World Cup: FINAL: France vs. Croatia, 7/15/2018

[Live in the Now]

This isn't a thread for ridiculous wishes for 50 year old men to play sports. I will ban people from it if need be and if you think I'm talking about you, don't respond to this post.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

How did a World Cup favourites Argentina do? I would have considered Poland making the quarterfinals a huge success.

Favourites by whom?

Poland the Europeans were out scored by a south american scrub in Mina.

 

[S E P H]

Favourites by whom?

Poland the Europeans were out scored by a south american scrub in Mina.

The entire footballing world? Trying to downplay freakin Argentina is kind of funny, especially to Poland.

Marcelo better than Modric?

Never said that, just stating he can give him his run for his money. That's not because how bad Modric is, but how Marcelo is probably the best fullback in the game. Sure it's a lousy position, but he's so damn intelligent at his position that he's like a second winger on his flank with even some free roaming ability because he knows when to pinch (and cut inside).

 

[Bon Esprit]

I said it in anther thread here: "Maybe Croatia has their 1998 again". Well, they have, and are even more successful. France can stop them, they are better, but this Croatia team will never give up and won't stop trying like Belgium did.

Safe bet is France, but remember 2004.

 

[Corto]

It's one game, anything can happen. Set piece, early goal and counters, red card, just a great or a bad day for players etc.

I'd say the odds are maybe 55-45/60-40 at best in France's favor, but no more than that.

While Varane and Umtiti are probably the best NT CB pairing, people will still look down on Lovren and Vida because of Lovren memes and never having watched Vida play. On-form Lovren is a world class defender, as Klopp likes to say.
They've been fantastic, shutting down whoever needed shutting down and being dominant at it.
Edge to France, but not nearly by as much as most people (and pundits) might think.

Full backs... Vrsaljko is the best player out of the 4, but Strinic is the weak link.
On balance, probably even, with Simeone-coached teammates Vrsaljko v Hernandez facing off.

Midfield. France are great. Athletic, strong, fast, but compared to Croatia, limited creation.
Modric and Rakitic don't need mentioning, and people still don't know who Brozovic is.
Respect to Kante and Pogba, but edge Croatia.

Forwards. Croatia's front 3 are tireless, they will run themselves into the ground, they will win balls and duels, they will pressure the opponent... It's Rebic's coming out party, Perisic is the X factor who can decide games, and Mandzukic will battle it with anyone.
Ultimately though, Griezmann and Mbappe are absolutely top notch, world class forwards, and this is France's biggest advantage.

Whatever happens, I'm proud of the Croatian boys.
They can win this, though France are the favorites (rightly so).

 

[Vasilevskiy]

What would you guys do in this situation?
I was in Vegas back in May and placed a futures bet on France to win it all at 7-1. I put down 500.
So the potential return is decent.
I’ve been holding off on hedging till now. Would you guys hedge the bet and put an online bet on Croatia to win on Sunday? If so at what amount?

Absolutely. Place 1000 on Croatia to win the cup at 7/4. If France wins you net 2500 net, if Croatis wins you net 1250 net.

 

[Power Man]

Croatia has not played well in this tournament, so I pick France.

Croatia has been clutch though

 

[Tuggy]

France. They were my bet before it started, so show me the $$$!

 

[Suiteness]

Croatia came back from behind in all of their knockout matches, that's crazy.

I don't see this final being much different than the last two, 1-0, quite possibly in extra-time again.

 

[Luigi Habs]

Who was the poster that was shitting on Mandzukic for being a starter before the WC?

He’s been great for Croatia.

 

[Harry22]

Heard Lilian Thuram is making a comeback for this game

 

[NyQuil]

It might be interesting if France gets the early goal and tries to coast.

Doesn't seem to work, and if the match is tied up, it's hard to switch back into aggressive offensive mode again.

 

[Harry22]

It might be interesting if France gets the early goal and tries to coast.

Doesn't seem to work, and if the match is tied up, it's hard to switch back into aggressive offensive mode again.

I think France has much more finishing talent than England. If they get the same chances England got, France could win 2-0 or even 3-0. But after the Euro 2016 final, I will not take anything for granted. They need to play like the best team of the tournament that they are.

 

[YEM]

Perhaps this is a fluke run as Chelsea's CL win or Vegas's run to the Cup Finals, but I am enjoying it even if it makes me look wrong.

not a flukey run, but a fortunate one
Denmark->Russia->England is a pretty easy path to a world cup final
2014 finalists had Switzerland->Belgium->Netherlands & Algeria->France->Brazil

 

[Suiteness]

I think France has much more finishing talent than England.

The amount of chances dying at Giroud's feet tell me otherwise.

 

[Harry22]

The amount of chances dying at Giroud's feet tell me otherwise.

They also have Mbappé, Greizmann, Pogba to finish.

 

[YNWA14]

I think Croatia's run to the final has been underestimated. France is going to have their hands full, and while they are the favourites I wouldn't say it's a big gap. Croatia not only have the best player left in the tournament, they also seem to have the best chemistry as a team. Then you factor in the resilience and mental fortitude they've shown, while getting to play the underdog...

France bested the strongest team. Before that they topped Uruguay. Croatia had an easier road to the final and fought doggedly for every win. I have to wonder how much they'll have left in the tank. France, I believe, is a superior team and Mbappe is the coming of something special. Forced to pick I'd roll with France but I want Croatia to win. The underdog story is great and their still impressive. Amazing how such a small country can produce the talent they have.

