Croatia ready to give something extra

Moscow: Croatia’s players should have been tired Wednesday during their World Cup semi-final with England.

They had already played two extra time games in the tournament’s knockout stage, winning both in penalty-kick shoot-outs. No team had ever won three straight overtime games in a World Cup. Until now.

Croatian captain Luka Modric said his team embraced the challenge of doing things the hard way, adopting the motto “We will see who will be tired” as a rallying cry.

It worked, as Croatia defeated England 2-1 in extra time.

“Three times 120 minutes,” defender Dejan Lovren said, referring to the amount of time Croatia has played over the last 11 days. “And fresher legs today than the English team.”

In the postgame giddiness, midfielder Ivan Rakitic said his team can go another 120 minutes if needed in Sunday’s final against France. The last three World Cup finals have gone to extra time.

“We still have lots of energy in the tank,” Rakitic said.

Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic joked that the team is to blame for all the overtime it has turned in.

“It’s our fault,” he said. “Why didn’t we score earlier? Why didn’t we finish the job in regulation time?”

Croatia will be appearing in their first major championship final.

France have been surprised by the physical fortitude of Croatia and are not expecting tired opponents, midfielder Blaise Matuidi said.

France have won all of their matches since the round of 16 inside 90 minutes, effectively playing a full match less than Croatia at the tournament in Russia.

But Matuidi said he did not think the Croats would be fatigued by their added time on the pitch over the last week.

“I don’t think it’s a factor,” he said at the French training base on the outskirts of Moscow.

“We saw in the last game that they finished the stronger of the two teams. They did not look like a side who were playing extra time for a third time in a row. Surprisingly, they looked like they were playing their first game.

“They are a team playing in the World Cup final, a team with players who have a lot of experience. It will be a match they will be ready for and I don’t think extra time or penalties has been or will be a handicap for them.” The 31-year-old, who said it would be his last World Cup, predicted an exciting final with a high level of expertise.

“They are a team who defend well and attack well after recovering the ball. We are up against players of a high quality and with lots of experience,” Matuidi said.

“It is going to be important to concentrate hard because they have tremendous qualities.” But it was much the same with the French team too, he added.

“It’s the game of our lives to play in a World Cup final, a dream I’ve had since I was a kid. The cup feels so close we can almost touch it but there is still a lot to do to get there,” he said.

“We’ve prepared everything to win the game even if its extra time or penalties. It’s the winning that counts.”

Fifa has selected Argentina’s Nestor Pitana to referee the final between France and Croatia. It will be the fifth game at this World Cup for Pitana, and his second working with France and Croatia.