World Cup Final: France vs Croatia, July 15 [R]

Should be a good final. Cannot wait. I would say France are slight favorites.

 

Sorry OP, but I have to root for Croatia. This is their golden generation, and they might not get another chance in IDK 30-40 years.

France is slight favorites, but I think Croatia can upset the odds and win this World Cup. Dalic is a tactician who really does know how to read games and react. Hopefully he gets his tactics right.

France is a tough team to beat, but if there is one team that can beat France, it is Croatia.

 

One finalist has 90+ more minutes of playtime than the other...

Hope the game isn't decided on stamina.

 

I doubt it. France have an extra day to rest, but Croatia don't need to travel so it pretty much evens out.

 

I genuinely want Croatia to win in the final Something about a new team winning the cup & an underdog excites me

 

You'd think Croatia would be exhausted by now, and maybe they are, but after all these struggles, I have a feeling Croatia will have the mettle to overcome France.

 

Modric is Croatia's talisman. He's the backbone of this team, yet he was nowhere near his best by the second half of the game against England. He could barely do anything other than run himself into the ground. His passes weren't clicking, he was getting beat to the ball, and Croatia as a whole thereafter struggled to string together more than two passes put forward when they needed something, which was largely a credit to how well England were setup. Time and again they played the ball back and England looked to be in a position to see out a win at 1-0, but Perisic spoiled those plans. I think Modric is the best midfielder in the world, but come the final, he's going to be facing the toughest midfield he's faced yet this tournament in the form of Matuidi, Pogba and Kante.

Does Modric have enough in the tank to out-compete his French counterparts? Unless he really does have it in him to find an extra gear deep within, I just can't see him doing it and if he can't, then Croatia are going to have trouble keeping the ball and protecting their defense, which could spell disaster given how much quality France have upfront in Griezmann and Mbappe especially. France could run away with it. They certainly have the quality to do that.

The other key for Croatia is Perisic. He saved Croatia against England and he nearly won the game for them singlehandedly. That's a big positive for Croatia. He's the one Croatia will need to look to in order to stand any chance and however Croatia set themselves up, they'll need to make sure they can get him into position to take on Pavard, much like Belgium did with Hazard. That's the weak link in the French set-up.

France look to be favorites, but we've seen them waffle at this stage before. Portugal showed a level of resilience in the Euro 2016 final, despite the injury to Ronaldo, that France did not appear to possess. Psychologically, France didn't look strong enough in that loss to Portugal. I doubt that happens again this time, but you can't rule that out. Giroud has failed to score. Pogba isn't living up to his full billing and is under to pressure to produce something special. Also, it seems a lot rests on the young shoulders of Mbappe, the major source of inspiration in the French attack. Maybe the weight of expectations may prove too much to bare once more.

 

I think you overrate the French midfield a bit. Kante is a beast, but really Pogba is overrated and is really not that good. Matuidi is inconsistent. Some days he can be amazing, while other days he can be nowhere to be seen. I know as I am a Juventus fan, and have witnessed both of those players play regularly day & night.

Yes Modric was definitely not at his best today, but he still was not that bad. If he puts out his best performance against France, the game will be amazing. Also don't forget about Rakitic though. He is also a world class midfielder who defends very well and also has great ball control.

To be honest, Croatia will likely NOT play a high line, which will make it hard for the French attackers to do much with their pace. And to tell you the truth, throughout this whole tournament, I have seen France use pace and skill with much of the quality they have up front, but they couldn't do anything with it in front of goal. Giroud is not that good of a player if you ask me, and I feel that France could use better strikers. Mbappe & Griezmann are the players that the defense will need to watch out for the most.

Also the skills of Perisic & Rebic on the wings could really cause problems for the French defense. This game is 50-50 and could go either way. Its a World Cup Final, which means no team is a strong favorite. France might be slight favorites, but only slight.

 

Croatia will be an extremely tough team to beat. They were not so tired yesterday, I don't think they will be much more by Sunday. We in France are all hoping that Deschamps took a lesson from the 2016 final.

 

Croatia made three straight come from behind win.... that built characters

 

So Croatia is in the final somehow after 3 straight draws/ties over 90/120 minutes. Has that ever happened before?

If France scores first, this could get ugly fast. Croatia has played 90 minutes more football and has one day less of rest. An older team on extremely tired legs playing a lightning fast French attack is a recipe for disaster, and yellow cards. If Dembele comes in too, look out. On paper, this is probably the biggest mismatch in a World Cup Final since 1962 or 1958.

 

And two penalty shootout wins. Luck usually runs out sooner rather than later...

 

They will be dead tired. It should be something like West Germany in the 1982 final.

 

I think it’s payback time for the 1998 semifinal. Slavic team in a Slavic country.

I’d put one million dollars on Croatia last night if I could.

And same goes for the Final.

France can be easily beaten by being physical with and taking Mbappe out of the game. Just talking hard tackles (yellow cards). It will slow his speed and skill. This will slow his finesse style. We’ll see if the ref protects him with early yellows... They didn’t protect Neymar and Hazard. Since Web in 2010 the refs have been letting hard physical play go in the final and have been slow to card. I think taking mbappe out of the game mentally and physically through marking and physicality would totally disrupt France’s
Strategy As they have become dependent on him to open the space for Griezmann to work. That Belgium semifinal, France used Mbappe as a trump card to keep Belgium honest and pinned back their defense from going forward.

Dembele while fast is strictly a one dimensional player from what I’ve seen of him at Barcelona. His lack of vision drives Messi nuts.

If Mbappe is ineffective/ hurt France still has a ton of attacking talent... in lemar fekir thauvin and GrieZmann. Plus they control FiFA administration lol... no foul on hazard in the semifinal.

Kante in midfield is nuts. You have to use his speed and read of the game against him. Short pass. Let him go to cover. Then lob over to the opposite wing [I like the matchups of Croatia’s wings (perisic) vs Pavard and Hernandez] ... Something Modric and rakitic have the passing control to do. Umiti has been susceptible to mental errors at Barcelona so I expect the goal to come from there whether on the ground or a Mandzukic header.

 

They won’t break mentally. The toughest fight is against someone who won’t give up regardless of skill level.

 

I’d bet if I wasn’t scared Platini and his friends will use their influence. They changed the seeding rules of the 2014 World Cup for them. Then made the euro multi country only after they hosted. It’s quite difficult to be sure of your prediction and analysis of the game when they have so much administrative influence.

 

It's not like they are walking there. Extra days rest + 90 minutes of game time played less makes a bit of an advantage for France. Anyway, going to the match hopefully the best team wins.

 

Good luck to both.

 

is there going to be a 3rd place playoff thread too?

 

Yes.

 

Allez les Bleus! Get the cup!

 

Ha ,I wouldn't bet on Croatias "tiredness ",people said the same thing last game.Hard to beat a team that's tactically sound but more important,they're playing with heart and are relentless in their attack.