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Here we are! The Blues will play Sunday night the third final World Cup in their history, after 1998 (victory over Brazil 3-0) and 2006 (defeat on penalties against Italy 1-1 ap, 5-3 on the tab ). The three knockout matches, eighths, quarter and half, drew the profile of a realistic and efficient three-colored team, with an unforgettable match against Argentina (4-3) and two more qualifications (Uruguay) or less ( Belgium) mastered. In front of them, the players of Didier Deschamps will find Sunday at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow a new country at this level, Croatia, who got rid of to reach the final of Denmark, Russia and England, in fighting each time an extension.
Lilian Thuram: hero of the Blues, Croatian nightmare. France-Croatia. Such a poster inevitably takes us 20 years back when, on July 8th, 1998, Lilian Thuram had scored a double (his only two goals in blue!) To send the France team to the World Cup final. If the majority of Blues, very young, have little or no memory of this feat, this meeting continues to haunt the Croats. "This has been the subject of discussion for the past 20 years!", Said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic after the semifinal. "We had just celebrated the goal of Davor Suker but, just sitting, they (the Blues) had equalized (in the next minute, ed.) But we do not seek revenge, it's football, and we do not focuses only on the idea of doing everything to offer the best match of the tournament in the final. " We do not seek revenge, really?
The Blues also have something to exorcise. If the Croats obviously have a defeat to forget, this is also the case of the Blues. It does not date from 20 years ago, but from two years ago. On July 10, 2016, the French team lost 1-0 against Portugal in the final of the Euro after eliminating Germany in the semi-finals. "The tears have dried but it's still in a small corner of the head and that's good because it must be used for Sunday," responded Blaise Matuidi Friday. His teammate Paul Pogba was in the same state of mind the day before, even drawing what looks like a nuestra culpa . "Frankly, when we won against Germany (2-0 in the semifinal, ed), we thought that was the final." Against the Portuguese, with their course, we thought it was This is our mistake, now it's not the same, we're all aware, focused, we do not want to make the same mistake. "
The Croatians played one more game. An extension against Denmark, another against Russia and one against England. Croatia played three extra times before reaching the final against France, unique in the history of the World Cup. Three 30-minute extensions: if you count, it's 90 minutes, the equivalent of a whole match.
"The players spent a lot of energy, but it looks like the more difficult the circumstances, and the better we play, "said the Croatian coach, Thursday night, in a press conference. "There can be no excuses, it's a unique opportunity in a lifetime, I'm sure we'll find strength and motivation." Jean-Claude Perrin, a former coach of the Davis Cup France team, says: "They have extraordinary mental and physical resources." And the consultant from Europe 1 adds: "These physical resources go through a mental and nationalist strength, it's undeniable."
Croatia, more "small" country in the final since Uruguay. Zlatko Dalic insisted at a press conference: "We have been invited to the pages of history books as the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup final, with Uruguay (1930, 1950) and if you look at the infrastructure of our country, we are a miracle, "he insisted. Indeed, Croatia has a total area of just under 57,000 km2 (against a little less than 673,000 for France) for a population of just over four million inhabitants (against nearly 68 million in France) . France (1998), Brazil (2002), Italy (2006), Spain (2010) and Germany (2014): Croatia's duo Luka Modric-Ivan Rakitic can join Sunday this line of champions and impose definitively on the world map l State of the Balkans, independent since 1991 and the break-up of the former Yugoslavia
France unbeaten in five confrontations. France-Croatia is especially, but it's not only the semi-final of the 1998 World Cup. This was the first opposition between the two teams, who have faced each other four times since, but only once in competition. It was in the first round of Euro 2004 and both teams drew (2-2), with goals from Igor Tudor against his side and David Trezeguet for the Blues. The last France-Croatia, in friendly, in 2011, also resulted in a draw (0-0). The other two friendlies, France won: 3-0 in November 1999 at the Stade de France (goals of Robert Pirès, Florian Maurice and Tony Vairelles) and 2-0 in Zagreb in May 2000 (Pirès and Trezeguet). The result is therefore to the advantage of France, with three wins and two draws in five games. The sixth is highly anticipated …
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