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Twenty years after France and Croatia had their most successful World Cup performances, the two countries' paths will meet on soccer's biggest stage.
The favored French and the resilient Croatians square off the World Cup final on Sunday at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium following an unpredictable four-and-a-half weeks in Russia that saw giants fall, stars fade and an unprecedented number of own goals – 11 ahead of Saturday's third-place match between England and Belgium.
France won its lone World Cup as hosts in 1998, the same tournament that saw Croatia finish third in its first-ever tournament as an independent country. There is a score for that tournament, but the dispatched hosts Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals that year.
A win Sunday would provide a salve to French fans' wounds from the 2006 final loss marred by an infamous head -butt – not to mention the mutiny in South Africa – the red-and-white checkered legion of the fans hope their Vatreni play France in the World Cup final after defeating England 2-1 in extra time 1:16
Measuring up Mbappe and Modric
France has been on a tear fter a tepid -stage play . The Blues Unrelated Lionel Messi's Argentina and Luis Suarez's Urug in a few days win a day in a 1-0 semifinal win
Leading the charge are feeling teenage Kylian Mbappe and lethal forward Anthony Griezmann – both of whom have three goals so far in Russia. The Blues also had a tremendous amount of success in their career and the goal of Hugo Lloris.
While Mbappe 's speed and youthful exuberance have been created for opposing defenses, Croatia' s No. 10 – captain Luka Modric – has been successfully controlled in the Middle East, even when facing elimination.
It's that 19-year-old Paris-St. Germain's resolve to move ahead of their showdown.
"Even when you think they're going to lose, or they're going to crack, they're having the mentality to come back, "Mbappe told the Associated Press on Friday. "It's a team that plays with a lot of intensity."
Battle-tested but still standing
Modric and company coasted through the group stage only to meet some serious pushback in the knockout rounds.
Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic performed admirably under pressure and was a stingy (1965)