Young French Team Beats Croatia To Be FIFA World Cup Champion!
Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as a player
Photo: AP
France soundly defeated Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final on Sunday, lifting the trophy for the first time since 1998.
Here's where the story ends...
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We hope you had fun! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/UElodrfoLl
France led 2-1 at halftime courtesy of the first own-goal and the first video-reviewed penalty in a World Cup final. The own-goal off the top of Mario Mandzukic’s head was the 12th of the tournament. That’s double the previous World Cup record of six.
Croatia rallied to equalize on a terrific left-foot strike by Ivan Perisic, but France took the lead right back when Perisic handled the ball in the area. Argentine referee Nestor Pitana initially didn’t call the handball but awarded the spot kick after a video review. Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty to put France back in front.
Four pitch invaders disrupted the game in the 52nd minute for about a minute before being dragged away by security and police. Punk rock group Pussy Riot quickly claimed responsibility for the pitch invasion via social media, saying it was a protest aimed at ending illegal arrests of protesters and to allow political competition in Russia.
π«π· A world champion at 19 and best young player at Russia 2018 ... What does the future hold for Kylian Mbappé? π€#UCL #WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/nZhKBWiC6j
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Play resumed and France quickly took a 4-1 lead with goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe in the 59th and 65th minutes before Mario Mandzukic pulled one back for the Croatians in the 69th.
Didier Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe sealed glory for France.
π«π· "On Top Of The World" π«π·
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France's array of superstars came out to shine as Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe fired them to World Cup glory with an emphatic win over Croatia
France's coach Didier Deschamps, who has become just the third man to win the trophy as both a player and a manager, celebrates with his son Dylan Deschamps during the trophy ceremony after winning the #WorldCupFinal π«π· pic.twitter.com/Vm6QhDcdNp
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 15, 2018
An absent-minded error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris allowed Mandzukic to put his name on the other side of the scoreboard, but Didier Deschamps was not to be denied his piece of history as the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach. Deschamps was captain of the team that lifted the trophy back in 1998.
Key Opta stats:
- France became the first team to score four goals in a World Cup final since Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in 1970.
- Croatia are the first team to lose in their first ever appearance in a World Cup final since the Netherlands in 1974 (1-2 vs Germany).
- Mario Mandzukic became the first ever player to score an own goal in a World Cup final.
- Kylian Mbappe (19y 207d) is the second youngest player to score in a World Cup final, after Pele for Brazil in 1958 (17y 249d).
- Paul Pogba's goal for France was the first scored from outside the box in a World Cup final since Marco Tardelli for Italy vs Germany in 1982.
β½π Balón de Oro del Mundial de Rusia
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) July 15, 2018
ππ· @lukamodric10#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/S01MMbBTVE
This article is prepared with outputs from Goal, AP and Mirror.
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