2018 WORLD CUP FINAL: France 4-2 Croatia | Highlights

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match of the 2018 World Cup, the 21st edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on 15 July 2018, and was contested by France and Croatia.

France took the lead through an own goal by Mario Mandžukić in the 18th minute – the first ever own goal in a World Cup final – before Ivan Perišić equalised 10 minutes later with a low shot into the corner of the goal. Referee Néstor Pitana's performance in the final has seen some controversy, mostly related to the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. France's first goal was scored from a free kick which was seen by many as a dive from Antoine Griezmann (however, the rules at the time related to VAR forbade intervention in the case). France's second goal was scored from a penalty given after Pitana was informed by VAR that he may wish to review the recording of Ivan Perišić's handball. After a lengthy deliberation, Pitana awarded the penalty to France, which many pundits called an incorrect interpretation of the rules. The decision resulted from a consultation with the video assistant referee, which was in use for the first time in a World Cup at the 2018 tournament. The decision was criticised by some English pundits such as Alan Shearer, who labelled it "ridiculous", while others such as Chris Waddle thought it was correct. Antoine Griezmann scored to give France a 2–1 half-time lead. They extended that lead in the 59th minute, when Paul Pogba scored at the second attempt after Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subašić had saved his initial shot. Kylian Mbappé made it 4–1, becoming only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pelé in 1958, before Mandžukić scored a second for Croatia, giving a final score of 4–2 to France.

France's win was their second World Cup title, following their victory in 1998. Griezmann was named the man of the match, while Croatia's Luka Modrić was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament.



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