England’s World Cup dreams were shattered on Wednesday night – Croatia were the better side and deserved their spot in Sunday’s final.

Zlatko Dalic’s men will go up against France in Moscow and neutrals will be hoping for a close contest. Unfortunately for the Croatians, it might not pan out that way.

France, currently 4/9 to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy at the Luzhniki Stadium, were criticised by some for their defensive-minded performance against Belgium but Les Bleus will take no notice of the haters.

Didier Deschamps’ men will be quietly confident of emerging victorious on Sunday afternoon; they would be worthy winners.

The Euro 2016 runners up stuck to their game plan and it worked perfectly. Frustrating the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne was France’s primary objective and Hugo Lloris was a man mountain between the posts.

Expect N’Golo Kante to keep a close eye on Luka Modric throughout Sunday’s encounter.

In attack, France are blessed with quality – with the exception of Olivier Giroud. The Chelsea man has yet to register a shot on target this summer but Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe can fire Les Bleus to victory.

The latter is currently 17/20 to be awarded the Golden Ball for his efforts in the tournament and he could play a key role in the final.

Griezmann hasn’t had the best of tournaments but the Atletico Madrid man could step up to the plate on Sunday.

Valued at 7/4 to get his name on the scoresheet, punters will be expecting a big effort from Griezmann here. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the France star lead his side to glory on the biggest stage of all this weekend.

Croatia are no slouches though and they deserve their spot in the final. The better team in Wednesday’s semi-final for 70 minutes, Croatia will now look to come up with a game plan to stop this French outfit.

Luka Modric, the best central midfielder in world football, is key to their aspirations and he is a 2/1 chance to win the Golden Ball – a Croatia success may give him the edge over his rivals.

Ivan Perisic has been simply sublime this summer; sparking more rumours of a big money move to Manchester United.

First and foremost, he will be looking to help his side win the World Cup for the first time though and Perisic is 13/2 to get his name on the scoresheet. For what it is worth, his 4/1 price to receive a yellow card is also worth a look.

Sensational against Argentina, Croatia can be devastating and France will be wary of a shock onslaught. Dalic’s side are not as assured defensively but Les Bleus cannot afford to leave themselves exposed at the back.

It probably won’t be remembered as one of the most entertaining World Cup finals of all-time but it should still be fascinating.

With an extra day of rest, France may be slightly fresher and Deschamps’ guys will not panic if this one goes the distance.

Les Bleus have not gone beyond 90 minutes this summer whilst Croatia have played 120 minutes on three separate occasions. Punters fancying a tight clash can back the draw at 9/4.

For me though, I think France will be too strong. Les Bleus look destined to avenge that Euro 2016 defeat to Portugal in the best possible way this summer and it would take a brave man to back against them.

Defeat on Sunday should signal the end of Deschamps’ reign in charge but France are primed to step up and prove themselves on the biggest stage.

The 13/8 for France to win to nil should be snapped up. With four clean sheets in their last five matches, Les Bleus have been very strong defensively and Croatia may struggle to break them down.

Correct score-wise, France have enough quality to bag a couple of goals and the 2-0 is worth a strong look at 7/1.

TIP: France to win to nil @ 13/8

CORRECT SCORE: France 2-0 Croatia (Priced at 7/1 with 888sport)

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

The very best tennis betting players rise to the top no matter the conditions, able to find ways to deliver their best game irrespective of venue, atmosphere and even opponent.

Alas, not everybody is Roger Federer, although that would at least make for a competitive Wimbledon. Different playing surfaces are the biggest factor in affecting player performance.

Hard court is the bread and butter of the ATP tour, although there are variations within that form of surface. Many develop an aptitude for performing on clay, while others eagerly await the arrival of grass courts on the calendar.

The Grass Is Greener

However, there are few players among the ATP tour who would consider themselves as specialist grass-courters, and with good reason.

Players can feasibly go through an entire season and accumulate all of their points on either clay or hard courts, avoiding the other surface with steadfast resolve.

If a player only deigned to venture out onto grass courts, they'd find themselves very busy around June but with little else to do for the rest of the year.

Federer has become synonymous with Wimbledon (winning 8 titles will do that), but the Swiss legend has also claimed 11 titles across the two hard court majors.

Those who thrive on grass have to find ways to survive on other surfaces if they are to have success throughout the year.

Federer heads the betting markets for Wimbledon, as is customary, but the usual suspects behind him (Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic) regularly challenge across all surfaces.

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The lack of grass tournaments is bemoaned by many, usually those players who are adept on the surface. If grass had equal weighting to other surfaces, Feliciano Lopez would likely be reflecting on a career spent in the top 10 rather than sniffing around its edges.

