France vs Croatia: Tactical preview

France have deployed their 4-3-3 and stuck with it throughout the World Cup and it's unlikely they'll ditch it against Croatia.

Hugo Lloris will start in goal and the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper has been exceptional and will be wary of Modric and Rakitic's long-range efforts. The flat back four of France will have Varane and Umtiti as the centre-backs with Pavard on the right and Hernandez as left-back.

Not only has this defensive unit kept four clean sheets at the World Cup this year but Pavard, Varane and Umtiti have scored in the knockout phase of the competition already and Croatia must be extra cautious during corners and goal-mouth free kicks when the French centre-backs come subtly domineering in.

The French midfield will have N'Golo Kante as a central pivot whose heat map at the end of the game would probably cover the entire pitch and this diminutive holding midfielder will be tasked with keeping Modric quiet and preventing him from passing the through balls down channels that unleash havoc for visiting teams back at his home club in Madrid.

Memes are a part of these current times and I have to state what I saw a year back on one in social media - 70% of the Earth is covered by water and the rest is covered by Kante. Even though Kante will be up to the task, I do expect the other French midfielders closing down the Croatians and taking control of the midfield, given their tireless work rate. The other two joining Kante in midfield will be any two of Pogba, Matuidi and Tolisso.

The front three for France will have Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé. Both Griezmann and Mbappé have scored three goals each at the World Cup already and the Croatians will be wary of their craft but the man they really need to take care of is Olivier Giroud. Giroud might not have a goal yet at the 2018 World Cup but he is essential to Didier Deschamps' plans.

Giroud has created a niche for himself by being a "holding striker" who receives the balls around the box and holds up defenders with his physical presence and unselfishly passes it on to Griezmann or Mbappé who come rushing into free space. It was Giroud's selfless pass to Mbappé that created France's fourth and that sumptuous goal against Argentina.

The Croatia side under head coach Zlatko Dalić has featured a 4-2-3-1 when building up play and a 4-5-1 while on defensive gears without possession of the ball. Their goalkeeper will feature Subašić who had kept clean sheets against Nigeria and Argentina in the group stages but has looked vulnerable from long-range efforts in the knockout phases. Russia's Denis Cheryshev and England's Kieran Trippier got the better out of him from 25 yards out and he has to step up with his agility and not look like a mute spectator if Croatia are to be world beaters.

Lovren and Vida celebrate

The back four of Strinic, Vida, Lovren and Vrsaljko have looked solid but one may argue that Vrsaljko is the weakest link, not because of his defensive capabilities but due to the time he takes to return once he goes up to overlap with his right-wing midfielder Ante Rebic with whom he shares great chemistry in offense.

With it being a World Cup final and the margins for error being as marginal as they can be, I am sure he will be asked to tone down on the offensive or trackback faster by Zlatko Dalić.

Croatia's midfield is where the magic happens boasting of the likes of Rakitic and Modric. Rakitic and Brozovic will be the two central pivots who not only control the ball laterally and test the opposition's patience and tempt them to come in forward to catch them out of position before dispersing the ball to their attacking midfield trio of Modric (centre), Perisic (left) and Rebic (right) with Mario Mandzukic further up acting as the lone striker who is fast becoming a poacher in the box. His winning goal against England exhibited a goal of a man who didn't lose his concentration even after a hundred and eight minutes of gruelling play that saw entire phases in the midfield without him getting the ball.

The French will not only have to keep an eye on Mandzukic in the box but look out for the advancing Perisic and Rebic down either wing. Their overlapping with their respective wing-backs create a lot of crosses as was evident in the semi-final against England which ultimately broke down the English to throw away their winning lead and eventually concede the game. It is not a wonder at all that Jose Mourinho wants Perisic to join Manchester United and fill his left wing with quality attacking options. Young Benjamin Pavard cannot afford to be caught up in the overlap with Perisic looming at large on his flank.

Pavard vs Perisic will be marked with pace and precision

Substitutes from the bench can also make a difference for either team and France will need to make the man marking happen as quickly as possible for Kramaric if he does get switched in. Overall, this looks like a very tight final with neither team willing to give an inch and an epic battle looking to go down at the 78,011 capacity Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow which otherwise rests on the banks of an idyllic Moskva river which meanders serenely through the heart of Moscow.