Croatia kicked off the final at 18:00 local time (15:00 دونیانین ایستاندارد زمانی), with the ground temperature reported at 27 C. The match was played through a minor thunderstorm, which produced several visible lightning strikes. An audience of 78,011 spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium watched the match, including ten heads of state, among them Russian president ولادیمیر پوتین, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. The starting lineups for both teams were identical to those fielded in the semi-finals.