All hail the Bourbons! Les Bleus World Cup Photo by: FIFA
France are now the reigning world monarchs for FIFA #WorldCup Russia 2018. Les Bleus ripped Croatia 4-2 into shreds during the finals at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium on 15 July 2018.
Willy-nilly credit must be given to the French lads for their thrilling ,stunning ,bravo and mouth watering performance. With the National Day celebrations still fresh, they lifted the mammoth trophy for the second time after two decades in a History making spectacle.
Didier Deschamps is the third man to lift the world cup as a player and also as a coach, he won it in 1998 on homesoil when he captained the Les Bleus and now as the mentor.
France outclassed Croatia, they took a lead when striker Mandzukic headed Antione Griezmann free kick into his own net in the 18th minute. Ivan Perisic equalised with a powerful cracker 10 minutes later.
After a French corner kick, Croatian midfielder Ivan Perisic got away with a handball but was later called for the foul to award the French a penalty after the controversial VAR review. Griezmann scored a fantastic penalty kick on the 38th minute.
The second half continued to fascinate as Paul Pogba and teenager Kylian Mbappe hammered the final nail into the Croatian coffin. They scored on the 59th minutes and 65th minutes respectively. Mario Mandzukic gave his side the second goal when French keeper had what seemed like loss of concentration.
It was a six-goal thriller in which the French displayed sheer quality, fearlessness and a bravo attack to totally destroy the world cup finalists Croatia albeit their never die spirit. The revered Croatians were under the captainship of Luka Modric who illuminated this World Cup with commitment, zeal and energy. Croatia went home as heroes despite the status quo of losing to a better and super-duper team.
Only the second teenager to have scored a goal in a #WorldCupFinal! Welcome to the club, @KMbappe – it's great to have some company! // O segundo adolescente a marcar um gol em uma final de #CopaDoMundo! Bem-vindo ao clube, Kylian – é ótimo ter a sua companhia! https://t.co/g8b2gLTy7B
— Pelé (@Pele) July 15, 2018
Kylian Mbappe was the second teenager to replicate the football giant Pele’s 1954 feat. He scored a brace in the last-16 win over Argentina and he scored in the final. Mbappe, the jersey number 10 was awarded an accolade as the FIFA Young Player Award and Croatia’s Luka Modric scooped the FIFA Golden Ball Award.
The utilisation of VAR was introduced in this World Cup. It created a lot of debate, controversy and it was perhaps inescapable but it played a crucial role in the global showpiece. The beautiful game was sealed and wrapped in a crescendo and escalation of rhapsody. It remains to be seen if Qatar2022 will surpass Russia2018.