Croatia vs France: 5 areas where Croatia lost the World Cup Final to France

2018 FIFA World Cup Final: France 4 - 2 Croatia
France won their second World Cup

The stage was set, the occasion was chosen. Two teams had the opportunity to etch their name in history. The whole world was rooting for Croatia it seemed.

It would be a fairytale ending to a nation tormented by war and it would mark a lovely conclusion to a fabulous tournament.

But football, unfortunately, does not rely on fairy tales to be made themselves. It takes a herculean effort to win a game of football and to win the World Cup, you have to be the “crème de la crème”. That is what both teams set out to achieve at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow.

Croatia started the game brightly but was behind as early as the 18th minute, with a Mario Mandzukic own goal.

The hero of the semi-final was a striking example of the fact that life is unfair. But Croatia was not done yet, they had not come so far to give up without a fight. 10 minutes later, their efforts bore fruit, as Perisic’s goal brought them level.

They were heading to the break with the score tied when, in the 38th minute, VAR intervened to confirm that Perisic had handled the ball inside the box. It looked very unlucky, but Griezmann stepped up and calmly slotted the ball into the net.

After the break, Croatia showed intent but was caught on the break by Pogba, who scored in the 59th minute.

In the 65th minute, the Manchester United star found Mbappe, who scored and took the game beyond Croatia. Mandzukic did catch Lloris off guard in the 69th minute, bringing a temporary life to the game, with the score at 4-2.

Ultimately, it was not enough, as France comfortably held on to their second world cup trophy. Croatia looked dejected at the end and quite rightly so. They were so close and yet the World Cup trophy eluded. There were five main reasons for that.


#5 Tiredness

None of France’s six games prior to the finals had gone to Extra Time. On the contrary, Croatia played three Extra Time games in the build-up to the Final.

Two of those went into penalties; all of them were very closely contested. It drained them both emotionally and physically. The constant turmoil of the ups and downs of a football game can suck the juice out of your legs.

In the round of 16, they went behind against Denmark in the very first minute, equalizing three minutes later.

From then on, even 120 minutes of football could not separate them as the game went to penalties. In the quarter-final against Russia, again Croatia went behind in the 31st minute.

They equalised and the game went to extra time, where they looked to have won it, only for Russia to equalise this time.

120 minutes of nerve wrecking football yielded no result, as the game went to penalties again. In the semi-final against England, for the third game running, Croatia went behind, but again they had the legs to come back and force the game to extra time, where Mandzukic won it for them, narrowly avoiding a third penalty shoot-out.

So when Croatia went behind again for the fourth consecutive game in the tournament finale, tiredness crept in, silently.

There was no lack of intent, but they could not be blamed for lack of strength. How strong can a man be? How much more can a person bear? It was too much for this talented team in the end.

#4 Modric not having a good game

2018 FIFA World Cup final: France 4 - 2 Croatia
Modric could not hit the top gear against France

Croatia had 61% ball possession and 83% passing accuracy. They stitched together 548 passes and covered a total of 100 Kilometres.

Yet their engine did not hit top gear, which was because Luka Modric had a very quiet game. The diminutive Croatian looked like a shadow of himself and seemed extremely tired and lost at times.

He had played 604 minutes prior to this game, running 63 Kilometres. He had played a fantastic tournament until the final and had quite deservedly won the Golden Ball.

Modric had, it seemed, given his all to get his team to the World Cup Final and when he arrived at the grand stage, he had left nothing for himself.

Like a selfless saviour, he had waned himself for the cause of the team, to the point that he was exhausted.

Sadly, no one stepped up from his team to take the load off him, to share his burden and run his battle for him. It became the doom for Croatia because apart from the first 15 minutes, Modric never looked in the game.

#3 Psychological damage of going a goal down early

France v Croatia - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final
Croatia seemed to be running away with the game up until the goal

When you go a goal down so early in the game, it affects your nerves. When you go down by an own goal from your striker, it tends to break you and gives the opposition the upper hand.

Croatia seemed to be running away with the game up until the goal. And then, in a flash, everything changed.

France immediately played on the counter, sitting deep, and hitting long balls to their speedy attackers. Croatia managed to equalise but was undone by a controversial penalty.

It meant that they had to chase the game again and in the end got caught out again and again on the break.

#2 Precision of the French finishers

FBL-WC-2018-MATCH64-FRA-CRO
France had six shots on target and scored four goals

France had eight attempts and six of them on target. They scored four goals. Croatia had 15 attempts, with only three of them on target. They scored two.

Perisic looked lively, but Mandzukic seemed to be a totally different person from the clinical striker the World revered.

Rebic was utterly ineffective as well. On the other hand, France took everything that the game brought to their side with open arms.

They embraced their luck like champions do and wherever luck ran out, they strived to make up for it. Griezmann took his penalty with calm and poise.

Pogba’s venomous volley off the right foot was already going in before it was blocked and when the rebound fell to him again, he dispatched it off with composure, with his left foot.

And Mbappe tormented Vida on the counter all through the game. When the chance fell to him, he did not budge and it was his goal that finally broke Croatian backs.

#1 Paul Pogba

2018 FIFA World Cup Final: France 4 - 2 Croatia
2018 FIFA World Cup Final: France 4 - 2 Croatia

They say big players choose big arenas to rise to the occasion. Pogba certainly rose to the occasion, partly because Croatia did not attend to him properly.

But Pogba was not just an attacking force in the Luzhniki Stadium, he was everywhere. He was regularly in the box when France needed him and was composed enough to find his colleagues on the other side of the pitch.

And how brilliantly he found them. Again and again, under waves of Croatian attacks, Pogba regularly found Mbappe and Giroud with exquisite long balls, fighting fire with fire and piling the pressure on the high defense of Croatia.

He regularly joined in on the attack and he was so composed on the ball that Deschamps decided that he could risk taking the phenomenal Kante off and putting on Nzonzi. Kante got away with a rare off game, thanks to Pogba having his back.

In one of those marauding runs into the Croatian half, Pogba found an opportunity for a strike on goal with his right foot. It was blocked, but Pogba was alert, significantly, more aware that the Croatian players and before anyone else could react, he had hit it with his left beyond the reach of Subasic.

It showed composure from the player that would have Jose Mourinho, his manager at Manchester United, rub his hands in glee, and indeed, excite United fans as well. But he did not rest after scoring the goal.

One of his long balls found Mbappe in space and the teenager put the game beyond Croatia. It broke Croatian hearts, but it was nothing less than France and especially the efficient Paul Pogba, deserved.


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Edited by Alan John