World Cup 2018: Five Tactical Points that will decide the World Cup Final

#4 The Ivan Perisic Question

Perisic has been Croatia's most important attacking outlet in this tournament

This is a question for both teams. For Croatia, the question is if they will get the Perisic who played against England. That player was an absolute menace, wrecking the English defence over and over again in a manner that eventually had to yield results. He scored the equalizer with a brilliant karate-kick, hit the post after another excellent move, delivered a brilliant cross for a Mandzukic chance before assisting the winner.

Yet, there is also the possibility that Perisic is wasteful and does not have the same impact that he did against England. In Croatia’s two previous games before England (against Russia and Denmark), Perisic only made one accurate cross and was uninfluential.

What makes this so important is the fact that Croatia rely significantly on Perisic to create attacking chances. Despite their excellent midfield, Croatia have crossed the ball more than any team in the tournament, only 18.5% of which of have reached a Croatian. Thus they rely on their wingers: in fact, 45% of their attacks come from Perisic’s left side. If he is not effective, then Croatia’s attack will struggle.

If Perisic is on his game, then he create a problem for France. If there is a weakness in France’s defence, it is their right-back: Benjamin Pavard who will likely be matched up with Perisic. If Perisic can use his left foot to trouble Pavard, then Raphael Varane will need to cover for the Stuttgart defender thus creating space for Mario Mandzukic down the middle.