Soccer powerhouse France collides with the cinderella team, Croatia, in the deciding match of the 2018 World Cup. The Final will be held on Sunday at 11 am EST in Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, and can be seen on FOX.
France was one of the favorites going into the tournament and they’ve validated oddsmakers’ expectations, winning five of their first six matches (a draw with Denmark in the group stage is their only blemish). The Belgian team they beat in the semifinals hadn’t lost a match in nearly two years, and France did well to stifle Belgium’s potent counter-attack offense led by Chelsea striker Eden Hazard. ‘Les Bleus’ will play in their third World Cup Final; they won it all on home soil in 1998 and dropped the 2006 Final via penalties to Italy. Here is Sports betting gambling France Croatia advice.
Croatia, meanwhile, will play in their first ever World Cup Final. After falling behind early for a second straight game to England, they mounted a second-half rally to force extra time and buried the deciding goal in the 109th minute of their semifinal match. That was Croatia’s third straight extra-time contest, with the previous two coming down to penalty kicks. They will have spent significantly more time on the pitch than France going into the Final, and that exhaustion could catch up with them late. They’re also a bit less battle-tested than France, as they played Denmark and Russia before topping England in the knockout rounds, while France had to get past Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium.
Sports betting gambling France Croatia
Didier Deschamps has worked wonders managing France’s defense, as they’ve given their last two opponents, Uruguay and Belgium, few quality scoring chances. And French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has made the key saves when he’s needed to. Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann have shown how potent they can be on offense throughout the tournament. If they can put one past Croatian keeper Danijel Subašić early, France can focus on disrupting the counter-attack, as they did against Belgium. Croatia has a solid one-two punch up front in Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Perisic, but neither can duplicate the dynamic abilities of the young Mbappé that attracts two or three defenders at one time. Here is Sports betting gambling France Croatia advice.
France is a considerable favorite to win outright, listed in the -200 range (risking $200 for a $100 profit). The better bet may be to take them to win in regulation. The -105 odds are much more appealing for the riskier option. Look for the French to get ahead early and smother Croatia’s offense late in a 1-0 victory.
The play: France to win in regulation (-105)
