For the second time, France has won the World Cup in true championship style by a score of 4-2 on Sunday ending Croatia’s hopes of a first major title.
From The New York Times:
The title is France’s second and the first since it won on home soil in 1998, and it ended a thrilling run by Croatia. The Croats survived three consecutive extra-time games and two penalty shootouts to reach their first final, and they even had the better of the game on Sunday.
But France fought Croatia off when it had to and punished it when it could. And when the final whistle blew, its players raced off the bench in glee, gathered in jumping hugs and shared embraces with their coach, Didier Deschamps, a midfielder on the 1998 team who became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and head coach.
This France team will not be remembered as the most elegant champions, or the most creative. But what it achieved — through diligent planning, hard work, relentless discipline and the occasional brilliance of Mbappé and others — was remarkable nonetheless. France was not so much great as fundamentally good: a team of outstanding talents willing to surrender possession and strike on the counter; a team capable of scoring superb goals but also willing to accept whatever it was given.
In spectacular form, Kylian Mbappé for France became only the second teenager in tournament history to score in a World Cup finals. The first was Pele in 1958.
WORLD CHAMPIONS: Here’s how football fans in Paris reacted to France winning the #WorldCupFinal against Croatia, #FRA4-2 #CRO https://t.co/jmSwnAIN1T #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/pgxf1fKrt2— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) July 15, 2018
France overpowers Croatia in #WorldCupFinal to lift the trophy for the second time in 20 years. https://t.co/r7fg6LSpWL For more coverage: https://t.co/R675AbD0Le pic.twitter.com/X17W8tRlZO— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) July 15, 2018
France win the World Cup! Here is how Paris reacted at the final whistle! pic.twitter.com/mLNgHNDYzT
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 15, 2018
Teenagers to score in a #WorldCupFinal
* Pele
* Kylian MbappeThat is all. pic.twitter.com/Cy3RvGOoV7
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Just Won People's Heart Yet Again. Standing In Rain Without Any Umbrella And Hugging The Players To Appreciate Their Game. #Croatia #WorldCupFinal #CROFRA #FRACRO #FrancevsCroatia pic.twitter.com/NH2Ex29R2n— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) July 15, 2018
French president Emmanuel Macron celebrating at the Luzhniki Stadium #WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/grCo51Ok9w
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) July 15, 2018
Donald Trump, true to form, praised Russian Vladimir Putin for hosting the World Cup finals in the same breath as he congratulated France on the victory.
Congratulations to France, who played extraordinary soccer, on winning the 2018 World Cup. Additionally, congratulations to President Putin and Russia for putting on a truly great World Cup Tournament — one of the best ever!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 15, 2018
