Best Bet: Can France break deadlock trend again in World Cup final?
Later this evening either France or Croatia will be crowned world champions in Russia, and it’s fair to say the former are favoured to pick up their third such title with the bookmakers.
Croatia, after all, are new to this stage of the tournament and while the players were quick to accuse the English press in particular of writing them off due to fatigue, the case remains that Zlatko Dalic have reached this stage the hard way.
All three of their knockout games to this point have gone to extra-time, where France haven’t gone the distance once yet this summer and approach the showpiece in Russia with a day’s extra rest.
France will know not to be complacent - they lost the 2006 final to an Italy side that needed extra time in the semi-finals - but with 90 minutes fewer than their opponents to recover from, Deschamps will want to make any physical advantage count.
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He’ll know that the longer the game remains in the balance, the more Croatia will believe that they can upset the odds and lift the trophy for the first time, so he’ll be keen for his nation to repeat their last World Cup winning performance of 1998.
Games of this magnitude are often cagey affairs early on after all, with six of the last seven finals at the tournament - dating back to 1990 - seeing the teams go into the interval with the scores level.
France’s victory on home soil twenty years ago was the only exception, when their now coach captained Zinedine Zidane and co. to an emphatic 3-0 win over Brazil, with the latter scoring twice before the break.
Given the rarity that finals are led by one team or another at half-time, the price of 2.80 with Ladbrokes and Coral on les Bleus to be ahead after 45 minutes is a bet worth taking.
That’s not falling into the trap of writing off Croatia again - who were behind at the interval in the semi-final with England after all - but suggesting that if they are to pull off a shock, they’ll have to do it the hard way. The Croatia way, if you will!
