2018 FIFA World Cup Finals

Finally, the World Cup 2018 comes to a Finale with France and Croatia competing for the World Cup. Although they utilize a 4-2-3-1 formation that makes use of the midfield talents, they have walked different paths to the final. France has defeated Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium in regular time, which were all already-established teams.On the other hand, Croatia has defeated Denmark, Russia and England in extra time, who were not the favorites of the tournament. Their age is another difference, with France brimming with youth around 25 years, while Croatia boasts veterans who are 29 years old at average.

Hello Rankers!
To help you score better in RankingBall and win more, here's a strategy guide which can kick you off.It is only 1 hour and 15 minutes until the finals, so read this guide and get your entry ready!! There is lots of RBG to be won! In this guide, we will go over which players you can expect to put in your RankingBall bingo.

Croatia Preview

While coming here, Croatia has created history. It is its first final in history, and the midfielders Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic will earn a world cup trophy, along with the numerous other trophies they collected at Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. Croatia has struggled its way to the Finals. All the matches that Croatia fought went to extra time, but Croatia performed impressively as if the extra time did not take the tolls on them. In fact, they actually covered more distance than England, with Brozovic running 16km. It was England that was mentally tired out as the game flew into extra time. Considering that the last 3(2006, 2010, 2014) World Cup finals did not end in regular time, if the match flows into extra time again, it would be a hopeful news for Croatia, as the Croatian veterans' winning mentality will carry them through the finals. If Croatia wins today, it will defeat France in the first time in history, and win its first World Cup.

France Preview

The Les Bleus have finally escaped from the shadow of the legendary footballer, Zinedine Zidane. Following Zidane's headbutt and retirement in 2006, France has failed miserably in the World Cup. This is their first World Cup final without Zidane, and with a new trophy, Griezmann could crown him as the new Zidane. Also, the French Coach Didier Deschamps will be winning two World Cup trophies, one as a player in 1998, and another as a coach in 2018. However, for all this to happen, France would have to overcome their undisciplined mentality and lack of experience, which has cost them the loss at Euro 2016. As the saying 'no mill, no meal' says, France would have to make full use of its talent and organize them to win the final.

RankingBall Strategies

Instead of focusing on individual players, we'll discuss in the overall view of the game itself for the finals. As we have selected the same players each time repeatedly (Just look into our history, and see how many times we have selected Griezmann and Modric in every France and Croatia match)

Player Condition Analysis

Attack point - The set piece taker

Luka Modric(CRO) / Antoine Griezmann(FRA)

Football nowadays have changed. Set pieces have been recognized as reliable scoring opportunities. In fact, 40% of the goals in this World Cup have come from set pieces(Official FIFA article). Whether it be a direct shot at goal or a header, the set piece taker is almost guaranteed to earn an attack point if a goal occurs. Also, the set piece taker usually has the tactical understanding and kicking skill required elsewhere in the pitch - to put it short, the set piece taker is the team's play maker(=best offensive player).

Goal - The striker (3-4-3/4-4-2 teams) / The winger (4-2-3-1 teams) / Center-back(set-piece teams)

Ivan Perisic, Mario Mandzukic, Domagoj Vida(CRO) / Kylian Mbappe, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane(FRA)

When choosing the player who will score, first know what formation(i.e. tactic) which the team is using. Teams such as Belgium(4-3-3) and Uruguay(4-4-2) rely on talented strikers such as Eden Hazard and Luis Suarez to get goals. Teams such as Croatia and France that use the "sole striker" (4-2-3-1 formation) are less reliant on the sole striker in scoring. Instead, they use the sole striker's height and strength to secure air balls and begin the attack, instead of finishing it. One particular example is France's Olivier Giroud, who has not even had a shot on goal until the finals. In this case, go take the side wingers, as they are the ones who will inflitrate through the space that the central striker made and score goals. Another good candidate for the goal cell is the center defender. The center-backs' height is crucial in set pieces, and we have seen many center-backs such as Vertonghen, Varane, and even South Korea's Young-Kwon Kim score goals. Of course, tall strikers such as Harry Kane are also always an option.

Assist - midfielder / winger / side defender / lone striker

Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic (CRO) / Olivier Giroud, Benjamin Pavard, Paul Pogba (FRA)

Consider assist after committing 1 player to the attack point cell. This also is a question of which formation the team use. Teams that use 3 defenders usually don't utilize side-backs (i.e. England that uses 3-5-2). In this case, we can expect the wingers or the central midfielder to be giving kill passes that will lead to goals. In the case of teams that use the sole striker, consider the sole striker as the assist man. In fact, even Giroud who has not shot 1 shot on goal has an assist to his name.

Shot on -

Practically anyone who could qualify for the top 3 conditions listed, but not your top choices.

Brozovic, Matuidi, Hernandes, etc....

Team condition Analysis

Saves - the underdog, but with a good goalkeeper

Croatia.(Daniel Subacic)

Daniel Subacic is definitely one of the Golden Glove candidates in this tournaments. He has saved 5 penalties so far, which is equivalent to an entire penalty shootout. However, due to the fatigue issue and the objective squad talent(unfortunately for Croatia), Croatia will be on the defense in this matchup. Expect him to save many shots for Croatia... and for you.

Fouls / Carding - Look at the stats... and is there a 'tough guy' in midfield and defense?

Croatia, Marcelo Brozovic

Statistically speaking, Croatia is the more physical team of the two(101 vs 79). Even when considering the fact that Croatia played all its 3 tournament matches in extra time, Croatia has committed much more fouls than France did. If foul/carding comes as a player condition, then go for a player who has a reputation for playing tough and collecting cards. This particular 'tough guy' contributes to the team's overall card collection as well. If you have watched previous Croatia matches or Serie A Inter matches, you could know that Brozovic has collected 3 yellow cards in his previous 10 matches. Whether it be good or bad for his career, you can use this data to earn more points and win a Bingo in RankingBall.

Corners/Offsides - the more 'offensive side'

Croatia

Again, this is a question of statistics. One of the misconceptions is that the favorites in the match are more prone to getting corners and offsides, as they would be more offensive. However, there are particular teams such as France and Spain that prefer building up than going for the long ball for a quick attack. (The situation that corners/offsides occur) In the match between and Spain and Russia, there was 1 offside committed for each team and Spain only had 1 more corner than Russia (6 vs 5), despite the huge possession difference of 79 vs 21. If you wish to truly make a Bingo and make your cell count, it is more advisable to refer to the statistics (as it would take too much study to know about the style of a particular team) rather than to take a random hunch. Instead, save the underdog vs favorite guess when drafting players for the 'shot on' cell. We have taken these stats from the Fox Sports website and the FIFA website, so feel free to make full use of them!

This is an entry made by John, a football fan and a member of the RankingBall team, made with those factors put into discussion.