France secured their second World Cup title by defeating a typically spirited and fiercely competitive Croatia 4-2, in a captivating clash in Moscow.
Structurally stable and with all their players undertaking their roles effectively, Didier Deschamps’ men were deserving winners of the summer showpiece. With luck on their side and with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba showcasing their worth, a weary, unfortunate Croatia ultimately couldn’t stop them over 90 minutes.
Les Bleus were definitely made to work for it, however, for Zlatko Dalic’s men provided a formidable opponent. Indeed, Croatia gave the highly touted Frenchmen precious little in a strong first half, where they looked to have their adversaries under control. Meanwhile, their multifaceted attack and midfield managed to pose many problems, with Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic especially causing major headaches.
Deschamps, who becomes only the third man in history to win the World Cup as a player and manager, alongside legends Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer, was full of praise for his troops after the match. “It’s a young team, who are on the top of the world. Some are champions at the age of 19,” he gleamed.
“We did not play a huge game but we showed mental quality. And we scored four goals anyway. For 55 days, we have done a lot of work. We are proud to be French, to be Bleus. The group worked so hard and we had some tough moments along the way. It hurt so much to lose the European Championship two years ago, but it made us learn too.”
As mentioned, the hard fought victory saw them emphatically avenge that devastating Euro 2016 loss, with France now on top of the world now after two years of reflection.
Proficient, well organised, defensively brilliant and with so many weapons in attack, France were the standout team in Russia and rightfully took home the coveted crown.
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