World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Croatia lost 2-4 against France

#3 Midfield, Full Backs flatter to deceive on the big stage, allowing Mbappe and Griezmann to run riot

Modric did not have the best of games against France

Croatia's midfield and Full Backs have played a vital role in helping their nation reach the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup but flattered to deceive in the final showdown against France.

Croatia fell behind during the first half with an own goal from Mario Mandzukic and a penalty scored by Griezmann giving the French a 2-1 lead at the end of the forty-five. The situation needed Croatia to attack with further verve, at the same time defend in numbers thereby preventing France from countering.

Unfortunately, Croatia didn't perform the tasks mentioned above, allowing the likes of Pogba, Griezmann and Mbappe to control proceedings and run riot in the second half. Croatia go with a three-man midfield with Modric, Rakitic acting as a box to box midfielders with Marcelo Brozovic dictating proceedings from a deeper position. Brozovic also performs the task of shielding his defence.

As France went into the break with a 2-1 lead, all three of Croatia's midfielders went forward, often ignoring their defensive responsibilities. This resulted in France having a lot of space in the middle of the park which resulted in Mbappe, Griezmann running at the heart of the Croatian defence.

Matters were further compounded with poor displays from Croatia's full-backs, Sime Vrsjalko and Ivan Strinic. Vrsjalko lost 6/11 duels, completed only 3/7 long balls and was booked for his rash challenge on Griezmann towards the end of the game.

Some of Vrsaljko's decision making was questionable as the Right Back from Atletico Madrid went for a goal in situations where he should have crossed the ball. This was seen during the 75th minute when his attempt from outside the box went wide off the post.

On the other hand, Ivan Strinic started the game on a bright note, marshalling Mbappe pretty well. As the game progressed, Strinic charged forwards leaving his Centre Backs up against the French attack. He couldn't deal with Mbappe's pace and was caught out of position on countless occasions.

Strinic completed only 76% of his passes, failed to execute an accurate long ball (0/3 long balls completed) and lost 9 out of 11 duels before being hauled off in the 81st minute for Marko Pjaca.