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Before the 2018 World Cup final Sunday morning between Croatia and France, Sporting Kansas City forward Johnny Russell sat down with The Star to give his opinion on the last few weeks of football chaos, as well as his predictions
Russell has made four appearances for the Scottish national team so far in his career, facing World Cup teams such as England, Peru and Mexico.
What made this World Cup so crazy? Fun to watch?
I just think it's a little unusual. It was a good watch; There were some shocks that you would not really have thought of or would have before it started. But that adds to the visualization when things like that happen. When you see a smaller nation running, even like Croatia, the population to which they must arrive where they are, it is an incredible achievement.
Who did you win the World Cup? 19659006] I like France for a long time: they have a good young team. Technically, some amazing players, a very sporty team. They stopped the group stages a bit, but I think that since the start of the knockout rounds, they have shown how good they are and are at a victory match. I supported them initially, so I will stay with them
Is France the perfect team?
I would not say that they are perfect – I would not say a lot of teams are. But they are not far. It will be very difficult to beat them. When they play at the top of their game, I do not see many teams that beat them
Which team has outperformed in the tournament?
Croatia, probably. They have good quality players, no one can doubt it. They have players who play in the best clubs all over the world, but with some of the strongest countries, you do not expect them to be that far away. But that 's why these tournaments are so good: there is always someone who does a race that we did not expect.
Croatia, for its population of its country, has done incredible to get where it is. And like France, they are at a game of being world champions, so the fact that they have won three overtime wins also shows how hard they are physically and mentally.
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It's hard. I can not even imagine what they're going through. Do it, play games in such a short time. But they pbad through and they always look good the next match, so they are obviously immensely fit as well. But it takes mental toughness to keep doing that and keep pushing, but we now know, if that boils down to that, how strong they are in extra time and penalties. So, mentally it is hard, but at the same time it gives them an advantage knowing that they have been there and have done so many times.
Featured player for Croatia?
There are a few. You obviously have the midfielder, who has been brilliant. I think the match last night (against England), (Ivan) Perisic, you can not look beyond what he gave. But so many quality players – I think it may have been the best for me. But you can not look past (Luca) Modric, (Ivan) Rakitic, (Mario) Mandzukic, as well as … even (Ante) Rebic. "
Who underperformed in this tournament?
You would say Germany, the defending champions are coming back, and that did not work for them. Anyway, you look at their team, and even the guys that they left at home, some of the best players in the world are there, it shows that if you do not do well, there's no of certainty, and no one who preceded the tournament would have probably chosen them to go home as soon as they did.But you still expect things from Germany, from the 39, Spain, Brazil, things like that, so when they do not do it as far as you think, then people consider it a disappointment.
Four of the last five Cup winners have been eliminated in the next group stage.Why do you think this is the case?
I think that it's just a coincidence, to be honest, but it's very interesting. It's hard to defend anything, but I think it's a coincidence. But as you say, it's disappointing when you see the big teams go out early. But at the same time, it's good to see smaller nations go by, a little fun for the crowd – everyone can be behind an underdog, so it's always good to see that too.
Any point that England might have won its first world cup since 1966?
You've heard a lot about it, and you can understand why everyone was excited. It's a young and exciting team, a lot of good players. I just felt that people were watching Croatia too much. Some of the boys told me that they believed England, and I said I do not know, Croatia is strong. As I say, I can understand completely. I played in England; I know how much people love football.
It's nice to see everyone behind a team. I do not think that's the way it's been for a while. They showed a young side: you build for the future. You look from this side, and they will all play at the next World Cup – they are so young. To give them that experience at the age of four, I'm sure everyone will be excited for the second.
You played against England in 2014. What has changed this year? team?
I think of the team that I played, it is a much younger and more hungry team. The team we played was very possession-oriented, while this team, although they have some possession, is attacking and attacking quickly. I think people like to see football thrilling, and they are attacking at the pace and they are forming a whole new team, a lot of young people, and I think that they have shown that they are able to do their part, also. 19659002] You also played with (England) Jesse Lingard in Derby for a short time. What are you doing with him?
When he came, you could always say that he had talent. He was still young, so we could say that he had abilities. But you'd never have said that – although you expected him to have a good career – that he was going to start a World Cup. So I'm delighted for him because he's a good boy too. He played with him for a short time, but we could see that he had the quality to go far.
Was Belgium's goal the best thing you saw in the World Cup?
This counter-attacking goal was one of the best I've ever seen. From there, it's just the pace and power, and the ability, at the end of the match, to push you to get into the zone in numbers, what they did too. It was heartbreaking to see Japan lose that way, but from an attacker's point of view, seeing a counter-attack like that, it was nice to watch.
From the point of view of the team, it was probably the goal of the tournament. You still want to see worlds, but you also want to see incredible team goals, and I think we've seen that too.
https://twitter.com/Afeezalimi1/status/1014168669390327808
Who was the tournament player for you?
I think for their age and what they did, I think (France) (Kylian) Mbappe must be in place there. Doing what he's done at a club level and national level at age 19 is crazy. Guy is still a teenager playing at a World Cup, scoring and badisting. And I think his complete game has been flawless too. I think everyone may see him as someone remarkable, just because he's so young and what he's done.
Who will win the final between Croatia and France?
be – both teams must be – at their peak. But I think Croatia must have … everyone has to stand out to beat France, but it will be a tough match. I think Croatia has shown that it can continue and create difficult opportunities and matches, while France, I think, has been a bit stronger. I just think France has too much on the day, but I hope it's an exciting game, a lot of goals.
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