World Cup – France Becomes World Champion Beating Croatia 4-2 (Video)

France is the winner of the 2018 World Cup tournament after beating Croatia in the final thanks to an unfortunate first-half own-goal by Mario Mandzukic, a penalty by Antoine Griezmann, a second-half strike by Paul Pogba and a shot from Kylian Mbappé to close it all off.

The French played their favorite waiting game for the first quarter of the half, seeing how the Croatians were positioned and never relinquishing their defensive status. In the 18th minute, they got a free kick outside the box of the Croatians which was unfortunately headed in by Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic. 1-0 France and everyone expected it all to be over as French coach Didier Deschamps is known for his closed style of play.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GOOOOOAAAAALLLLL! Own-goal by Mandzukic! 1-0 to France! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/Vm4gFw2S9r">pic.twitter.com/Vm4gFw2S9r</a></p>&mdash; SBS - The World Game (@TheWorldGame) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWorldGame/status/1018515761109712897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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But, of course, this was already the fourth time during the knock-out phase that the Croatians had been behind during a game so as far as the smaller nation was concerned, all was still to play for. With Modric and Raketic passing midfield they tried to reach Perisic and Mandzukic up front, and by the middle of the first half, the pressure started to build ever greater.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CRO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CRO</a> TIES IT UP!!!!!!!!!!<br><br>Perisic SMACKS in the match-tying goal, leveling the score at 1-1 in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/jQPyIALNkq">pic.twitter.com/jQPyIALNkq</a></p>&mdash; TSN (@TSN_Sports) <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1018518435091771392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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When the Croatians got a free kick in turn after a foul on Mandzukic, the ball was headed forward where Ivan Perisic controlled it, and, in between four French defenders, was able to score in the right corner. 1-1 and all could be restarted.

Related coverage: http://thegoldwater.com/news/30994-World-Cup-Croatia-Stages-Phenomenal-Comeback-To-Reach-Final-Video

A fabulous final was now underway as in the 35th minute, France got a corner and Perisic, who had just scored for Croatia, touched the ball with his hand. Penalty for France and Antoine Griezmann scored. 2-1.

Related coverage: http://thegoldwater.com/news/30894-World-Cup-France-Beats-Belgium-1-0-To-Reach-Final-Video

The second half got underway with a pitch invader, skillfully removed by Russian stewards and France that all of a sudden started to attack.

Ten minutes into the second half and it looked like it was all over after Manchester United’s Paul Pogba struck from just outside the box, landing the ball in the back of the net behind the Croatian keeper Subasic. 3-1 France and half an hour left to play.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GOOOAAALLLLLLLL!<br>What a strike from <a href="https://twitter.com/KMbappe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KMbappe</a><a href="https://t.co/BNFbg6YONt">https://t.co/BNFbg6YONt</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FRACRO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FRACRO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/lxfKAuIqYu">pic.twitter.com/lxfKAuIqYu</a></p>&mdash; Zee News (@ZeeNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZeeNews/status/1018531840250896384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Another ten later it got painful for Croatia as a strike by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé made it 4-1.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Football!! <br>Look at what it means for both presidents <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EmmanuelMacron</a> (France) and <a href="https://twitter.com/KolindaGK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KolindaGK</a> (Croatia)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a> <a href="https://t.co/TFnGQzPSTG">pic.twitter.com/TFnGQzPSTG</a></p>&mdash; #TzarDannyII (@TzarDannyII) <a href="https://twitter.com/TzarDannyII/status/1018528706804047872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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As everyone was already trying to bring out the World Cup and hand it to France, the French goalkeeper made a terrible error and handed Mario Mandzukic a goal back for Croatia. 4-2.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lloris goes FULL LORIS!!!<br><br>This is mental!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a></p>&mdash; ⚽️442oons⚽️ (@442oons) <a href="https://twitter.com/442oons/status/1018532791108194307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Would there still be excitement? The Croatians pushed on to pick up their loss and tried to get back into the game, but as time moved on against them, it became clear that France would win this World Cup in the end.

After 95 minutes, it was all over. France is football World Champion for the next four years. In 2022, everything starts again in Qatar.