2018 FIFA World Cup: Who Will Prevail?

The world’s most exciting games are nearing a conclusion. With three teams left, who will prevail?

The race for the final round of the exciting FIFA World Cup games is drawing near. France has secured a spot on the finals after a tantalizing 1-0 game over Belgium. It’s hard to believe that these magnificent games are coming to an end. They have been absolutely brilliant to watch and follow. The last three weeks showed us so many thrills, upsets, scalps, and VAR talks to keep us on the edge of our seats. All of the anticipation and hype that led to these games have been nothing but completely satisfied. However, you know what they say – all good things must come to an end. And here we are at the penultimate stage.

Today, Croatia is set to face England for the only remaining spot on the finals round. Both of these teams have proven to be overachievers during this tournament so far. England is currently number 12 in the FIFA World Cup rankings, compared to Croatia’s Top 20 spot. However, don’t let these ranks fool you into thinking one is at an advantage over the other.

Both teams are on top of their games, as they have proven throughout the duration of the cup. Right now, it’s hard to judge who is going to compete against France in the highly-anticipated finale. Even the most serious football experts are having trouble making their predictions. But let’s step back for a minute. Let’s take a look at these three remaining teams, and then you can decide about their odds yourself.

FRANCE

France has managed to book a spot in their first FIFA World Cup final in 12 years. Samuel Umtiti‘s brilliant header during a well-fought encounter sealed the deal for Les Bleus with a 1-0 win over Belgium. The only goal in the game occurred after the mid-time break after a seemingly even first half, which saw even chances for both teams. However, France quickly dominated the second half while making sure not to fall on any of Belgium’s traps. France continued to prove that it has one of the best defenses in the league, as Deschamp maneuvered the Belgian pressure managing to hit Robert Matinez’ team on the break. The win was calculated and almost felt like France did just enough, but didn’t truly show the brilliance we all know they are capable of.

So how will France do on the Finals? Odds are, they will continue on with the same strategy. Didier Deschamps has a brilliant team with truly skilled players. And on skills alone, France undoubtedly deserve the spot. However, have they shown these skills to their maximum? In all likelihood, France’s play on the Finals will be as unimaginative as it has been, thanks to Didier. Le Bleu’s coach seems to follow one strategy: defend to the hilt, work hard, and wait for something to happen, but above all – do no harm.

France isn’t known for its flashy plays. But it seems to work for them. The team doesn’t need sophisticated movement and maneuvering. Didi’s strategy works because it limits the game to chances created and conceded. Although one can argue that not conceding even if you have the better players is easier than creating plays, you can’t deny the fact that it earned France a spot on the Finals. Will we see this strategy change? Perhaps. But, knowing Didier, why fix what isn’t broken?

CROATIA

In contrast to France’s safe football, Croatia has been remarkably fascinating. But that’s not surprising considering the guns that Croatia is packing. They currently have the two best midfielders in the world – Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic. Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic has made the best of these two players, which is evident on their amazing run so far. If these two players dovetail together today, England will be starved out of the ball.

Aside from Modric and Rakitic, Croatia’s team has an impressive roster of high-experience players. This includes many players from elite clubs in the world such as AC Milan and Liverpool. Between all of them, they have managed to win nothing less than nine Championship Leagues compared England’s one. It’s enough to reconsider anyone’s impression that Croatia will be the underdog come semi-finals. But no matter what happens – win or lose – Croatia can pride itself in having the best team at their best peak this 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Luka Modric has said so himself, “They are looking strong as a team. I don’t know if there is a different mentality but it seems that they are more like a team. They have this togetherness that is very important to have success. England are dangerous on set pieces. They have players like Maguire, Harry Kane and [John] Stones, who are strong and they are scoring so much on set pieces. We are going to have to pay attention to those details because we conceded from one against Russia that we shouldn’t have allowed. England have suffered less than us. And we have fewer days to recover for the semi-final than we did for the quarter-final. But it’s a semi-final. We will find the extra motivation, the extra everything.”

How will they do against England? Croatia is certainly a step-up in class compared to any of the teams that England has played against so far. Croatia is wrapped in a bundle of quality players in all positions, and not just on the midfield. Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren have been solid in their positions. England is still a powerful team, but it’s safe to assume Croatia will put up one hell of a fight.

ENGLAND

To say that the pressure is on for the England team is an understatement. Like Croatia, England has been waiting for a long time to claim the Jules Rimet trophy. It’s no wonder since they were the first team to raise it in England for the first and only time back in 1966. England is enjoying its best season since 1990. Will this finally be the time to claim back the World Cup after 52 years? Or will the streets of England be empty out of broken hearts tomorrow? I guess we will have to find out later.

Harry Kane meanwhile, says that “It’s amazing to meet any heroes from ’66 and it gives you so much inspiration, obviously it’s been a long time since England have done well in a major tournament. As a player and as a professional I know that I have a job, on and off the pitch, to inspire people and inspire kids watching this tournament. It’s amazing because I was one of those kids growing up who wanted to play for England. So to be here now, leading this team out, I’m so proud. No-one wants to go home. Everyone wants to finish the job and we are excited to try and do that. We want to be here till the end. We are one step closer to what is the biggest game in football as a professional.”

England’s season is undoubtedly exciting. They managed to breeze through the semi-finals with a 2-0 over Sweden, which they never even looked nervous for. Southgate has prepped a team that is truly hungry for this trophy, and it will be incredibly hard to stop them. England has a fit squad overall, which is a deep advantage to the tired-out Croatians.

With lead star Harry Kane on the flanks, England has a great chance of ending the tournament with a golden boot. Kane has managed to score six goals during the cup so far, and half of them via penalty shots. Not only that, Kane has been great at picking the ball up in tight situations as well as earning free-kicks for England.

The last games of the tournament will be epic in proportions. No matter who matches up against France in the Finals, it will undoubtedly be a battle.