It’s the final day at Russia 2018 as the World Cup final takes place between France and Croatia.
Five weeks of dramatic and breath-taking football culminates in the biggest sporting event in the world this afternoon, with 32 teams whittled down to just two. France will head into the Moscow final as heavy favourites, having eased past Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium to get here, while Croatia have done it the hard way by beating Denmark and Russia on penalties and England in extra-time.
We’ll also have all the latest from the England camp as they fly back from Russia following their joint-best performance at the World Cup in 52 years, although the campaign ended in disappointment as Gareth Southgate’s side suffered a 2-0 defeat in the third-place play-off against Belgium. However, Harry Kane looks set to become England’s first winner of the World Cup Golden Boot – providing one of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann don’t score a hat-trick in today’s final!
Follow all the latest news below...
Live Updates
12:03
"The French and Croatian players will know that they are on the brink of history heading into the World Cup final. But they must not think like that.
That is the key to playing a final. You cannot think about the history going into it. Only about the game itself."
Frank de Boer gives his insight on how to handle the pressure of football's biggest game.
Why N'Golo Kante holds the key to stopping Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic for France
The IndependentIn the latest of his columns for The Independent, Frank de Boer previews the World Cup final and recalls his experiences of one
11:47
Earlier this week, following Croatia's victory over England he came out and said he was one of the best defenders in the world, now Dejan Lovren becomes only the second player for an English club to get to the Champions League final and the World Cup final in the same year.
Second only to Thierry Henry, not bad company at all. Maybe he is one of the best defenders in the world.
11:34
No-one knows that better than Luka Modric. He's been speaking out about his ambitions ahead of the World Cup final.
Have a listen below:
11:32
But enough about England for the time being, today is a special day for France and Croatia, one match to go, one last chance for the players to write themselves into footballing glory.
11:26
Gareth Southgate has done wonders for England this tournament and to get so close to a World Cup final is heartbreaking.
He spoke out about his experiences of '96 and how it'll be different for him this time.
Coming so close will live with me forever, says Gareth Southgate
The Independent‘It’s been testing for me individually,’ Southgate said of the last few days
11:08
With this chapter of international football almost closed for England (Harry Kane may still win the Golden Boot) the focus has shifted to the next tournament in two years time.
England's performance in the 2020 European Championship will be crucial to how successful this World Cup has been, if they perform well then the foundations were built in Russia, if they revert back to the ways of old England then Russia will be seen as a one-off and possibly a disappointing one at that.
Harry Kane sets sights on Euro 2020 as Golden Boot lies in wait
The IndependentEngland bowed out of the World Cup with a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Belgium but both Kane and his coach Gareth Southgate believe there’s more to come from this squad
10:54
So, what next for England?
They exceeded expectations in this World Cup reaching the semi-finals for the first time in 28 years, they played with an intensity (especially in the first 45 minutes of their games) that allowed them to attack confidently and their set pieces were an ever present threat.
But what can they take away from this tournament, which areas need to improve so that in 4 years time saying 'It's coming home' isn't self-deprecatory but is an actually prediction.
Jonathan Liew breaks it down:
Immaturity saw England fall, but their maturity will see them rise again
The IndependentCroatia had 660 international caps to England's 294, and it told during the semi-final on Wednesday
10:40
But perhaps the biggest surprise to come out of England's dead rubber with Belgium was the fate of Eden Hazard, the Chelsea man says he's considering a move away from the London club and with a Cristiano Ronaldo shaped hole in Real Madrid's side could a trip to Spain be on the cards?
Eden Hazard makes startling admission that he is considering leaving Chelsea
The IndependentThe Belgium forward admitted after the 2-0 win over England that he has a ‘preferred destination’, but will leave the decision to sell him up to Chelsea
10:26
Back to yesterday now and Molly Hudson brings you the man-for-man marking from the World Cup third-place play-off.
Here's how the players rated:
World Cup 2018 player ratings: England vs Belgium
The IndependentEngland 2-0 Belgium: Man-for-man marking from the World Cup third-place play-off
10:15
And just to show how crucial Modric is to Croatia's chances of World Cup glory, here's a stat of his work load so far.
10:08
T-minus 6 hours until kick off for the World Cup final, who'll stand up on the biggest stage of all?
Kylian Mbappe has been electrifying for France, his performances being one of the few sparks in a team that just gets the job done.
Luka Modric is Croatia's play-maker but he'll have his work cut out in mid-field against the likes of N'Golo Kante and Antoine Griezmann.
Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic join Modric in Croatia's mid-field and if they have a good game today we could be in for a thriller.
10:01
The continuing enigma of Phil Jones' talents was once again on display against Belgium earning him some decent praise from former Manchester United star and now pundit Gary Neville but was that praise warranted?
Lawrence Ostlere gives his verdict.
Phil Jones running out of time to shake his tag as dead-rubber specialist
The IndependentWatching Jones here, a man who doesn’t run so much as gallop, who doesn’t head the ball so much as fling his face towards it, Gary Neville's post-match praise seemed off the mark
09:48
Despite the loss and the overall nature of the match, there are always things to take away from it.
Here's what we learned from England's final game of the World Cup and what we can build on in the future.
Five things we learned from England vs Belgium
The IndependentThomas Meunier scored Belgium’s opener in the fourth minute and Eden Hazard added a late second in what was a fairly comfortable victory
09:35
England's World Cup is over and they finished in fourth place after a lacklustre performance against Belgium yesterday. They did however exceed expectations and give us all a little hope that this team of players can do something special in the future.
For those who missed the game yesterday here's Jack Pitt-Brooke with his take on the match.
England end World Cup with a whimper in convincing defeat by Belgium
The IndependentEngland 0-2 Belgium: Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard seal third place for Roberto Martinez’s side and condemn England to fourth place and three defeats at the World Cup
09:26
It's the last day of the World Cup 2018, and we have an all European final. Will France regain the trophy for the first time in 20 years or will Croatia cause an upset and claim the title?
09:14
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's World Cup live blog, where we'll bring you all the latest news and updates ahead of the final between France and Croatia.
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