While we're at it we can mention that Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 before France had a crack at them (and won 4-3). They also beat Nigeria 2-0, and almost every goal against them has needed to be perfect, or a set piece.

I think France has much more finishing talent than England. If they get the same chances England got, France could win 2-0 or even 3-0. But after the Euro 2016 final, I will not take anything for granted. They need to play like the best team of the tournament that they are.

What chances did England get exactly? There's some weird narrative that England dominated and had a ton of chances. They put a lot of pressure on Croatia but the reason so many people are talking about 1 missed chance is because...well, it was pretty much the only good chance they had to get a 2nd goal (and it was flagged offside anyway). Even their first was from a free kick (1 of 2 shots on goal all game). Croatia has defended extremely well all tournament; almost every goal against them IIRC has been from a set piece with a bunch of havoc or a Cheryshev wondergoal.

 

[Harry22]

What chances did England get exactly? There's some weird narrative that England dominated and had a ton of chances. They put a lot of pressure on Croatia but the reason so many people are talking about 1 missed chance is because...well, it was pretty much the only good chance they had to get a 2nd goal (and it was flagged offside anyway). Even their first was from a free kick. Croatia has defended extremely well all tournament; almost every goal against them IIRC has been from a set piece with a bunch of havoc or a Cheryshev wondergoal.

England dominated the first half and had a couple of chances to make it 2-0, including a post and Kane missing on the rebound. France beat the better teams, this cannot be underestimated. Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 yes and was their most impressive win but since then needed PK to squeak by inferior opponents in Denmark and Russia.

Both teams are deserved finalists and the game will be close.

 

[YNWA14]

England didn't really dominate at all. They pressured Croatia, but Croatia was already pushing their influence into the game after the 15th minute.

Again, Croatia outshot England 22 to 11, and had 7 shots on target to England's 2 (one of which was from a free kick). When did England hit the post? You mean the offside chance that Kane had? Again, that's the same chance. England gambled going all in early to try and hit a tired Croatia before they could get their feet under them and burned themselves out while Croatia soaked up the pressure quite well. France will not play the same way, but let's not act like England were creating a ton of chances they just couldn't bury...they didn't.

 

[Ivan13]

England dominated the first half and had a couple of chances to make it 2-0, including a post and Kane missing on the rebound. France beat the better teams, this cannot be underestimated. Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 yes and was their most impressive win but since then needed PK to squeak by inferior opponents in Denmark and Russia.

Both teams are deserved finalists and the game will be close.

Which was called offside? They had one chance after that in regulation, the one where Lingard missed the goal by five feet. Speaking of teams they beat to get here, we didn't play world-beaters, but neither did France save for Belgium. They barely beat Australia and Peru, drew level with Denmark, beat a broken Argentine team, Cavani-less Uruguay and Belgium. Listening to some you'd think they got past Brazil, Germany and God knows who and that we played the likes of Panama.

 

[kovacro]

Which was called offside? They had one chance after that in regulation, the one where Lingard missed the goal by five feet. Speaking of teams they beat to get here, we didn't play world-beaters, but neither did France save for Belgium. They barely beat Australia and Peru, drew level with Denmark, beat a broken Argentine team, Cavani-less Uruguay and Belgium. Listening to some you'd think they got past Brazil, Germany and God knows who and that we played the likes of Panama.

I was about to post pretty much the same. Spot on, Ivan13.

 

[Evilo]

Kane wasn't offside.

 

[Ivan13]

Kane wasn't offside.

Being called offside and being offside isn't always the same thing, no?

PS

Which is why those two shots aren't added to the total of shots that were on target.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

The offside would almost certainly have been overturned on VAR to be fair. I do agree that while England was suffocating Croatia in the early going and looked like the much better side then, it didn't yield a ton of clear chances.

As far as chances other than Kane's go, I remember Lingard pulling a great shooting opportunity wide and a header saved off the line. That's not all that much, obviously, but it bears pointing out that Croatia produced almost nothing of note in the 1st half. I think that Croatia's inability to mount much of an offensive threat was the real surprise for everyone, and why England seemed to have the upper hand playing with a lead. At that point in time England were pressing like the best of Klopp sides, and Croatia looked a bit slow in comparison. That fed into the narratives going into the game of a tired Croatia running out of steam.

Given their shortcomings in the skill department, this was always going to be England's best chance at success in this tournament. Score some way - probably a set piece - then defend the opposition to a standstill for the rest of the match. They didn't get that done and, of course, and it's relatively easy to see why in hindsight. In order to bring a lead home safely, you must control midfield. Once they stopped pressing all over - probably just don't have the horses to do that to be honest - England's midfield was absolutely hopeless vs Croatia's midfield.

 

[Harry22]

Which was called offside? They had one chance after that in regulation, the one where Lingard missed the goal by five feet. Speaking of teams they beat to get here, we didn't play world-beaters, but neither did France save for Belgium. They barely beat Australia and Peru, drew level with Denmark, beat a broken Argentine team, Cavani-less Uruguay and Belgium. Listening to some you'd think they got past Brazil, Germany and God knows who and that we played the likes of Panama.

It wasn't offside though. Would have been overturned.