Final to cap ‘fantastic’ Cup
Rallies, upsets, underdogs mark thrilling event
MOSCOW — We have reached the last day of an extraordinary World Cup, one sure to enter the archives as perhaps the finest in soccer history.
FIFA, the sport’s international governing body, tends to exaggerate anything under its authority, but on Friday, its charming Swiss president, Gianni Infantino, was onto something when he called it a “fantastic, incredible, unbelievable World Cup.”
The well-run tournament has blessed the masses with spellbinding theater, few duds and 20 goahead or tying goals after the 80th minute. There was a rousing run by the lowranked host team, the early dismissal of the reigning champion, the fall of titans, the Viking Clap and an unconventional final four.
The crowning moment will play out Sunday at Luzhniki Stadium between teams with disparate histories in not just soccer but just about everything.
On the sporting front, France has won championships at every level of men’s soccer. Croatia, a small and young nation that has manufactured a disproportionate number of world-class players, has won exactly nothing.
But after a tournament of 63 matches in 12 venues across four weeks in 11 cities and four time zones from the Baltic to the Urals, these two will clash before almost 80,000 spectators on site and an estimated 1 billion watching on TVs, laptops and smartphones.
“There is nothing more beautiful,” France coach Didier Deschamps said Saturday, “than to play in a World Cup final.”
Deschamps ought to know. He captained France’s first and only championship squad in 1998 and, with a victory Sunday, would join Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer as the only men to raise the famous trophy as both player and coach.
Deschamps’ Les Bleus are the favorites, but not definitively. Stacked with elite players, they have left audiences wanting more — a shortcoming that falls largely on Deschamps, a former blue-collar midfielder, and his careful approach. Even with Kylian Mbappe, the electrifying 19- year-old attacker, France has remained in third gear for much of the tournament.
Acutely focused on the prize, the French have not allowed external forces to affect them.
Twice Saturday, goalkeeper Hugh Lloris accentuated the importance of staying in the “bubble.”
“We have risen to the challenge,” he added stoically. “The challenge tomorrow is bigger.”
Contrasting Deschamps’ calculated approach, the Croatians have embraced their historic surge and seem fully at ease ahead of both their first appearance in the final and their bid to become the smallest country to win the title since Uruguay in 1950.
“We can’t be more proud when we see how much joy we’ve brought” back home, coach Zlatko Dalic said. “Win or lose, there will be a seismic event.”
Despite Croatia’s smallness in land and population, this is not a case of a puny soccer nation surfacing out of nowhere. Retaining the development and refinement of talent since breaking from Yugoslavia in 1991, the country has manufactured the quality capable of advancing deep into a major tournament.
Twenty years ago, it got to the World Cup semifinals before losing to France.
In subsequent years, however, the Croatians either failed to quality for the tournament or bowed in the group stage.
Getting to Russia was not easy either. Dalic took charge in October after a 1-1 home draw against Finland.
“He entered the picture at a very difficult moment,” midfielder Luka Modric said. “Our qualification was in doubt. He talked us up and gave us self-belief and confidence.”
Victory at Ukraine and triumph over Greece in a two-leg playoff secured passage.
And as the Russian campaign reaches the climax, “now, there is no pressure,” Dalic said. “It’s going to be a full house (and) the whole world is watching. You go out and play your best football. Don’t let anything lead you astray. Simply, this is the greatest moment in the lives of all of us.” Third-place match: For Belgium and England, the third-place match was more like a dress rehearsal for future finals.
At least they hope.
The Belgians earned their best World Cup finish by beating England 2-0 on Saturday in a match both saw as the start of a push for the European Championship title in 2020 or the World Cup in 2022.
“With this winning mentality you can win trophies,” said Eden Hazard, who scored Belgium’s second goal. “In two years, in four years, we will be better. We have young players. They are very good also in the team. They push all of us.”
Thomas Meunier and Hazard both scored at St. Petersburg Stadium in a match between the two semifinal losers.
England matched its best World Cup result — fourth in 1990 — since winning the tournament for the only time in 1966.
“Today shows there’s room for improvement. We’re not the finished article. We’re still learning. We’re still getting better,” England striker Harry Kane said. “We don’t want to wait another 20-odd years to get into another major semifinal.”
Both Belgium and England were playing for the seventh time in 26 days, but the Belgians entered the match with an extra day of rest.
Meunier’s goal matched a World Cup record for Belgium by having 10 different players score in a tournament, something only done before by France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.
Associated Press contributed