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Kylian Mbappé revolutionized the World Cup with his power and the effrontery of a teenager. Luka Modric set the tone for every game he played in Russia with the amazing solvency and accuracy with which he manages the midfield nets.
The fact that France wins its second title in 20 years or that Croatia raises the trophy for the first time Sunday at the Luzhniki stadium in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin and nearly a billion viewers will depend on the performance of the two stars.
At 19, Mbappé was the big sensation of the tournament, signing three goals – including his double. against Argentina in the round of 16 – and raises concern in rival defenses with their vertigo and agility.
"This will be the most important game of my life," said the Paris Saint-Germain striker.
Modric dazzled last month and was the cornerstone and spark of Croatia. When the Real Madrid midfielder has the ball on his feet, Croatia lights up.
"By the time you think they're going to lose, or that they seem to be about to throw in the towel, they still have the reflex". Mbapped in the Croatian team. "It's a team that plays with tremendous intensity."
At Saturday's press conference, French coach Didier Deschamps was questioned to find out whether he was speaking separately with Mbappé, in order to prevent a young player from succumbing to the pressure of the day. A World Cup final.
"He has no special treatment to be younger.I hate special treatment.I try to talk as much as possible with my players and he is one of 23 players, with the same responsibility. "replied the strategist. "Of course, I know that it 's important to be a little more lenient with young people because the experience is not there, but he is smart and knows what' s up with. ;he wants."
France was crowned world champion in 1998 of local. The Blues beat Croatia in the semifinals of this event, which until this edition was the best performance of the Balkan country in the tournament.
"We are far from thinking that we have already achieved the goal of repeating in 1998," said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. "We are going to face a very tough team, which deserves as much credit as ours, and tomorrow we will have to be a good French team again to win."
Heads of State of France and Belgium to accompany Putin in the box of honor.
Croatia, a country of 4.5 million inhabitants its independence after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia 27 years ago, reached the final after playing three lengths in a row, including two definitions on penalties.
In these three games, Croatia had to overcome the opposing markers. The players never give up
"The important thing was to never give up, to trust each other," Modric said. "In a tournament, in a match and throughout your career, you will always have highs and lows, it's inevitable, but that's when you have to fight to achieve your dream . "
Iván Rakitic, his midfielder "When you wear the Croatian sacred shirt you become another person"
"I do not mean that it is a feeling superior to that of the French for France or that of the Russians for Russia, "added Rakitic. "The best feeling right now is to be Croatian and that's the source of all our strengths."
In what Croatia has used to go from the front, France has won all three matches in the elimination phase within 90 minutes It has been disadvantaged in nine of the more than 540 minutes that He played.
"The sense of sacrifice prevails in the group and we thought we needed to be a solid block, hard to overcome," said the French striker. Antoine Griezmann. "We are able to be offensive at all times, but defense is always our strong point."
REUTER EUROPEEN
France or Croatia will become the fourth European champion team in a series launched when Italy will win Spain was crowned in 2010 in another European final against the Netherlands and Germany defeated Argentina in 2014 to become the first European team to be proclaimed World Cup champion in South America.
THE PRIZE
Another ten million dollars will be in the Loujniki. FIFA will award 38 million to the federation of the selected champion and the second 28 million.
The total of the bags for the 32 participants is 400 million, and FIFA distributes at least 8 million to each team.
ARCHITECT CROATIA
If Rakitic's football career had not led to the World Cup final, the Barcelona midfielder could have participated in the design of the recent reconstruction of Luzhniki .
Rakitic studied architecture in Switzerland. apprentice in the offices of the firm Herzog & de Meuron in Basel
He said that he had to work "in the office where drafts were made" of the Bird's Nest, the main stadium of the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 The company also designed the Bayern Munich stadium, home of the inaugural match of the 2006 World Cup.
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