The World Cup final is upon us with hours to go for the match to start. The predictions are already pouring in and everyone is giving an expert opinion on who is likely to lift the trophy.
France may be the clear favorites to win the final but the determination which Croatia have shown, no one can really rule them out. Croatia are the ultimate underdogs and as expected, most of the neutral fans will be cheering for the underdogs.
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There are many reasons why France are the favorites and we try to look at some of them. This is why France will not only beat Croatia, but dominate them tomorrow.
Pace
With the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in their squad, France have too much frightening pace in their squad which they can use to tear apart any defence whenever they want as seen against Argentina.
Even if the match goes into extra time, they have the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Thomas Lemar to bring on to test Croatia’s tired defence.
Croatia have a solid defence but it may prove to be too slow for the likes of Mbappe and Griezmann. Lovren and Vida may not have enough left in their tired legs to contain the roaring French attack.
Defensive stability
The French attack may have grabbed all the headlines till now but it their defense which is winning them games. They kept a clean sheet against both Uruguay and Belgium and will be hoping to do the same against Croatia.
France will look to get an early lead and then hold on to that lead. They have the defence to do the same with the likes of Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti looking in top form.
Croatia have some good forwards in Mandzukic and Perisic but Varane and Umtiti may prove to be too much for their tired legs.
Fatigue
While France have sailed through to the finals, winning all their matches in the 90 minutes, Croatia have had to fight hard for each win as all three of their knockout matches went into extra-time.
Having gone the full 120 minutes thrice in the last two weeks, Croatian players will obviously be more tired. If the match goes into extra-time once again, fatigue may take its toll on the players.
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French players on the other hand will be comparatively fresher and will capitalise on this to win the match in extra time.