In an effort to determine the world cup 2018 winner, a team of 18 analysts from UBS ran 10,000 simulations of the tournament and identified Germany as the winner of the World Cup, with Brazil and Spain following Germany as the probable winners of the trophy. While it’s plausible that predictions are not always true, even the popular opinion stated that Germany would go long into the World Cup. However, World Cup 2018 was hell-bent on proving Cesc Fabregas’ tweet:
“I said it once, I say it twice. Football is fucking unbelievable.”
Almost as if the World Cup 2018 had a job to prove that artificial intelligence wasn’t the answer to everything and that human beings had the ability to remain unpredictable, it gave us a finalist whose World Cup winning chance was predicted at 0.2%, lower than the chances of Iran, Nigeria, Peru to name a few. Croatia, a country that appears like the mouth of a dragon, became the finalist after breaking 50 million English hearts by sending the team instead of Football home. The country known only to Game of Thrones fanatics till 11th July, 2018 has suddenly become a household name.
Qualification troubles
People who had been witness to Croatia’s world cup qualifying campaign would have had to pinch themselves repeatedly in order to believe that this nation reached the finals of World Cup 2018. During the qualifying rounds for World Cup 2018, Croatia were on the brink of losing a chance to travel to Russia when the country’s football federation sacked the erstwhile coach, Cacic and appointed the current coach Zlatko Dalic to shake things up for the Croats. The new appointment helped and Croatia won the remaining qualifying matches to secure a place in World Cup 2018. They haven’t looked back since.
Croatia’s World Cup – 2018 campaign and key players
Croatia’s World Cup campaign has been one of the most arduous of the campaigns by any team at the world cup. Croatia has played full 90 minutes more than their counterparts France, with all the knockout matches of Croatia going to the Extra time, two of which had to be decided on penalty shootout. More than finesse and tactical acumen, Croatia has relied on strong sense of teamwork and robust mental character. Croatia’s resilience in coming from behind and winning matches is equivalent to the Croatian geography’s resilience in not letting Bosnia & Herzegovina enjoy a coastline. To put into perspective what a big deal it is for such a young country to enter into the World Cup finals, we must note that Croatia wasn’t even formed (Croatia gained independence in 1991) when England last entered the semi-finals of a World Cup (1990) before 2018’s campaign. Regular football watchers would however have considered Croatia as the dark horse in the World Cup, owing to their experience and ability in the midfield.
Luka Modric in particular has been instrumental in Croatia’s road to the finals, pulling the strings from the midfield with 368 passes (the most by any player among the two finalists) and scoring two important goals and an assist. The 32-year old has been such an eminent presence in the Croatian side that his importance could be gauged by the fact that he has played 604 minutes of Croatia’s 630 minutes and earned 3 Man-of-the-match awards, one of them against Argentina, the 2014’s World Cup finalists, whom Croatia thumped 3-0 in group stages. You’d expect nothing less from the person who has witnessed the hardships of Balkan war, whose grandfather was shot dead in front of his eyes, whose family was forced into refugee camps and who chose football as a catharsis in constant ringing of bullets and bombs.
Ivan Rakitic’s 549 minutes on the field might not seem as important as Modric’s, but it would be too harsh an opinion about him. Rakitic netted the most important penalties against Denmark and Russia during their penalty shootouts and his experience has always helped Croatia govern the midfield. Rakitic’s box-to-box exploits might not disturb the statistics but his shrewd runs on the counter attacks and his ability to find spaces in opposition’s third have helped Croatia create pressure on its opponents.
Ivan Perisic is another player who has witnessed his left-footed rockets hit the post for the most times during this world cup. Perisic, however, netted the quintessential equaliser against England which proved crucial in their first entry into the Finals of a World Cup. He was adjudged man of the match in the semi-final with his constant threats down the left wing, creating chances and making 7 attempts on the goal. England’s 3-man defence couldn’t cope with Perisic’s marauding runs, especially in the second half and so Croatia would bank on him to create problems for France’s right flank.
Mario Mandzukic takes the credit for creating history in the 27 year old nation’s football campaign. He has scored 2 goals and an assist during Croatia’s road to finals and has been instrumental not only in finishing but has also assisted the Croatian midfield when the opposition pressed high. The Juventus forward has utilised his experience of playing at the highest levels of club competitions to the fullest and France must be vary of his sneaky manoeuvres in the final third.
France and Croatia: How they differ
France has been clinical, thanks to their individual talents such as Antoinne Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, both netting thrice during the world cup. Mbappe, the 19-year old wonderkid has dismantled strong defences with his flourishing pace and supremely accurate finishing (5 out of 6 shots on target). France’s adaptability is its biggest strength. France could easily switch formations, thanks to the quality of its players who are equally adept in multiple positions. N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba have been very important in thwarting attacks and initiating vicious counters from their half. France has defended brilliantly during the world cup, conceding just 4 goals and has secured 4 clean sheets in the 6 matches it has played, thanks to captain Lloris’ 11 saves. France has scored 10 in their road to finals and their adaptability coupled with individual brilliance has played a huge role in their victory march.
Croatia on the other hand, has been the most hardworking of all sides, never losing its composure in pressure situations. Croatia has covered 644 kms distance in 6 matches, the most by any team during World Cup-2018. Croatia’s biggest strength is its midfield, creating the highest number of passes with a staggering accuracy. During its road to the finals, Croatia has scored 12 goals and conceded 5, however, with only 2 clean sheets, which is matter of concern for the Croats. Talking about the experience in handling difficult situations, Croatia has come back from behind in the normal time of all of their knockout matches and has won two penalty shootouts.
The Coaches
Looking at the lives and achievements of France’s and Croatia’s coaches, no one would have thought these two individuals would be pitted against one another in the biggest showdown of the footballing world. Both have played football as defensive midfielders but the similarity ends there. It’s the battle of a World Cup winner against a player who has never played first team football.
France’s Didier Deschamps captained the France side that won 1998 Fifa World Cup, defeating Croatia in the semi-final and Brazil in the finals. He was also responsible for France’s brilliant Euro 2016 campaign, losing heartbreakingly to Portugal in the finals. France has been one of the contenders to win the world cup 2018 right from the start, all thanks to Deschamps’ tactical ingenuity in switching France to his desired formation depending on the situation
Contrast this with Zlatko Dalic, whose simple white shirt-black trousers appearance also resonates with his ability to keep things simple. Dalic has been prolific with his man-management skills in this campaign. He has never given up the belief in his midfield’s ability to pull the strings and his players have rewarded him by sticking to the tactics. The talismanic Modric has been a focal point of Croatian side, thanks to Dalic’s formation revolving around Modric and Rakitic’s ability to spray the ball around into spaces.
It will be sumptuous to witness the battle of these two teams diametrically opposite in their abilities, one squad depending on its individual talent and adaptability, while the other depending on maintaining its status-quo and believing in hard work and determination, no matter how critical the situation. At such a high level and in such a competitive environment, both the coaches’ approach to the game shall be the deciding factor.
Stat Courtesy: FIFA official website.
Highsenberg 
Good read mate