Moscow: France are champions, and deservedly so as they were the best team and the most efficient team at what was probably the best ever World Cup, but this was a final marked by controversy, firsts, brilliant interventions and blunders as the incredible resilience and belief of Croatia was finally defeated.
France won the World Cup with a 4-2 win over Croatia in the final. Mandzukic own goal gave France the lead before Perisic equalised. Griezmann scored from the spot before Pogba and Mbappe added two more. Mandzukic pulled one back but it wasn’t enough as France lifted the title.
Even so for almost an hour Croatia were the better team, by far the better team, before first Pogba – thereby becoming the first Manchester United player to score in a World Cup Final – and then Kylian Mbappe scored. Mbappe, at 19, became the first teenager since Pele to strike in a World Cup Final. The scoreline then was 5-2 and this was the joint highest score since – aided by a terrible goalkeeping mistake by Hugo Lloris who gifted Croatia their second goal as he attempted to play the ball around the relentless Mario Mandzukic who stuck out a leg and diverted it into the net.
That gave Croatia hope when it seemed hope had gone and surely the tiredness and pain of going to extra-time, and twice to penalties, in all three of their previous knock-out ties at this World Cup would finally catch up on them. But they never, ever gave up in what was their first final and one that they can look back upon with remarkable pride at the achievement.
Pogba started and ended the move for his second-half goal which extended France’s lead with a raking pass out to Mbappe who sped into the area and cut the ball back to Griezmann. Pogba had eaten up the yards and Griezmann cushioned the pass and teed him up. His first shot with his right-foot was blocked but he arced the rebound left-footed around Modric and with Subasic unsighted the net billowed.
At the Luzhniki stadium on Sunday, we saw the first ever own goal to be scored in a final, the first ever VAR penalty, a goalkeeping blooper and three absolute beauties from Perisic, Pogba and Mbappe to square it all off. Mbappe was also the first teenager to score in the World Cup final since a certain Brazilian called Pele did so a long time back. Didier Deschamps lifted the World Cup trophy as captain of France in 1998, he will do the same now as manager of his natonal team.
Antoine Griezmann had been involved in both of France’s first-half goals as he cheaply won the free-kick – it appeared like a dive and Marcelo Brozovic was furious – which he swung in. The ball skimmed off the head off Mandzukic and flew beyond goalkeeper Danijel Subasic. Even then there was drama as it appeared Pogba had been in an offside position as he challenged Mandzukic who scored the first ever own goal in a World Cup Final.
