When you saw the way they thrashed Argentina, they looked like real contenders for the World Cup. But then they eked out extraordinarily narrow victories over Denmark and Russia, neither of which ought to have been all that hard in theory, and looked rather tired in the process.

I guess it's fair to conclude now that they've performed better against serious competition than against lesser sides, and they certainly have a shot against France.

But still, France are the favourites to win it - world class players on every position, who are now playing with more cohesion than at the start of the tournament, while Croatia has only a few world class players plus a bunch of merely good ones, even if they have been rising above themselves. Modric would be at the top of my shortlist for player of the tournament, though, if he doesn't disappoint in the final.