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France vs Croatia 2018 World Cup Final Betting Preview

France vs Croatia 2018 World Cup Final Betting Preview

Written by on July 13, 2018

Soccer News and Betting Previews| Xbet.ag
France entered the 2018 World Cup as one of the favorites despite the youth of their roster, because of their combination of speed and skill. They face a team that few thought would make it past the round of 16 in a Croatian side that surprised observers by taking all nine points in group play and has since then won three consecutive matches in extra time, twice with penalty kicks and then eliminating England in extra time, 2-1, in the semifinals. Now the two sides face off for soccer’s grandest trophy, as France looks to win for the first time since 1998, and Croatia makes their first appearance ever in a World Cup final, becoming the 13th nation to do so. Take a look at our 2018 World Cup Final betting preview for this championship match.

France vs Croatia 2018 World Cup Final Betting Preview

When: Sunday, July 15, 2018, 11:00am ET Where: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow TV: FOX Radio: None Live Stream: fuboTV 2018 World Cup Final Odds: France -106 / Draw +230 / Croatia +375 / O/U 2.5

Why should you bet on France?

The top reason to bet on France is the fact that Croatia has effectively had to play a full additional game as far as time on the pitch goes over the last three rounds — plus two rounds of penalty kicks. Thirty extra minutes for each of three games mean a full match’s worth of wear on the legs, not to mention the emotional stress of extra time and the rounds of kicks. France hasn’t really had to work that hard at any point in this World Cup, making everything look easy, scoring only when they have to. France has gotten some terrific highlights from Kylian Mbappe, who at 19 will be making headlines in at least two, if not three, more World Cups should he avoid injury, but this is a team that has played within Didier Deschamps’ system, wearing down their opponents with disciplined play and then slipping daggers into opposing goals. The center backs have scored the winning goals in the quarterfinals and the semifinals, which means that opponents have been marking the best scorers only to give up goals anyway. Croatia definitely has their work cut out for them in this final.

Why should you bet on Croatia?

Croatia has been running around with their hair on fire since the qualification for the World Cup. They had to win at Ukraine in order to qualify for the World Cup at all. But Luka Modric has led this team on the field, and they just keep advancing. You have to wonder when midnight will strike for this team, though. Even though they scored plenty of goals in group play, they needed penalty kicks to eliminate Denmark and Russia — two teams who are obviously lesser in terms of talent on the pitch. They rose to the occasion against England, but England has an offense that has been questionable since the beginning and only mustered one shot on goal in their semifinal — the free kick that ended up scoring in the fifth minute. One argument for Croatia is that they have faced tests that France has not. There has never been a champion that emerged as a sort of “golden generation” or Cinderella story that has won the whole thing — it’s just the countries that have talent development programs and are almost always around at the end that win. Croatia has not emerged from group play since 1998 — when they went to the semifinals. So if anyone can surprise France, it is Croatia.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction for the 2018 World Cup Final

From a betting perspective, you have to take France — the different in talent is simply too great. Croatia has a lot of heart, but they simply haven’t played anyone with France’s pedigree on the field, in terms of talent, speed and system. Croatia will make France work hard, but fatigue will end up playing a role, and France will unleash its offense at just the right times. I predict a final score of France 2, Croatia 1.
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