The highs and lows of FIFA World Cup 2018

As an unpredictable and exciting FIFA World Cup draws to a close, ET Magazine previews the final between France and Croatia, and brings you some of the highlights of the tournament
France vs Croatia
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
July 15, 8:30 pm (IST)

Tournament Records
Contenders for Golden Boot

Harry Kane -England-6

Romelu Lukaku -Belgium-4

Kylian Mbappe -France-3

Most goals scored by a team-14 (Belgium)
Most goals conceded by a team-11 (Panama)

Most possession-69% (Spain)
Fastest sprint-34 km/h
Cristiano Ronaldo
(Portugal) against Spain
Cante Rebic
(Croatia) against Denmark
Strengths
France- Variety and depth in squad, Mbappe's pace and in-form Griezmann
Croatia - Strong midfield

Emerging Players

LucasTorrerira-Uruguay

Hirving Lozano-Mexico

Kieran Trippier-England

Yerry Mina-Colombia

Weaknesses
France-Striker Olivier Griroud hasn't scored yet and defender Samuel Umtiti has not been consistent
Croatia- Potentially costly injury to Perisic and a tired team after playing for 120 minutes in each of their last three games


Head-to-Head
5 (France - 3, Croatia - 0,
Draw - 3);
Their first meeting was in the semi-final of the 1998 World Cup, which was Croatia's first ever and which France went on to win
World Cup Titles

1 for France

0 for Croatia


Passing Accuracy
France-84%
Croatia-82%

France-Leading Goal Scorers
Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe 3 each
Croatia-
Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric 2 each

Goals Scored (& Conceded)
France-10(4)
Croatia-12(5)


Attempts Accuracy
France-32%
Croatia-26%


Triumph of the Immigrant
At a time when immigration is a hot-button issue in Europe, players who were born outside the country they play for or to immigrant parents in that country were a talking point of the tournament

Kylian Mbappé-France

N'Golo Kanté-France

Romelu Lukaku-Belgium

Raheem Sterling-England

Let-downs
Argentina: Uninspiring and just about made it to the round of 16
Germany: Defending champions couldn't make it past the group stage
Spain: Couldn't capitalise on their possession and won just one out of four games

Lionel Messi: In what is probably his last World Cup, Messi scored just one goal

Neymar: He netted the ball twice but was not quite up to scratch

David de Gea: Arguably the world's best goalkeeper, de Gea conceded six goals in the World Cup


What Social Media Loved
Romelu Lukaku's powerful piece, "I've Got Some Things to Say," in the Players' Tribune, where he chronicled his incredible journey from a poverty-stricken childhood in a family of Congolese immigrants to playing for Belgium, was shared many times over
Neymar's theatrical dives and rolls set off a social media frenzy, with people posting videos imitating his antics using #NeymarChallenge
French defender Samuel Umtiti's groovy strut after scoring a header in the semi-final against Belgium was all over Twitter

*Note: Numbers exclude third place match data