Any doubts that lingered over whether Croatia would start conservatively having played three 120-minute games on the trot were put to bed as soon as the match kicked off.
Zlatko Dalic had clearly told his players to press the French players when they had the ball and the team pressed as a formidable unit, denying the midfielders of both space and time on the ball.
While Paul Pogba was able to wriggle out of trouble or win a foul, N’Golo Kante was also targeted and dispossessed while Kylian Mbappe was not allowed to switch on his afterburners on the right flank.
This allowed Croatia to mount a few attacks of their own – especially down the flanks – and it was only some last-ditch defending from Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti that kept them at bay and prevented shots on target.