France were crowned 2018 World Cup champions after defeating Croatia 4-2 in Moscow on Sunday, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.
Both sides fielded the same starting lineups from their semi-final victories against Belgium and England respectively.
The clash got off to a conservative start with both sides wary of committing any mistakes in the opening stanza.
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Croatia gradually eased into the game and looked more dangerous as proceedings went on, particularly on the left wing where Ivan Perisic and Domagoj Vida were operating.
Les Bleus took the lead much against the run of play in the 18th minute when Antoine Griezmann’s inswinging free kick was headed into the back of the net by Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic.
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Zlatko Dalic’s side upped their tempo in search of the equaliser as they looked to utilise their height advantage. The move paid dividends as Perisic levelled matters in the 28th minute after latching on to Vida’s cutback from a training ground set piece.
France retook the lead in somewhat controversial circumstances when Griezmann converted a VAR penalty after Perisic was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area from Blaise Matuidi’s attempted flick-on.
Didier Deschamps’ side took their narrow one-goal lead into the half-time break.
Croatia signalled their intent to grab the equaliser in the second half with Luka Modric pulling all the strings in the midfield.
France, however, appeared content with playing on the break and almost doubled their advantage as a result, when Paul Pogba put Kylian Mbappe through on goal, but Danijel Subasic made an excellent stop to keep his side in the game.
Pogba got his name on the scoresheet on the hour mark when he latched on to Griezmann’s cutback to slot past the hapless Subasic with his left foot.
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Mbappe added a fourth goal in the 65th minute when his venomous long-range effort found the back of the net. In doing so, Mbappe became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958.
Hugo Lloris was guilty of taking his eye off the ball and allowed Mandzukic the easiest of tap-ins to make it 4-2 and allow Croatia a sliver of hope.
France saw off the remainder of the clash with relative ease to lift their second World Cup title 20 years after initially winning it.
