The biggest spectacle in sport is just a day away. France will take on Croatia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.  After some truly enthralling encounters in the quarter-finals and semifinals, arguably two of the best teams in the tournament are left standing.

Hero Indian Super League (ISL) star Udanta Singh will be one among the millions watching the game with excitement and rapt attention. Prior to the tournament’s climax, the Indian forward spoke exclusively to indiansuperleague.com on what he expects from the tie as well as his thoughts on the previous knockout rounds.

Special ingredients to make it to the World Cup final

France have had to overcome stubborn opposition on their road to the final. After a stunning 4-3 victory against Argentina in the Round of 16, Les Blues showed their defensive solidarity with victories against Uruguay and Belgium. Udanta attributes their teamwork as the most important quality which has brought them this far in the tournament. “France are in top form in this World Cup. They are unbeaten and their hope for the second World Cup title is at the door. In the Uruguay match, they attacked well and also defended well. But in the match against Belgium, their performance was at par. According to me, their most important quality will be their team work. “

Croatia on the other hand have had to rely on extra-time winners and penalty shootouts to reach their first ever World Cup final. But Udanta has been impressed with the team’s fighting spirit, which dragged them over the line in the nail-biting semi-final against England. “Croatia are also unbeaten in this tournament. They played as a team, worked as a team and performed as a team. No doubt the result came their way.” The 22-year-old also singled out Croatia’s quarter-final and semi-final clashes as the most enjoyable fixtures of the respective rounds. “I enjoyed the quarter final match between Russia and Croatia that lead to a penalty shoot-out after Mario Fernandes’ equalizer. For the semi-finals, it was Croatia against England.” 

The X-Factor

This World Cup edition has seen some of world football’s biggest stars rise to the occasion and deliver impressive results for their respective nations. Udanta pointed out Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric as the best players of the World Cup. Mbappe has left the footballing community awestruck with his dazzling displays and speed in the knockout stages of the tournament, while Modric has been the pivotal force behind Croatia’s best ever run in the World Cup.

Jaw-dropping goals

From Lionel Messi’s wonder goal against Nigeria to Edinson Cavani’s sublime finish against Portugal, we have seen some memorable goals among the 161 scored so far at this tournament. Udanta particularly enjoyed Denis Cheryshev’s 25 yard-curler against Croatia in the quarter-finals and Kieran Trippier’s delightful free-kick in the semi-finals for England.

Final Predictions

The Bengaluru FC forward, who will be watching the big game with his team-mates, gave us his prediction and also shared his opinion on who he thought would make a difference in the game. “I think Croatia can win. But Kylian Mbappe can make a difference with his speed, skill and goal-scoring ability. “