2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia June 14 - July 15,2018 - Croatia's Road To Final

Group matches (Group D: Croatia, Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland)

Croatia beat Nigeria 2-0 (June 16)
Croatia wanted to begin their World Cup campaign with a win and they did it with a disciplined performance against Nigeria. Oghenekaro Etebo's own goal in the first-half and skipper Luka Modric goal from the spot earned the Croatians their first three points.

Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 (June 21)
Zlatko Dalic-coached Croatia were up against the mighty Argentina led by Lionel Messi. Argentina didnt live up to the hype and lost by a margin of 3 goals. The two-time champions fell to goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic propelling Croatia to take the top spot in their group securing the last 16 berth in the process.

Croatia beat Iceland 2-1  (June 26)
Croatia came into this match after registering back-to-back wins and were afforded the luxury to rest their key players. Milan Badelj gave the Croatians the lead in the second half but his goal was cancelled out by Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson, who scored a penalty. Substitute Ivan Perisic hit the winning goal in the 90th minute and went to the Round of 16 with a 100 per cent record in the group stage.

Round of 16

Croatia beat Denmark 3-2 on penalties (The match was locked 1-1 at full-time)
The last 16 clash between these two nations got off to a flying start as Mathias Jorgensen scored in the first minute to give Denmark the lead. Mario Mandzukic levelled soon after in the 4th minute. Croatian skipper Modric missed a penalty in the extra-time. Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the hero of the match after he saved penalties from Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone and Nicolai Jorgensen and guiding his team to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals

Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties (The match was locked 2-2 at full-time)
This was the second successive match for Croatia that went into extra-time and penalties. Denis Cheryshev's curler for Russia was cancelled out by Andrej Kramaric in the stipulated ninety minutes. Domagoj Vida put Croatia in front in the extra-time but Mario Fernandes' header in the dying minutes saw Russia level the score 2-2. Fedor Smolov's spot-kick was saved by Subasic and a miss by Fernandes in the shoot-out saw the hosts bow out of the tournament.

Semi-finals

Croatia beat England 2-1 (After Extra-Time)
Croatia reached their first-ever World Cup final after they beat England 2-1 in extra time in Moscow. Mandzukic scored the winning goal in the 109th minute of the semi-final, slotting in from Ivan Perisic's flick-on into the area. England were given the dream start through Kieran Trippier's 20-yard free-kick after only five minutes, but Perisic's 68th-minute equaliser sent the match into extra time.

Croatia will take on France in their first World Cup final on Sunday July 15,2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

While Croatia are first-time finalists at the World Cup, they are more than familiar with their opponents.

Croatia have never beaten France in five attempts, the most famous of which was the semi-final in 1998 when the hosts beat the debutants 2-1 thanks to a Lilian Thuram double.

That was the first time the teams met and since then there have been three friendlies – all France victories – and a draw in the Uefa European Championship group stage in 2004.

The most recent match was in 2011 but several of those who played out a 0-0 draw in Paris could be in action in the biggest game of their lives on Sunday night as Croatia look to beat France for the first time.

World Cup Final 2018 - France vs Croatia: All you need to know

World Cup 2018 stats for France and Croatia

France 

• Goals - 10
• Shots, on Target - 23
• Shots, Total (inc. Blocks) - 74
• Possession - 50.7%
• Passes - 2769
• Passing Accuracy - 82.9%
• Goals Conceded - 4
• Shots Faced (inc. Blocks) - 51
• Shots on Target Faced - 16

Croatia 

• Goals - 12
• Shots, on Target - 25
• Shots, Total (inc. Blocks) - 99
• Possession - 55.8% 
• Passes - 3291
• Passing Accuracy - 80.83% 
• Goals Conceded - 5
• Shots Faced (inc. Blocks) - 78
• Shots on Target Faced - 21

France goalscorers

• Kylian Mbappe - 3
• Antoine Griezmann - 3
• Raphael Varane - 1
• Samuel Umtiti - 1
• Benjamin Pavard - 1 

 Croatia goalscorers

• Luka Modric - 2 
• Mario Mandzukic - 2
• Ivan Perisic - 2
• Domagoj Vida - 1 
• Andrej Kramaric - 1
• Milan Badelj - 1
• Ante Rebic - 1 
• Ivan Rakitic - 1 

France squad

Goalkeepers: Alphone Areola (PSG), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid), Presnel Kimpembe (PSG), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Adil Rami (Marseille), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Blaise Matuidi (Juventus), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla), Paul Pogba (Manchester United), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich)

Forwards: Olivier Giroud (Chelsea), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Thomas Lemar (Monaco), Nabil Fekir (Lyon), Florian Thauvin (Marseille), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)

Croatia squad

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Gent), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo)

Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinic (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Duje Caleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Filip Bradaric (Rijeka)

Strikers: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Ivan Perisic (Inter), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebic (Eintracht)