France, Croatia battle for World Cup glory

France vs Croatia
Venue: Luzhniki Stadium
Kick off: 4pm

France and Croatia will battle it out for World Cup glory when they meet in the final this afternoon in Moscow.
Didier Deschamps could write his name into the history books by becoming only the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
He captained France to their only World Cup victory to date in 1998, and it will be Les Bleus’ third appearance at a World Cup final after their loss to Italy in 2006.
Deschamps also had the disappointment of seeing his side lose on home turf in the final of the European Championships in 2016.
The 49-year-old said: “It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here and I will tell my players there is nothing more beautiful for a player than the World Cup final. But I will say three important things: stay calm, have confidence and concentrate.”
On the challenge Croatia’s midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will pose France at the Luzhniki Stadium, Deschamps said: “Yes, it’s true Croatia has players with strong club experiences and who have reached a level of maturity on the pitch together, but we have met teams with more experience than us all through the tournament.”
France have beaten Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium to reach the final while Croatia have knocked out Denmark, Russia and England, with all three games going to extra-time.
This will be Croatia’s first appearance in a World Cup final and they could become the eighth different country to win the competition.
Coach Zlatko Dalic said his players should be proud of their achievements.
“It is the World Cup final. The players know what that means. One thing that makes me happy is that all my players tell me whether they are not 100 per cent,” he said. “If they will be unable to give their all during the match I expect them to tell us.”
“Win or lose there will be a seismic event (in Croatia). This gives us strength and motivation. There can be no better moment for a player or a coach than Sunday. Whatever happens, we will be happy and proud because we deserved it.”

France possible XI: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez, Kante, Pogba, Mbappe, Griezmann, Matuidi, Giroud.
Croatia possible XI: Subasic, Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinic, Rebic, Modric, Brozovic, Rakitic, Perisic, Mandzukic.