There is usually a prize for third place in the World Cup. There may even be a podium to stand upon. There is also a tradition; the last time the match was not played, in 1950, the tournament did not have a final either.

All this will be of small comfort to the Dutch and Croatian teams who would much rather be somewhere else tonight than Parc des Princes. Given that it cannot be the final, home would seem the sensible option. The Dutch to rub their wounds, the Croatians to enjoy their new-found celebrity.

Licking wounds in public is not something you can usually do while showing consummate skills and playing passionate football and it may be that the Dutch, almost certainly carrying the bigger hangover of the two teams, will struggle the more tonight.

Guus Hiddink's team have a few walking wounded; Aron Winter and Michael Reiziger are both carrying physical bruises, to go with the emotional ones, and Marc Overmars will certainly be ruled out again by his persistent hamstring problems. The real worry for Hiddink, though, must be motivating his players.

Dennis Bergkamp, who failed to put his stamp upon the semi-final, will have his gloom amplified by the knowledge that this will be his last World Cup; he will not fly to the Far East for the next competition. Frank de Boer, who merited all the superlatives thrown his way on Tuesday, may find blunting Croatia's attacking edge mundane business after so clinically disarming the best in the world.

Patrick Kluivert, at least, can give his agent an extra edge in the negotiations with Arsenal and his aerial prowess may be the greatest threat to the Croatians, although he will need a higher conversion rate than the one he achieved against Brazil.

Unlike the Dutch, who lingered long in southern France and rested on the beaches there, the Croatians were already in situ, having played their semi-final in Paris. They have shown a spirit of creativity in this World Cup and some deft individual touches, though Miroslav Blazevic's tactics in the last 10 minutes against the 10 men of France remain a mystery. The signal for all-out attack was lost in dispatches. It was almost as if they had accepted their fate.

They will be without Zvonimir Boban, who was substituted against France and is still injured, and Dario Simic, who earned his second booking in the same game.

In many ways the Croatians are no more reconciled to their semifinal defeat than the Dutch. "After our goal there was only one thing to do, to stay calm and concentrate, and then we let in a stupid goal," said the irascible Slaven Bilic.

Bilic, whose overacting led to Laurent Blanc's dismissal on Wednesday, can expect a reception from French fans tonight best described as froid. Bilic's side will, however, be less deflated than the Dutch. Holland's players may be suffering a hangover but for Croatian supporters it will be some time before they stop celebrating the 3-0 humbling of Germany in the quarterfinals a week ago.

Probable Teams

Holland: Van der Sar; Reiziger, Stam, F de Boer; R de Boer, Jonk (or Seedorf), Davids, Cocu, Zenden; Bergkamp, Kluivert.

Croatia: Ladic; Bilic, Stimac, Juric; Stanic, Soldo, Maric, Asanovic, Jarni; Vlaovic, Suker.