Lopez claimed his maiden ATP500 title at Queen's last year, with the veteran powering past a quartet of players ranked in the top 15.

Lopez is an anomaly in terms of Spanish players, with his compatriots generally more at ease with the grind of a clay court. Lopez's more attacking approach can be exposed on the unforgiving clay but enables him to either carve out winners or set up clinical volleys on grass.

It helps that Lopez has a vicious serve that is easier to fall back on, on grass rather than other surfaces.

Lopez is a notable exponent of the serve-and-volley approach that used to be inextricably linked to Wimbledon, although it is sliding out of fashion.

The Dying Art Of The Serve-Volley

Its diminishing popularity is disheartening for a number of reasons. Tennis thrives on the clash of styles, and watching players both employ and respond to serve-and-volleys can be an engrossing experience.

Also, it still works. In fact, the serve-and-volley approach can often be a great leveller between players usually of disparate ability on other surfaces, with the strategy negating many elements of the opponent's game because the points can be over so quickly.

Nadal can testify to that, having lost to Dustin Brown at Wimbledon in 2015. The victory from the then world number 102 was an outrageous display of bold shot-making and attacking strategy, with Brown a renowned maverick who can fluctuate between excellent and erratic.

Nadal has further evidence to testify to the virtue of serve-and-volley. In 2017 he demonstrated that he is a mere mortal on grass, with Gilles Muller resilient and exquisite in a 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 victory in the last 16 at Wimbledon.

The epic encounter wasn't characterised by poor play by Nadal, but rather by Muller's continual ability to pull out mighty serves and spectacular winners.

On any other surface, Nadal would fancy his chances against Muller and Brown (and Lukas Rosol and Steve Darcis, two other generally unspectacular players who found new heights to overcome Nadal at Wimbledon).

Of course, on clay, Nadal would fancy his chances against all four of those players occupying the court at the same time. That may be slightly hyperbolic, but Nadal has exerted such a tight stranglehold that he has almost squeezed the life out of every French Open since he won his first in 2005.

Eleven titles later, it is impossible to gauge if there is a worthy successor to the title 'King of Clay' as Nadal's supremacy has distorted all concept of what it means to be a clay-court specialist.

All Hail The King Of Clay

Among all the shouty adoration of Roger Federer and Andy Murray at Wimbledon, it is easy to forget that Nadal has a brace of Wimbledon titles of his own and will always be considered among the favourites in London.

However, the Spaniard is indubitably more terrifying to play on clay, to the point that Roger Federer has even stopped entering the French Open in recognition of the futility of it all.

The slower nature of clay rewards players with outstanding athleticism, trustworthy defensive skills and strong mental fortitude. Nadal has all of this in spades, with the former two making winners on any other surface turn into returns of consummate ease for Nadal.

The mental resilience means that Nadal remains patient during the long rallies and picks his moment to strike with deadly precision.

Nadal's ridiculous physical strength sometimes overshadows his technical ability to shift between defence and attack seamlessly, while the topspin he can generate makes him the complete player on clay.

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The relative lack of speed robs big servers of their ability to boom down ace after ace, which means that players used to holding with reasonable ease find far more of their serves coming back to them on clay.

A look at the players who consider clay their favoured surface finds common themes emerge; the likes of Albert Ramos, Pablo Cuevas and David Ferrer have been able to sustain themselves in the higher echelons of the world rankings because of their topspin forehands.

Dominic Thiem has similar weapons in his armoury and looks set to win the French Open as soon as Nadal calls it a day, although it does look increasingly likely that Nadal will just win the French Open from now until the end of time.

Thiem is particularly striking in that he is extremely dependent on the ranking points that he accumulates on clay, unable to translate his game well to hard courts or grass.

Thiem's struggles on hard court are slightly odd, with a powerful serve and forehand that should give him the ability to dictate points. Perhaps it is a question of strategy, with Thiem so comfortable with his tactics on clay that he is unable to adapt successfully on different surfaces.

Could Edmund Be A Star?

Kyle Edmund is an atypical British tennis player; with Wimbledon swinging around and a British player ranked 17 in the world, you'd expect the national press to be bigging up Edmund as a potential title contender.

Of course, Edmund may well go deep at Wimbledon with his game that can trouble anyone. Yet Edmund plays his best game on clay and may rank the French Open as his best shot of a Grand Slam title (again, once/if Nadal gives up).

Edmund has already reached the Australian Open semi-finals and is priced at odds of 80/1 to go a couple of steps further in next year's competition.

Yet Edmund became comfortable on clay at an early age, finding that the slower courts gave him more time to uncork his forehand with both precision and power. With improved athleticism and a refined backhand, Edmund has all of the tools to be a threat on clay.

Of course, good players generally thrive on any surface, but it is the familiarity that can often breed extra confidence when a player takes to their preferred surface.

