MOSCOW: A month on and 63 games later, the 2018 World Cup reaches its climax on Sunday as a young France side spearheaded by Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann look to win the trophy for the second time when they take on Croatia in Moscow.
It is a final very few people could have anticipated four weeks ago, when the competition in Russia was just beginning. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar have all gone home. So have the traditional powers of the international game — Germany, Brazil and Argentina.
Instead it is a gifted French side with the second-youngest squad at the tournament, embodied by the lightning-quick Mbappe, who face a Croatian team inspired by Luka Modric, arguably the finest midfielder in the world at the moment.
Perhaps many neutrals will be disappointed that it has not come down to a clash between two genuine giants of the game, or that there is no South American presence. It is just the second time that none of Brazil, Germany, Italy or Argentina have made the final, after Spain’s win over the Netherlands in 2010.
A tournament that will be remembered for the colourful presence of hordes of Latin American supporters has a final between two European sides after the continent exerted its power in the latter stages. But this is still the World Cup final, and for France there is the possibility to join Argentina and Uruguay in winning the trophy for the second time, after 1998. Back then, Didier Deschamps was the captain. Now he is the coach, and he can become just the third man to win the trophy as a player and a manager, after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.
“A World Cup final, it’s a bit like a boyhood dream coming true,” said midfielder Blaise Matuidi. (AFP)
Hungry for WC title: Rakitic
MOSCOW: Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic has said that all 4.5 million of his compatriots will be behind the team when they battle France in the 2018 World Cup final.
“You need only to look at the footage from Croatia to see what’s been going on over the past month – the joy felt by the people there,” he said at a press conference at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, the venue for Sunday’s final.”It doesn’t just concern the 23 players, coaching staff and backroom staff, but the 4.5 million people back home. If there was a stadium big enough for 4.5 million people, it would be full,” he said. Rakitic, 30, acknowledged that defeating France would “be difficult, both in defense and attack, but the most important thing is to concentrate on ourselves we want to leave the pitch with our heads high.” he said. (IANS)
