Two very different paths are crossed in the final of the World Cup

] The XI holder of Croatia, as a whole, has only a few million followers in Instagram more than French midfielder Paul Pogba, alone. Some do not even show the blue marks of verified users (wow!), While others do not have accounts in social networks (twice wow!).

If the confrontation is viewed from a different point of view (hierarchy) it will be a race between thoroughbred and wild horses that have just escaped to the hills. From Pogba to Antoine Griezmann, Raphaël Varane and Kylian Mbappé, most of these French players know the role since they were pre-teenagers. This World Cup Final, for them, is a destiny, it is part of the road drawn from the beginning.

The France team is probably the team with the greatest depth and talent present at 2018 Russia with merit and expectation regarding his career in the finals. They practically arrived here without a skein, doing each time just enough to send their opponents, knowing that they were able to raise their game at any time. In many encounters, we had the impression of watching a basketball game head-to-head with an older brother and sister who will allow you to keep the table closed but who is capable (and we know) of take off if you want.

And Croatia? Well, it's a story of ugly duckling. Mario Mandzukic has the dubious distinction of being rejected by Pep Guardiola and by Diego "Cholo" Simeone . Dejan Lovren, despite having reached the final of the Champions League with Liverpool last May, is constantly ridiculed (unfairly in many cases) as an accident waiting to happen. In February, Domagoj Vida was sacked after playing just 16 minutes of his Champions League debut with his new club, Besiktas.

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The Croatian captain, Luka Modric, is a legitimate superstar and probably collected enough references for a candidacy for the Golden Ball . In spite of this, Modric is also a man hated by a large part of the population of his country for his role in an outrageous scandal of perjury, corruption and embezzlement. Two years ago, Eurocopa 2016 Croatian fans, outraged by their federation and some of their players, fired rockets on the ground for the expulsion of their own competition.

Croatia in Russia has not been easy either. Nikola Kalinic was dispatched to his country after refusing to enter as a substitute in the final stages of the first clash in the group stage, played against Nigeria.

In addition, they were at a disadvantage in their three matches in the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals in a way, they always managed to come back: twice, they were taxed in the shots on goal and in another, the 2-1 win against England, they did it for extra time.

of its technical directors. Both Didier Deschamps and Zlatko Dalic were defensive and hard-to-defeat midfielders. Both were present at the World Cup of France 1998. With the small exception, Deschamps, one of the best who has ever played this position, was on the field and contributed to the Gala team that won the trophy for the first time in its history. Dalic, meanwhile, was present at the tribune, as a spectator, after paying his entry.

After his retirement, Deschamps immediately became a technician of rich clubs like Monaco, Juventus and Marseille, before the position of national coach in 2012. During this time, Dalic was badistant and coach of youth teams before working in Croatia Albania and Saudi Arabia (in a newly created club), before finally obtaining some recognition in United Arab Emirates . It was only last October that he became a Croatian coach and he took away with him the warning that he would be fired if he did not qualify. for the World Cup.

Look, Croatia is a talented team. It is a country with a smaller population than the metropolitan area of ​​ Detroit which, out of sheer necessity, must put on the court a team in which first clbad stars, such as Modric Ivan Rakitic makes part of a starting team with lesser known footballers, to put it elegantly.

We are talking about players like Ivan Strinic, who was released by his club last month and only made 31 appearances. as starting in the three previous seasons; and Ante Rebic, who has played in five different teams over the past five years.

For its part, France has three of the five most expensive players in the history of football. One of them, Ousmane Dembele, will probably start Sunday's game on the bench. Likewise, there is illustrated two seasons ago as Premier League Player of the Year, N Golo Kanté, with the most expensive signature in the history of Bayern. Munich, Corention Tolisso, who can also be substitute in the final. [19659003]

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At first sight, it seems to be a meeting intended to go down a single street, in the domain and in terms of expectation, hierarchy and recognized names. However, we must bow down and take a closer look.

With all the talent that he has with him, France played conservative football and no exaggerations during the tournament, staying true to Deschamps' philosophy. Most of his objectives were produced on plays or playing against. It's a great choice that played with the humility of a small group and it's not bad. However, if you are at a disadvantage for a while, you might question his ability to increase performance and speed up his machines.

In addition, there is a psychological angle: two years ago, in Eurocopa. France was the big favorite in the final against Portugal. Despite this, they ended up falling from the premises before the lusos. There are times when the demons of the past come back to harbad us.