down and is proving why he’s rated the world’s best midfielder. He and Rakitic and Mandzukic are all Champions League winners and big-game players. I expect them to deliver.
As for Saturday’s third-place match, it’s shaping up to be a repeat of England and Belgium’s group game, in which both fielded B squads and didn’t care much about winning.