France and Croatia name unchanged sides for FIFA World Cup 2018 final
France and Croatia go into Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final in Moscow with the same starting line-ups as in their semi-final wins over Belgium and England respectively.
France and Croatia have named unchanged starting line-ups for Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. (France vs Croatia LIVE)
Didier Deschamps has kept faith with the team that beat Belgium 1-0 in the last four, while Zlatko Dalic has been able to keep his favoured Croatia XI intact despite some injury concerns.
Dalic admitted on Friday that one or two of his players were still feeling the effects of the 2-1 semi-final win over England, which was the third match in a row in which Croatia had gone to extra-time.
ALSO READ: FIFA president Gianni Infantino says World Cup 2018 has changed perception of Russia
However, the likes of Ivan Strinic and Ante Rebic have been passed fit, meaning Croatia will be at full strength when they take to the field at Luzhniki Stadium.
France have played comparatively few minutes in the knockout phase and have a fully fit squad to choose from. Deschamps appears to be sticking with a 4-2-3-1 system, meaning Antoine Griezmann will start behind striker Olivier Giroud.
Teams -
France: Lloris, Pavard, Varane, Umtiti, Hernandez, Pogba, Kanté, Mbappé, Griezmann, Matuidi, Giroud
Croatia: Subasic, Vrsaljko, Strinic, Lovren, Vida, Rakitic, Modric, Brozovic, Perisic, Mandzukic, Rebic
