Russia World Cup The last assault in Moscow: France - Croatia

The final tournament of the World Football Cup will end with a gala representation, the duel between Croatia and France. France, the with the most expensive players in the tournament, has met the expectations, Croatia is the biggest surprise the of the competition.

The French are coming in after a 20 year hiatus, and for the Croatians this is their first time. In theory France is the leading favorite, but in practice it is hard to anticipate the Croatians' evolution, as they have demonstrated outstanding resilience, as they have been successful in enduring three consecutive matches with extensions. If they succeed in recovering in such a short time, the game gets played, if not, France can't lose.

Having already lost another final, coach Didier Deschamps won't accept defeat this time: "It is a truly remarkable achievement. I am truly happy for my players. They are young, but they've had ambition, the character and the mentality of winners. I take my hat off to them and my entire staff. The game belongs to the players and we are in the final of the World Cup thanks to those who have been on the field. We have not yet digested what has happened two years ago (ed. note: the Euro 2016 final lost to Portugal), those things are still fresh in our minds. It was painful. And so we are going to see, quietly, how we are going to approach this final. My players are young, but they have a strong mind. They have experience, they are very competitive and they have made a lot of progress. They have demonstrated that in the match with Belgium. They were prepared for any kind of scenario and for any situation that the opponent would have placed them in. We have prepared the game well". "We are in the final. Rendez-vous Sunday to win it", French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter. He will be meeting his Russian peer, Vladimir Putin before the final, the Elysee palace has announced. The meeting was set on Tuesday night, in a short phone call between the two leaders, after the end of the France-Belgium semi-final.

In the other side, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalich admits that he has himself been amazed at the strength of his team and that he wants one last "push" from them: "I am proud of what our players have achieved, of the force they have displayed, their resilience, their energy... I wanted to switch players, but none of them wanted to leave the field, they all kept telling me «I can still run». Some of the football players have played with minor injuries, which would have prevented them from playing in other matches. Two of them played with one valid leg, but it didn't show. In 1998, I was a supporter of France in the first three matches. Everybody remembers that game (ed. note: France beat Croatia in the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup, 2-1, Thuram "47 and "69 / Suker "46).

We've been talking about that game for 20 years. I remember we celebrated Suker's goal. As soon as we sat down, France tied the score. We are not seeking to get revenge. We will only be preparing for playing our best game in this Cup, in this final".

Croatia is the lowest ranked team in the FIFA chart, since that chart exists, to ever make into a final, according to EFE. The team managed to qualify, ranked 20th in the FIFA world ranking, created in 1992, surpassing the French representative, which at the time held the 18th place when it became world champion, in 1998.

The big final, France - Croatia, will be held Sunday at 18:00. The small final, England - Belgium, will be held Sunday at 17:00.

NOTE: The final match will be reported live exclusively on the BURSA website.