World Cup 2018. Thus, it is time to take a look at the chances. I will seek the answers to this question “how can Croatia beat France? “.
Well, it is a hard question to answer, because France is the major candidate to win the tournament.
Apparently, France might win eight or nine times out of ten against this Croatian team. So, Modric and co. will pray for the case that they can be the World Champions.
What is up for Croatia? or the mental side.
Perhaps for those considering this match a done deal, France will be the winner of the World Cup 2018. If it just a regular match, I will think the same. However, this is not as easy as it looks like. This is the final, therefore it always comes with an extraordinary pressure to win, which can rule the whole match. It can affect the players and cause a goalkeeping error or bad ball control. Something that in other circumstances may never happen.
This French team has a bad memory of finals. At Euro 2016, they lost against Portugal, which will be fresh wound for those who played in that match.
On the other hand, Croatia has nothing to lose. This is a gift for them. Reaching the final with two penalty shootouts and beating England from a losing position is a fantastic result and a team building experiences. Therefore, I expect Croatia to play freely without any fear or pressure.
One additional element can be highly important, in spite of Croatia, France does not have a standout leader among their ranks.
What can help Croatia other than mental solitude?
France using a 4-3-3 structure in an asymmetric style or we can call it a 4-2-3-1, with Pogba and Kante staying Deep, while Matuidi slightly higher as more of a box-to-box roamer. In front of them, Griezmann and Mbappe drop deeper to help to connect the lines and upfront Giroud.
This asymmetric style appears in deeper areas. While Hernandez running up and down the left, Pavard stays deep and acting as a supporting role in attacks.
Didier Deschamps commits his team to a deep position for two reasons, to stay compact and to utilise the speed of the front three, especially Mbappe.
Otherwise, these two attributes are important in modern football. Defending in a compact shape and quickly transitioning from defence to attack. Besides France, Belgium and Uruguay are also committed to this manner.
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