<P> The match was the first World Cup final for Croatia in their fifth World Cup appearance . They are the 10th European country and 13th overall to reach a World Cup final, and the first new finalist since Spain in 2010 . With a population of 4.17 million, Croatia is the second least - populated country to play in a World Cup final, behind Uruguay (victors in 1930 and 1950). Croatia's previous best performance was as World Cup debutants in 1998, when they finished in third place, losing 2--1 to hosts France in the semi-finals before beating the Netherlands 2--1 in the third place play - off . </P> <P> The final was the sixth meeting between France and Croatia, with France undefeated in the previous fixtures with three wins and two draws . The two sides first met in the 1998 World Cup semi-final, with hosts France winning 2--1 . Their only other competitive meeting was during the group stage of Euro 2004, which finished as a 2--2 draw . Their next, and most recent, meeting was in a March 2011 friendly match, which finished as a 0--0 draw . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> France </Th> <Th> Round </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Croatia </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Opponents </Td> <Td> Result </Td> <Td> Group stage </Td> <Td> Opponents </Td> <Td> Result </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Australia </Td> <Td> 2--1 </Td> <Td> Match 1 </Td> <Td> Nigeria </Td> <Td> 2--0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Peru </Td> <Td> 1--0 </Td> <Td> Match 2 </Td> <Td> Argentina </Td> <Td> 3--0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Denmark </Td> <Td> 0--0 </Td> <Td> Match 3 </Td> <Td> Iceland </Td> <Td> 2--1 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Group C winners <Table> <Tr> <Th> Pos </Th> <Th> Team <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Th> <Th> Pld </Th> <Th> Pts </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> France </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 7 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Denmark </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 5 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Peru </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Australia </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> Source: FIFA </Td> <Td> Final standings </Td> <Td_colspan="2"> Group D winners <Table> <Tr> <Th> Pos </Th> <Th> Team <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Th> <Th> Pld </Th> <Th> Pts </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Croatia </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 9 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Argentina </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Nigeria </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> </Th> <Td> Iceland </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table> Source: FIFA </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Opponents </Td> <Td> Result </Td> <Td> Knockout stage </Td> <Td> Opponents </Td> <Td> Result </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Argentina </Td> <Td> 4--3 </Td> <Td> Round of 16 </Td> <Td> Denmark </Td> <Td> 1--1 (a.e.t.) (3--2 p) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Uruguay </Td> <Td> 2--0 </Td> <Td> Quarter - finals </Td> <Td> Russia </Td> <Td> 2--2 (a.e.t.) (4--3 p) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Belgium </Td> <Td> 1--0 </Td> <Td> Semi-finals </Td> <Td> England </Td> <Td> 2--1 (a.e.t.) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> France </Th> <Th> Round </Th> <Th_colspan="2"> Croatia </Th> </Tr>

Who won semi final fifa world cup 2018
find me the text answering this question