France, who are looking to lift their second World Cup trophy, will face Croatia in the final at Moscow's 78,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium later on Sunday at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT).

"As for the chances [to win the World Cup], I think, France have a more balanced team but, on the other hand, Croatia showed an incredible will to win. They played their last three matches with extra time and it shows their character, which is important in the finals," Gazzaev said.

The Croatian national team drew all of their three knockout-stage matches following normal time and had to play for another 30 minutes on each occasion and take part in two penalty shootouts against Denmark in the round of 16 and against Russia in the quarter-final.

In the semi-final, Croatia salvaged a 2-1 victory over England through Mario Mandzukic's goal in the 109th minute.