MOSCOW — France and Croatia meet in the 2018 World Cup final at Luzhniki Stadium. France is trying to win its second World Cup, matching the feat it achieved in 1998. Croatia, a semifinalist in 1998, when it was eliminated by France, is playing for its first championship.
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How to watch: In the U.S., Fox and Telemundo have the broadcast at 11 a.m. Eastern, but you can stream it here.
Croatia’s Starting Lineup
Goalkeeper: 23 Danijel Subasic (Monaco)
Defenders: 21 Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), 3 Ivan Strinic (Milan), 6 Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), 2 Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: 10 Luka Modric (Real Madrid), 7 Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), 11 Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan)
Forwards: 4 Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan), 18 Ante Rebic (Fiorentina)
17 Mario Mandzukic (Juventus)
Mbappé Has His Priorities in Order
France’s Kylian Mbappé on winning the Ballon D’Or as the world’s best player. “I couldn’t care less about that,” he said. “I want the World Cup. I want to sleep with it.”
Who Is Zlatko Dalic?
It is a fair assumption that few world soccer fans could have picked Croatia’s manager, Zlatko Dalic, out of a lineup before the tournament. Though he had a long professional career as a defensive midfielder, mostly with the Croatian clubs Varteks and Hadjuk Split, his coaching career was unremarkable. His three previous posts before taking the Croatia job were with two Saudi clubs and another in the United Arab Emirates.
But when Croatia fired the coach who had led it through most of qualifying, Ante Cacic, after a string of poor results imperil the team’s chances of qualifying for Russia, Dalic was tasked with leading the team over the line. He has guided it with a light touch here, making few lineup changes and acknowledging that he has deferred to his players. (Asked why he had not subbed in the 90 minutes against England in a grueling semifinal, despite his players’ coming off consecutive extra time games, Dalic admitted, “I wanted to substitute, but nobody wanted to be subbed.”)
France and Croatia, at Home, Are Ready to Watch
Croatia seems like it’s hyped up for the final:
Croatia right now... �� pic.twitter.com/WpbozbgRR6
— Mosleh (@baddiemakhet) July 15, 2018
And, clearly, so is France:
#FRACRO / Petit aperçu de la fanzone au Champ de Mars à Paris actuellement #AllezLesBleus pic.twitter.com/x4DwaiLhLo
— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) July 15, 2018
Another Chance for France
This is France’s second major final in a row. It reached the final of the European Championship on home soil in 2016, but lost to Portugal on a late goal in extra time, 1-0. Some people point to that defeat — a bitter disappointment after they methodically moved through the field to the final — as the danger of Manager Didier Deschamps’s conservative instincts. Should France fall again today as the favorite, expect the first fingers to be pointed his way.
France vs. Croatia: A Friendly Rivalry
Don’t be surprised if there are plenty of hugs and friendly greetings in the tunnel before the match: Antoine Griezmann and Sime Vrsaljko are teammates at Atlético Madrid, and so are Raphael Varane, Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic at Real Madrid. Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi play together at Juventus (where Paul Pogba was employed before joining Manchester United), and Croatia goalkeeper Daniel Subasic and France’s Djibril Sidibe are at Monaco, where until last year they watched the rise of Kylian Mbappé.
An Extra Game for Croatia
With three extra-time victories in the knockout rounds, Croatia has effectively played one more full game than France here.
Hugo Lloris Won’t Wander
There may be no better example of France’s safety-first mentality than the play of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. A roaming player deft with his feet for his club, Tottenham Hotspur, he is under orders not to wander for France. He has been credited with only 11 saves in six games, but that several of them were memorable game-changers — against Belgium’s Toby Alderweireld in the semifinals, against Uruguay’s Martin Caceres in the quarterfinals — says a lot about the success of the strategy.
Graphic
Hear a Mash-up of Every ‘Goooooool’ From the World Cup
We have combined all 163 impassioned cries by Telemundo's announcers into one lung-bursting goal call.
France vs. Croatia Top Story Lines
• While Croatia has not played in a major final, several of its key players have significant experience in them. Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic all have won the Champions League final (Modric has four winners medals with Real Madrid), and so has the substitute Mateo Kovacic.
• Stylistically, today should be a midfield battle, with N’Golo Kanté and Paul Pogba trying to break up whatever Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic try to do for Croatia. France still hasn’t given anyone the sense it has shown all its cards, though, and today may be no different, especially if the French can get a lead. But a Croatian lead could make things a bit more fun. Each team has the talent up front to write its own story.
• Do not expect a goal-fest, though: France has allowed four goals in six games, and Croatia five.
• Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé both have three goals, but would need a hat trick to catch England’s Harry Kane for the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer. Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic, Luka Modric and Ante Rebic all have two goals.
• Should France win today, Didier Deschamps would become the third man to win the World Cup as a player and as a manager, joining Brazil’s Mario Zagalo and West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
Spot the Ball: The Semifinals
France eliminated Belgium. Croatia eliminated England. We eliminated the balls from these World Cup semifinals pictures. See if you can guess where they were.
Some Pregame Reading
• Rory Smith wonders if this might be the best World Cup ever, and with Qatar 2022 and an expanded 2026 on the horizon, whether it might keep that title for a while.
• This pre-World Cup piece on where France finds its players looks more and more prescient every day.
• People undervaluing Croatia are making a mistake.
• Barney Ronay of The Guardian makes the case that Luka Modric, Champions League winner and (potential) World Cup winner has done enough to supplant Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as world player of the year.
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