PARIS, July 7: The World Cup can expect an explosion of national pride or the stunned silence of shattered dreams when France play Croatia tomorrow.Either way, the semi-final will make history.The Stade de France could resound to unprecedented celebrations as the hosts, one of 13 countries to compete in the very first World Cup in 1930, reach their first final after failing to get past the last four three times.Or the crowd could be stunned as Croatia, with some of Europe's top players, become the first side in 64 years to reach the final on their World Cup debut and the first East European finalists since 1962.``Make no mistake, we want to reach the final,'' declared Croatian defender Slaven Bilic, relishing the prospect of what is sure to be a nail-biting night in the northern Paris suburb of St Etienne.All of France will be against him, including of course the organising committee chairman Michel Platini who was in the French team that lost the 1982 and 86 semis.France, who beat Italy onpenalties in the quarter-finals, are the favourites for a clash between the two sides with the best defensive records in the tournament but Croatia have absolutely nothing to lose and all to gain.France have conceded just one goal, a penalty, in five games while Croatia, beaten by Argentina, have let in two.But France have also failed to score within the 90 minutes since knocking in nine goals in the first round and have had two grueling marathon matches while Croatia look to be hitting their peak right on schedule.Croatian coach Miroslav Blazevic, who also worked with French captain Didier Deschamps at Nantes and has tipped France to win the Cup, believes his opponents have defensive weaknesses that can be exploited by a counter-attacking side like his.The Croats, having dropped playmaker Robert Prosinecki, have used the wings to telling effect in dispatching Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals, a win that did much to boost the lowest scoring side in the semi-finals.France are looking toattacking Juventus mid-fielder Zinedine Zidane, the most gifted playmaker the country has produced since Platini, who also filled that role at the Italian club.Croatia have Mario Stanic outstanding in mid-field and striker Davor Suker in full flow, with four goals so far. One more would make him joint top scorer of the tournament, alongside Christian Vieri and Gabriel Batistuta.PROBABLE TEAMSFrance: 16-Fabien Barthez, 15-Lilian Thuram, 5-Laurent Blanc, 8-Marcel Desailly, 3-Bixente Lizarazu, 7-Didier Deschamps (Captain), 17-Emmanuel Petit, 6-Youri Djorkaeff, 11-Robert Pires, 10-Zinedine Zidane, 20-Thierry Henry.Croatia: 1-Drazen Ladic, 4-Igor Stimac, 6-Slaven Bilic, 20-Dario Simic, 17-Robert Jarni, 14-Zvonimir Soldo, 7-Aljosa Asanovic, 10-Zvonimir Boban (Captain), 13-Mario Stanic, 9-Davor Suker, 19-Goran Vlaovic.
