Waiting for four years ended - on Sunday the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place. Two European teams - France and Croatia clashed for the most important football trophy at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
After a fierce and highly productive battle, the strongest team on the planet became the French national team, triumphing for the second time in their history.
The match started much more actively for Croatia - Zlatko Dalic's pupils dominated possession and caused problems for their opponents in their half, but no dangerous shots were taken in the first ten minutes.
The Croats, playing excellently, were punished in the 18th minute - the first serious opportunity after a standard situation was created by the French as they took the lead. Antoine Griezmann made a sharp pass into the penalty area, and in an attempt to clear the ball, Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic scored an own goal.
After conceding the goal, the Croatians did not lose their composure - they continued to dominate in the middle of the field. The French stuck to their game tactics - they retreated towards their half and waited for mistakes from their opponents.
In the 28th minute, Croatia equalized - a corner kick cleverly played by the Croats resulted in an equalizing goal. Mario Mandzukic dropped the ball to Ivan Perisic in the penalty area, and with a powerful shot, he restored balance in the duel.
In the 34th minute, the Croatian team was punished again - from nowhere, the French earned a penalty kick when I. Perisic handled the ball while fighting for it. After a rather long VAR review, Antoine Griezmann stepped up to take the penalty kick from the 11-meter mark - the striker's leg did not tremble, and France regained the advantage.
Croatia failed to restore the equalizing result during the remaining time in the first half - the teams went into the locker room with the score being 2:1, and the whole battle moved to the next 45 minutes.
In the 47th minute, Croatia forced Hugo Lloris to work seriously - after an excellent pass from Ivan Rakitic to the penalty area, Ante Rebic took a powerful shot towards the French goal, but H. Lloris showed his class.
Soon after, the French launched a dangerous attack - Kylian Mbappe sprinted down the right flank and remained one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he failed to beat Danijel Subasic from a sharp angle.
In the 59th minute, Croatia suffered a severe blow - after a quick attack by the French, they increased their lead to two goals. Paul Pogba comfortably struck the ball from outside the penalty area and with a powerful and precise shot brought France closer to triumph in the World Cup.
In the 65th minute, Croatia was dealt a decisive blow - Kylian Mbappe fired a shot from about 25 meters and France gained a three-goal advantage. The opportunity for the young football star was created by Lucas Hernandez with an excellent pass.
Croatia did not give up - Z. Dalic's team did not give up and in the 69th minute reduced the gap. H. Lloris made an incredibly clumsy mistake trying to pass the ball, but it hit M. Mandzukic's foot and the result turned to 4:2.
During the remaining time, Croatia tried to press the opponents, but they failed to create any quick opportunities. During extra time, the Croatians did not create any miracles - the result remained 4:2 and the French plunged into the triumph.
Result:
France 4 - 2 Croatia
18' [1 - 0] M. Mandzukic (own goal)
28' [1 - 1] I. Perisic
38' [2 - 1] A. Griezmann (penalty)
59' [3 - 1] P. Pogba
65' [4 - 1] K. Mbappe
69' [4 - 2] M. Mandzukic
Starting line-ups:
The team news is in...
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
Here are your Starting XIs, #FRA and #CRO fans! #FRACRO // #WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/f5v1NuaCtJ
Main match statistics:
Only one stat matters...
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
France have won the #WorldCup! #FRA #FRA #FRA pic.twitter.com/jAmXCvQDNe
The best player of the match was elected to be A. Griezmann:
The @Budweiser #ManoftheMatch for #FRACRO is @AntoGriezmann! #WorldCupFinal // @FrenchTeam pic.twitter.com/tC50z11ahF
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
