THE WORLD IS AT THEIR FEET
French plan to stifle Modric will open door for Mbappe to shine
No team can claim to have subdued him for 90 minutes
CROATIA’S march to this World Cup final has been as sensational as it was widely unexpected. That it has latterly been driven by anger at being written off was admitted by the players themselves. Even by the man who makes them tick.
‘English journalists, pundits, they underestimated Croatia and that was a huge mistake. They should be more humble and respect more opponents,’ said Luka Modric. ‘All these words from them we took, we were reading and we were saying: “We will see who will be tired”.’
France certainly will not take the great man’s skills for granted. They will not even take into consideration the fact that their opponents have had a punishing route to tomorrow’s showpiece, involving extra-time in all three knockout games.
They know Modric is a worthy Ballon d’Or contender. But there is no way they will allow him to dictate the game as comfortably as he did for more than an hour against England on Wednesday night. That is not being arrogant. It is being confident in your own abilities to control a match.
While Modric is rightly one of the poster boys of this World Cup, expect N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba to disturb his rhythm in midfield tomorrow.
And then there is the biggest threat of all to Croatia’s chances of what would be a miraculous triumph. Kylian Mbappe.
Until this week, the most imitated move of the World Cup was Neymar rolling around. It was an internet sensation, a playground sensation. And then on Tuesday night, in the match between France and Belgium, something marvellous happened.
Blaise Matuidi played the ball inside to Kylian Mbappe on the edge of the area. With four Belgian players around him, he controlled the ball, deftly, with the bottom of his right boot, shifted it effortlessly towards his left, and backheeled it through the crowd into the path of Olivier Giroud. Suddenly, Neymar did not matter any more.
As Giroud is playing the role of non-scoring striker at this World Cup, nothing came of it. But that hardly mattered. The world had a better, improved image to take home from this tournament. A moment of sublime skill, conjured by a boy.
Mbappe has three goals so far at this World Cup, the most of any teenager since Pele in 1958 — who he will be unable to match unless he scores a hat-trick in the final.
There has been much debate over where Russia 2018 stands in the pantheon of World Cups, whether it might even be the finest, but whatever the view, a defining performance by a 19-year-old in the final would be a crowning glory.
There is the extraordinary pace that so startled Marcos Rojo of Argentina he felt he had no option but to bring Mbappe down in the penalty area. And his finishing in the same match.
‘How do you defend against Mbappe?’ Alan Shearer asked Rio Ferdinand. ‘You look up and say: “Please help me,” Ferdinand replied.
Ultimately, after a difficult start, Dejan Lovren and the rest of Croatia’s backline ably handled the speed of Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard.
Mbappe is a different level of explosive. And, unlike Sterling at this tournament, he can finish. He is absolutely crucial to the way France have played under Didier Deschamps.
Belgium’s players complained bitterly about France’s negative tactics. Their whines took little heed of exactly why Deschamps can play a defensive game on the counter-attack. The quality of the front three: Antoine Griezmann, Giroud and, in particular, Mbappe. Giroud and Griezmann operate unselfishly as the first line of defence and in Mbappe, Deschamps possesses the ultimate transitional weapon.
Pace terrifies, and Mbappe combines it with a directness of purpose, an eye for goal. Like the greats he hopes to emulate, he is forever honing in on the target: the speed, the flicks, the invention, it is all a means to an end. Against
Belgium, out by the touchline, he first shows Marouane Fellaini the ball, then drags it left momentarily, and explodes right. The majority of players would have hugged the wide area for a cross, but Mbappe cuts in.
He has incredibly quick feet, despite the close attention. He has not dominated in every game, but no team can claim to have subdued him for 90 minutes, either, and it is unlikely Croatia will tomorrow.
Perhaps the greatest concern for France’s competitors is the youth of this team and its most precocious talent. Just as Pele was still the driving force in a Brazilian World Cup win 12 years after his first appearance in the tournament, so Mbappe will be younger than Cristiano Ronaldo is now in 2030.
The World Cup has not been retained since 1962 but, again, that feat was achieved by Brazil and Pele, the boy becoming a man, as Mbappe will be by Qatar in 2022.
The average age of this Croatia team is 30. Modric himself is 32. In its existing form, this is the Croatian team’s last chance to get their hands on the greatest prize in football.
Let’s not forget, of course, that in the one-off nature of a final anything can happen. The Croats will see this as their last shot.
If they see any sign of France ‘freezing’ on the day they have the big-time players who can cause real damage.
As they proved against England, going a goal down early will not concern them. They will fight on.
But England do not have a midfield unit anything like this French version. They certainly do not having anything that even comes even near Mbappe.
If the teenager emerges on top of the world after a scintillating performance in the final, it really will be the cherry on the cake of this World Cup he has helped make so delicious.