After a month filled with football and 63 matches, it was time for the 64th match. The 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia. The former was the clear favourite to win this final against the surprise of this tournament. In this post we look back on the final.

2018 World Cup final

Based on previous finals and the matches these teams played in this tournament, I wasn’t expecting one of the most interesting finals. I expected a final with one goal or 2 maximum, but boy was I wrong. Mario Mandzukic scored the first goal of this match in the 18th minute, but unfortunately for him it was in his own goal. Within ten minutes there was a second Croatian player with a goal in the final. Ivan Perisic scored in the right goal and equalised the score. The same Perisic made a handball in his own penalty box which led to a penalty after the VAR interference. Antoine Griezmann netted the penalty and brought his team 2-1 up minutes before the end of the first half.

The 2-1 score at half-time was perfect for the French team, who like to play well organised with a deadly counter attack. This was exactly how they started the second half. Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe both scored on the counter and brought the World Cup to France. A big mistake by Hugo Lloris led to the 4-2 by Mandzukic, but the French team was just too strong for Croatia.

With 6 goals the final was a lot more entertaining then I expected. I hear a lot of complaints about the VAR decision and it was a tough one to call, but I just enjoyed an entertaining match. France showed the combination of a good organisation with some quality individuals can lead to big things. Personally I would like to see what this team can do with someone like Zidane as manager. Football can be a lot more entertaining with these quality players and I believe Zidane is the right man to bring this in the team.