France vs Croatia, World Cup final 2018: Luka Modric wins personal battle with N'Golo Kante but can't impose order on a chaotic final, scouting report

The Real Madrid playmaker made his mark on the World Cup final in Moscow but France's superior firepower won the day

Luka Modric produced more compelling evidence that he has been the World Cup’s best player in an historic final appearance for Croatia, but was ultimately powerless to prevent France winning a spectacularly entertaining game at the Luzhniki Stadium.

The decorated Real Madrid playmaker emphatically won his personal battle with N’Golo Kante, the world’s best destructive midfielder operating at the peak of his powers, but another impressive display was not quite enough to propel Croatia to what would have gone down as the biggest final upset in modern World Cup history.

Modric has led from the front for Croatia throughout this tournament, from the devastating dismantling of Argentina in the group stage to the indignant fury that fuelled their semi-final fightback against England. On the road to Moscow he had completed more passes than any non-Spaniard and created 16 chances, twice as many as any of his teammates.

In the first half Croatia defied predictions of exhaustion from their marathon knockout run by pressing France high up the pitch. Modric, starting his 12th World Cup finals game to become his country’s record appearance-maker in the competition, set the tone, charging down and fouling Samuel Umtiti inside the first 90 seconds.

Starting in the No10 position but drifting back into the right side of Croatia’s central midfield, Modric’s movement and intensity were key to bringing about arguably the worst performance of Kante’s top-level career. Chelsea’s midfield destroyer picked up an uncharacteristic yellow card and repeatedly gave the ball away under pressure before being substituted in the 55th minute.

Modric, in contrast, was at the centre of Croatia’s best work, intelligently probing France’s deep defence and causing panic with pinpoint set-piece deliveries. His role in Ivan Perisic’s spectacular equaliser is easily forgotten, but crucial; picking out the head of Sime Vrsaljko at the back post to spark the penalty area scramble that eventually enabled Domagoj Vida to find the Inter forward.

Circumstances conspired against him and Croatia, however, with Griezmann forcing an own goal from Mandzukic from a free-kick that should never have been awarded and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system controversially penalising Perisic in his own penalty area for handball. Modric felt like the only man on the pitch attempting to impose order on the chaos around him.

France’s lead forced Croatia to take even more risks after the break and an open game was always more likely to favour speed and power in transition than Modric’s patient passing. There was a cruel poetry to the fact that he was the man who unsighted Danijel Subasic from Pogba’s curling – and ultimately decisive – goal.

Kylian Mbappe became only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final to add another layer of gloss to France’s victory and ensure that Hugo Lloris’ huge howler to gift Mandzukic a goal counted for nothing, but this game was much closer than the final score suggested and Modric can take some consolation from the fact that he was the best player on the pitch.

Modric will never be able to add a World Cup winners' medal to an illustrious collection that includes four Champions League triumphs, but he confirmed his status as a generational midfield talent by making more of a mark on the biggest stage of all than most players can ever hope to do - even in defeat.