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The final of the 2018 World Cup is set: France will play Croatia on Sunday, July 15th. The winner reaches the glory and world status, his name engraved in history books as winners on the biggest stage in the world.
The semi-finals were very contested, France overtaking Belgium thanks to a set and Croatia triumphing over England in extra time
As always, we evaluated each team is still in and has evaluated their probability of winning the tournament, ranking them on that basis. The strength of performance across this stage is a natural indicator of that, but at this point it is simply a face-to-face decision: who do you support to lift the trophy, France or Croatia?
in the order of how well they played and how impressed they were. You can check the rankings after the quarterfinals here for more flavor on how they behaved
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"How much?" Kieran Trippier had put them forward and the chances were increasing. Only genuine prodigality on the part of Harry Kane and Co. prevented them from adding to their opponents in advance.
But in the second half, things collapsed inside. Kyle Walker's yellow card seemed to change things for the Three Lions; they lost their composure, their organization and their character. Croatia equalizes, forcing extra time. They poached another one there and held on for victory.
In truth, England offered too little in terms of open goal threat (yet) and started making defensive mistakes when she was tired (again). Yet arriving at this stage is a magnificent achievement, and what Gareth Southgate has managed to bring together a team with his fans and his nation is remarkable.
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Incredibly good margins at high-level football were very visible in Belgium's semi-final loss to France. They played well, equaled the Blues and even improved them for periods, but they lost by the odd goal.
The source of this goal? A piece of play.
They were such an important feature of this tournament, representing nearly half of the goals. Given the size and expertise of Belgium in the air, it was a sweet surprise not to have benefited from a badped delivery and a good head.
Finally, the Red Devils were running out of ideas. How does an opponent break this French side? This remains a mystery, and it is no longer the puzzle of Belgium to solve.
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When people talk about golden generations, the conversation often revolves around Belgium. But Croatia is currently on the decline of its own golden generation, with Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, Domagoj Vida and Ivan Perisic, all aged 29 or older.
on their talent this year, and they responded with six wins in a row. They are in the final of the 2018 World Cup, they will be neglected, but they are in it. Anything can happen in a single football game.
