France vs Argentina match in numbers

A month ago, if someone had predicted that France and Croatia would play the World Cup final in Russia, most of us would have dumped it as an impossible option. But here we are with that spectacularly different reality -- the Les Bleus and the Blazers lining up for today's final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

France are no rank outsiders -- they are a proven force and won the World Cup in 1998. But Croatia have certainly lived up their nickname -- blazing their way to their first-ever World Cup final. And if Croatia win, they will be the ninth nation to lift the coveted trophy.

Do they deserve it? Let's have the facts -- they played three knockout games on the trot for 120 minutes and more importantly they did it the hard way. Croatia won their semifinal against England in style – coming from a goal down to win it 2-1 in extra time, with Mario Mandzukic slamming the winner on 109 minutes. Not only that, they won their three group stage games which included a thumping 3-0 win against two-time world champions Argentina.

This Croatia team have so far not only demonstrated that they have got the qualities, if not pedigree, to go all the way to win the title. They will be up against a team they lost thrice against two draws in the last five meetings, but Croatia's inspirational coach Zlatko Dalic said past statistics would not win his opponents today's final.

“Statics, tradition and head to head -- I don't buy those. Tradition is there to be demolished. We do not mind who is on the other side of the pitch. We have come here to enjoy the moment and give our best. We deserved to play in the final; we want the world to watch Croatia play; we want most of the world to root for us. This is important. We will give our all, we will enjoy our football and whoever is the better team may they win,” Dalic said ahead of the final.

After that semifinal heart-break against France in their maiden World Cup appearance in 1998, Croatia lurched from bad to worse in the following three editions of the World Cup. They made it to Russia at the last moment but since then it has been a spectacular journey for them with Luca Modric playing the key role in a very experienced side.

They might have played more minutes and got less rest compared to France and they have so far proved that they love to grind their way out of a hole. This tough mentality might prove handy for them against an extremely talented yet raw French side, who had only one tough game against Belgium in the semifinal. France were successful in defending a 54th-minute Umtiti lead against Belgium. But the ploy of sitting back against a vastly experienced Croatia side might prove costly for them.

France will bank on the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe to create something on the break. But the key player for the Les Bleus would once again be again Antoine Grizemann and it will be interesting to see who controls the midfield.

France captain Hugo Lloris is well aware that this Croatia team is not only very experienced but have the quality too. He also reminded that they would have to be at their best if they want France to lift the World Cup for a second time and put behind the home disappointment of the Euro 2016 final against Portugal.

Twenty years ago, France joined the exclusive group of World Cup winners, defeating Brazil in the final. Croatia made their first appearance in that year and bowed out, suffering an agonising 2-1 semifinal defeat against France. They will get a second chance at redemption. And if they can do that, it will be gift to the dreamers. Croatia is a county of only four million people, but Dalic promised that the seismic wave back in Croatia would be even bigger than Brazil and Argentina if they win the final.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic stated outright what he felt regarding the controversial penalty call following his side’s 4-2 defeat to France in Sunday’s World Cup final, saying : “You don't give a penalty like that in a World Cup final.”

A debatable penalty awarded with the use of FIFA's new video replay system proved a turning point in the World Cup final on Sunday as debate focused on erronous referee calls.

France and Croatia were level at 1-1 in an evenly contested match when Argentine referee Nestor Pitana was alerted to a possible handball ten minutes from half time and, after checking the off-field screen, he decided Croatia's Ivan Perisic had handled. While there is no doubt that the ball did hit the Croatian’s hand, the focus will remain on whether the handling of the ball was intentional.

Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty and France went on to win 4-2. Even after the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system, it remained a highly contentious call. Many former players called the awarding of the penalty a dubious decision with former England and Liverpool defender perhaps rightly suggesting that ‘It’s the referee’s mistake, not VAR! VAR is just the replay of an incident.’

The decisions proved to be a turning point in the match as France’s influence grew following their second goal. Dalic said he thought such a decision had no place in a game of such magnitude.

“We played well but the penalty knocked the wind out of us and after that it was very difficult," Dalic said after congratulating France on their victory. "I just want to say one sentence about that penalty: You don't give a penalty like that in a World Cup final.”

The Croatia coach conceded that his team had let in two ‘soft goals’ but lamented the fact that things did not go their way when they were in a good position to fight for the match.

“We wanted to win the World Cup so much, but that's football," he said. "The French did not surprise us; we let in two soft goals coupled with an own goal and a penalty.

“What we had in terms of luck in this tournament, we lacked today. When you concede four goals, you cannot expect to win the game.”

Neverthless, Dalic went on to congratulate France and praised his team’s effort after they gave a vastly talented French side a run for their money.

“I congratulate France on their title. We played well in the first 20 minutes, we controlled the game. Then there was an own goal from a set play. We came back to life, dominated and then the penalty was given,” Dalic said.

“I have to congratulate my players, it was maybe the best game we played in this tournament; we controlled the match but we conceded. Against such a strong side as France you must not make mistakes. We are a bit sad, but we have to be proud as well for what we’ve done.”

David Beckham will be thinking of restaurants with delicious food as he won a friendly England versus Sweden bet against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the terms of the bet stating that if England beat Sweden in the quarter-final to book a place in the World Cup 2018 semi-final, Zlatan would be buying dinner for Beckham where ever he wants in the world.

England defeated Sweden 2-0 in their quarter final match of the World Cup—courtesy of goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli and booked a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The two former Paris Saint-Germain team mates entered into a wager ahead of the quarter-final clash between England and Sweden. Ibrahimovic was the one who initiated the bet through social media and Beckham also responded promptly.

Ibrahimovic vowed to take ex-England skipper Beckham out for a meal at any restaurant in the world if he found himself on the losing side.

That promise was countered by Beckham that Ibrahimovic could pick any item he wanted from Ikea if the Three Lions came unstuck.

As Gareth Southgate’s side continued their impressive run in the World Cup 2018 and came over Sweden after a comfortable 2-0 victory, Beckham can start readying himself for a delicious treat. However, Ibrahimovic would now have to join Beckham at an England game, wearing an England shirt and indulge in an English delicacy at the interval, as per the terms of the bet.

Ibrahimovic is yet to comment on the bet since full-time, but he did express his enormous admiration for the players who reached the quarter-finals.

“Every player should get a golden ball in Sweden,” Ibrahimovic tweeted. “What they did will be remembered forever. Thank you for the show.”