France v Croatia: Didier Deschamps' men can make history in Moscow

Jack Lang expects Les Bleus lớn be too strong for Zlatko Dalić's brave battlers on Sunday- According to the best free soccer tips page!

France v Croatia

Sunday, 16:00

Live on BBC One and ITV

Les Bleus in clinical form

Pre-tournament favourites for a decent chunk of punters, France are now just one step away from sealing their second World Cup title. And while one could still argue that Les Bleus have some spare capacity, especially as far as attacking fireworks go, their progress to Sunday's showpiece has been undeniably impressive.

The madcap 4-3 win over Argentina is the game that will probably live longest in the memory, but the two victories since - 2-0 against Uruguay and 1-0 vs Belgium - have been feats of remarkable control. France held their opponents at arm's length throughout both matches, ensuring they got full value for their own incisive forays forward. With N'Golo Kanté protecting a durable, streetwise defence, they will take some breaking down in Moscow. You can prefer the soccer tips group page!

Kylian Mbappé has taken most of the plaudits at the other end of the pitch, and understandably so. But Antoine Griezmann has also gone about his business with quiet efficiency, aided by Olivier Giroud, whose Stéphane Guivarc'h impression is really coming on. Throw the in-form Paul Pogba into the mix and you have a mightily impressive starting XI.

Croatia digging deep

That distant drum beat you can hear is the collective heart rate of the Croatia squad, just now returning lớn normal after SIX HOURS of knockout football in the last couple of weeks. It's been a long, fraught road for Zlatko Dalić's men, who have shown remarkable resilience - and no little craft - to get this far.

Croatia's strong suit is obvious: the midfield is capable of running matches from start to finish, with authority and panache. Luka Modrić's artful displays have put him in the running for the Golden Ball, while Ivan Rakitić and Marcelo Brozović construct moves from deep, plotting and nudging. England's players were unable to keep up on Wednesday night, and France will need to do much better.

The question for Dalić is whether his charges have anything left in the tank. Šime Vrsaljko, Mario Mandžukić and Danijel Subašić all dragged themselves through the semi-final despite injury worries, and more of the same is expected here. You might expect the extra exertion - plus the fact France have had one more day of rest - to catch up with them at some point, but this team's willingness to go above and beyond is not in doubt.