The showdown will take place at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium with the kick-off set for 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT).

"I hope France win the final, but the match will not be easy. Croatia have a great potential but we hope we will get the second star [on our shirts]. [Didier] Deschamps played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final and won it. Now he is the head coach and can repeat that success with the national team," Ba told journalists.

All World Cup-winning nations add a star to their national teams' shirts to commemorate each victory with five-time champions Brazil being the first country to add a star after their triumph at the 1970 World Cup.

France, who claimed their only World Cup title on home turf in 1998, will be playing in their third final in 20 years. The team's current head coach Deschamps was the captain of the World Cup-winning squad back in 1998.