They are the 10th European country and 13th overall to reach a World Cup final, and the first new finalist since Spain in 2010. With a population of 4.17 million, Croatia is the second least-populated country to play in a World Cup final, behind Uruguay (victors in 1930 and 1950). Croatia's previous best performance was as World Cup debutants in 1998, when they finished in third place, losing to France in the semi-finals before beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the third place play-off. The final was the sixth meeting between France and Croatia, with France undefeated in the previous fixtures with three wins and two draws. The two sides first met in the aforementioned 1998 World Cup semi-final, with hosts France winning 2–1. Their only other competitive meeting was during the group stage of Euro 2004, which finished as a 2–2 draw. Their next, and most recent, meeting was in a March 2011 friendly match, which finished as a 0–0 draw. France entered the 2018 World Cup as one of the favourites to win the tournament, particularly for their strong squad featuring several youth talents. The team finished as runners-up to Portugal at Euro 2016, which the country hosted. The team qualified for the World Cup finals after finishing first in their qualification group, ahead of Sweden and the Netherlands. At the World Cup, France were drawn into Group C alongside Australia, Denmark, and Peru. The team defeated Australia 2–1 in its opening match in Kazan, with a penalty called by the video assistant referee and scored by Antoine Griezmann followed by an own goal deflected by Australian defender Aziz Behich. In its second match, France won 1–0 over Peru on a goal scored by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé, who became France's youngest goalscorer at a major tournament. The victory over Peru qualified France for the knockout stage, allowing manager Didier Deschamps to rest several starting players for the final group stage match against Denmark. The match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow finished in a scoreless draw marked by misplaced passes and goalkeeping mistakes. The team's group stage performance was characterised as lacking cohesion and failing to use its star players effectively. Finishing as winners of Group C, France were matched in the round of 16 with Group D runners-up Argentina. France won 4–3 on two goals scored by Mbappé, who also won a penalty in the opening minutes. Defender Benjamin Pavard also scored in the match, with his strike later voted as goal of the tournament.