Croatia: Weary or battle-hardened?
Only two matches to play but the monster that is the
World Cup rolls on. The all-European final in Moscow on Monday morning between France and Croatia will be the ninth time two European teams have chased football’s greatest prize. Italy and Czechoslovakia went to extra time before the hosts won the first all-European final in Rome in 1934. The final gives Croatia a chance to win their first World Cup title while France are chasing their second after the 1998 victory. The stats show two evenly matched teams. France have scored 10 goals and conceded four while Croatia have been slightly more prolific with 12 goals while conceding five. Croatia have taken more shots on goal (100 to 75) but France are more accurate with 33 per cent of their attempts on target versus just 25 per cent for Croatia. The Croatians have more yellow cards (14 to 10) and commit more fouls (101 to 79). According to Fifa’s website, Croatia are the best defensive side in the competition, making more clearances and saves than other teams. But it’s worth noting that Croatia have also played more minutes than anyone else — going to penalties in wins over Denmark and Russia and then extra-time against England. France have needed just 90 minutes in each knock-out win over Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium. So in effect Croatia have played the equivalent of an entire extra match in the knock-out stage. Will it weary them or make them harder to beat?