Take Victor Estrella Burgos, a hardy exponent of clay courts across the globe. The former top-50 player won the first three iterations of the ATP 250 tournament in Quito, a Nadal-esque level of dominance.

While Estrella is handy on all clay, he found a second home in Quito by adapting to the staggering altitude as well as the playing surface. Whether Nadal and Federer could adapt to such an environment may remain one of the great unanswered questions of our time; however, you'd suspect that they might do just fine.

In the mood for a quick rally on the courts? get all of the odds you want at www.888Sport.com

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*

Weeks of speculation over Cristiano Ronaldo’s future came to an end on Tuesday. The Portuguese superstar completed his transfer to Juventus for a fee in the region of £88 million.

A move away from the Santiago Bernabeu had been in the offing since Real Madrid won yet another Champions League, but it was still hard to really believe the rumours until an official announcement was made.

It’s almost surreal. Rumours of a transfer have previously been a crude decoy for a pay rise. This time it was obviously different, but Juventus were always way down the list of potential suitors.

The timing was strange for a transfer of this magnitude, too. They could have waited for the World Cup to end for maximum attention, and neither party made any flashy announcement.

The Old Lady got their man. A 33-year-old, five-time Ballon d’Or winner fresh off another remarkable season. Sure, there will be shouty criticisms in corners of the internet, but it’s hard to argue with the deal from Juventus’ perspective.

Expect A Busy Summer In Turin

This could be the first of many dominos to fall this transfer window. It’s been slow going for the rumour mill thanks to the World Cup, but sales from Juventus are inevitable now with Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala both linked with moves away. We could be seeing one or two Juve stars move to the Premier League before the window shuts.

Max Allegri’s squad may look quite different by the opening day of the Serie A season. The Turin-based club are massive favourites for yet another title, however, at 4/9.

Across multiple managers and teams, Juventus have won seven straight. Adding Ronaldo to the mix surely only enhances their chances of further success, even if it causes a minor rebuild of the team.
The loss of iconic goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon further emphasises the changing of the guard. Buffon was synonymous with Juventus, and his struggle to match his domestic success with a Champions League triumph had become one of the great footballing stories.

This era of Juventus dominance was built on shrewd deals and an Italian defensive core. Ronaldo is a move away from that, and maybe, just maybe, a significant moment for the whole of Italian football. It’s been a while since Serie A attracted the sport’s biggest names.

Napoli, Juventus’ closest competitors, are out at 6/1 to win the Scudetto. The price speaks volumes. Napoli could have a markedly different (weaker) squad themselves and are under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti instead of Maurizio Sarri, who masterminded their breath-taking football last season.

It’s possible, of course, that things go drastically wrong for Juventus and Ronaldo’s arrival upsets a club cruising domestically. That seems no more than a remote possibility, though, making Napoli’s 6/1 price still too short.

Dreaming of Europe

Juventus’ real desire is European glory. They’ve conquered Italy and reigned supreme for the best part of a decade, now it’s time to do what Buffon never could.  

No club has lost as many European Cup/Champions League finals as Juve (7). Two of those came since 2015, and five since they last won the competition in 1996. Ronaldo, in stark contrast, has won five Champions League finals in his career, including four of the last five.

One player is not going to take Juventus from nearly men to victors, that’s just now how football works, but it certainly increases their chances. Every fan, every manager in the world would rather that match defining chance was falling to Ronaldo rather than Higuain.

Ronaldo is a ruthless competitor and leader. It would be foolish to right that off as an irrelevance when evaluating Juventus’ chances in Europe’s premier competition.

What has made Real Madrid’s spell of Champions League dominance so remarkable, though, is the luck required to win knockout competitions. Good fortune, freak performances and an array of other factors influence a team’s chances of lifting the Champions League. The winners are not necessarily the best team, the same as with any knockout tournament.

Picking an outright winner is hard as a result. Juventus’ chances are obviously enhanced, but even choosing a favourite is challenging until we’ve seen where players move. Real Madrid will still be fancied by many, particularly if they were to add a couple more attacking superstars like Neymar and Eden Hazard.

Champions League or Bust

Ronaldo has adapted well as he’s aged. His influence on the match has lessened, but his impact in the final third is as great as ever. Decline physically has been held off – and maybe it will be indefinitely – but this is not a decade long project for Juventus.

It is probably a two or three year job for Ronaldo, giving a relatively small window for Juve to end their quest for that elusive third Champions League.

The impact this deal has on European football as a whole, and more specifically Italian football, is enormous. Without continental glory, though, Ronaldo’s time in Turin will be a relative disappointment, such is the expectation on one of the greatest footballers the sport has ever seen.

*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*