France vs Croatia: Who will win rematch of 2018 World Cup final?

In their draw with Austria, France went with Tchouameni and Kamara, then had Coman, Greizmann and Diaby in front. That looks a better balance, and they still needed a late goal, from Mbappe off the bench, to get a draw.

That Croatia midfield is tasty, eh. Neither Modric nor Kovacic played on Friday night, so both should be relatively fresh for this, and it's in the centre of the pitch that they've got the advantage. I've not a clue why any manager would go against those three with a two, but Deschamps is Deschamps.

I am, though, looking forward to a first proper look at Boubacar Kamara, who's moving from Marseille to Aston Villa, and I'm also intrigued to see how Matteo Guendouzi has come on. When he was at Arsenal, he topped my list of players whose idea of how good they are is furthest from how good they are, but he's had a brilliant season by all accounts, so let's see how he does tonight.

Back to France, I am not, for instance, having that Rabiot is a left-winger, nor that Nkunku is a right-winger, not aht 4-4-2 is the best way to get the most from these players.

Let's have some teams...

Croatia, meanwhile, are as difficult an opponent as ever, tough at the back, crafty in midfield and dangerous enough in attack. They won in Denmark on Friday night so will be full of confidence, and one thing you always know is that they'll turn up. This should be good.

I'm looking forward to this one. France have had a miserable start to their Nations League campaign, taking just two points from their first three games - they were beaten at home by Denmark, drew in Croatia, then again in Austria. That leaves them bottom of the table - Croatia are one place above with four points, Austria have the same, and Denmark six.

As such, the hosts need a win tonight, not just to improve their position but to remind everyone, themselves included, how good they should be. There might never have been as talented a crop of players in the entire history of international football, but that's not since much use if the manager can't convert it into a coherent XI, and that's been the case even since before France won the World Cup. In Russia, talent was enough, but it didn't work out at the Euros, and it's not working out here either.