FIFA World Cup 2018: France, sole powerhouse remaining in Russia, look to avoid repeat of Euro 2016 failure in final

One by one they fell — Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil. They had all come to Russia with expectations, but that weight ultimately accelerated their demise, downfalls that had a myriad of reasons and couldn’t mask that his World Cup was ultimately a graveyard for the traditional powerhouses of global football with the eastern host city of Kazan occupying a central role in a tournament that’s been so rich in giant-slaying and drama. Kazan Arena, the velodrome-shaped stadium on the banks of the river Volga, staged Germany vs South Korea, France vs Argentina and Brazil vs Belgium. Two of these matches should have been straightforward, but instead Germany, the defending champions, and Brazil, five-times world champions, met their Waterloo. Lionel Messi exited as Kylian Mbappe waltzed past a dysfunctional and disjointed Argentina, whose group stage performances were the chronicle of an elimination foretold. France play Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for Sunday’s World Cup final at 8.30 pm

And so France are the sole powerhouse to remain in this open-ended World Cup. Russia, the lowest-ranked team, and Sweden, memorably dispatching Mexico 3-0 to help eliminate Germany, made the quarter-finals. The tournament’s unpredictability was reminiscent of the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, when Senegal, Turkey, USA and the team of coach Guus Hiddink all reached the last-eight. Eventually, Brazil and Germany restored the natural hierarchy by defeating the interlopers in the semi-finals. In Russia, Europe has dominated but with Belgium and Croatia playing in the semi-finals, the established hierarchy was upended. In Croatia, the World Cup final has an underdog in the plenitude of the word: a small team with less probability of winning the showpiece match. Not since Uruguay in 1950, when they defeated Brazil 2-1 in the Maracanazo to lift a second World Cup, has such a small-scaled country reached the final of the quadrennial high mass of the game. However, at the time the South Americans were considered veritable powerhouses; today, Croatia are not. The young nation has an outstanding record, having played the World Cup semi-finals in 1998, but doesn’t belong to the European elite just yet, in spite of its beautiful playing style and mettle. “In Europe the Pep (Guardiola) effect — first of all at Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Manchester City — has an impact on a lot of players and coaches,” explains Andy Roxburgh, the AFC technical director and part of FIFA’s technical study group in Russia. “The idea of playing it out of the back. (Luka) Modric, for example, defines this. He, for me, also defined Real. The same with Croatia. This ability to play through the back and the middle and a very high possession game, but it is not for the sake of it: it is possession to penetrate, to attack with this clear possession game but also when you lose it to immediately get it back. It has had influence on a number of coaches.” France do not play ‘Guardiolian’ football. They had a rocky start against Australia, came good in Group C and then demonstrated superior football against Argentina and Uruguay before stifling Belgium with a masterly display of discipline and positional awareness. The French play monotonous and unimaginative football, an accusation that has often been levelled at Didier Deschamps, whose cult of winning may well silence all detractors. Les Bleus do not proffer enthralling football, not the flair one would expect from a squad replete with ball artists, but that doesn’t lessen their status of powerhouse. They boast a rich history and culture in the global game, from Just Fontaine’s outstanding goal-scoring streak at the 1958 World Cup to that blue dazzy summer forty years later when Zinedine Zidane headed France to eternal glory. At Euro 2016, they faltered in the final on home soil against the Portuguese. “Today’s group is different to that two years ago,” said France coach Deschamps. “Fourteen new players arrive since then. They have discovered this tournament and so their experience is limited. But quality is there. The Croatian players have lot of maturity and have been in the squad. We’ve always had opponents who have had more than us. We have nine players who were at the Euros, who know unfortunately what happened. It must serve to inspire those players. The final is always a very specific event.” On Sunday, France will have a new renewed chance at winning the World Cup. To do so, Les Bleus will need to contain Modric and the skillful Croatian ensemble or else the established order may well be toppled. Click here for full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2018 Click here to view the full schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018