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Battle in the midfield
Midfield is the brain of a football team. And in this final, we have two great brains on both sides. When France shocked Brazil and won the World Cup in 1998, they had the best midfield of their generation. The French midfield of 1998 was studded with gems like Zidane, Pires, Petit, Vieira and the current French national team coach, Deschamps. That midfield was the engine of that team and they delivered. The current French team can also boast of a solid, intelligent midfield even if it cannot be compared to the great 1998 squad. Pogba offers power and flair, Kante runs with at least five or six lungs, making people wonder whether he ever will get tired and Matuidi offers the balance between the two. The combination of Matuidi and Kante allows Pogba to foray forward and unleash his creative side of the game. If these three continue to combine like they have already done in this WC edition, Croatia will sweat.
Croatia is not far behind when it comes to the strength of midfield. They have two great players who have made remarkable achievements in Spanish football - Luca Modric and Ivan Rakitic. Add one of the versatile, box-to-box midfielders in Italian League, Marcelo Brozović into the equation, you get a well-balanced midfield engine. These three may not have the physicality or high levels of energy of that of the French trio, but in terms of football intelligence, the Croatian trio will edge them a bit. Watch out for the creative outbursts of Modric and incisive passes fro Rakitic, it will be a treat to watch.
Verdict: This will be the toughest battle on the pitch. It will be difficult to carve out who will edge who, but the fatigue factor might weaken Croatia a bit.
