Sports
France beat Croatia to win World Cup after Croatia thriller
France beat Croatia to win World Cup after Croatia thriller
July 15, 2018 | 08:08 PM
France won their second World Cup 20 years after their maiden triumph on Sunday, seeing off a dogged and desperate Croatia side who refused to lie down in one of the most electrifying finals in recent years.
The breathless 4-2 victory under stormy skies at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium means Didier Deshchamps' side — balancing youthful vitality and tournament nous — have buried the pain of their defeat in the Euro 2016 final on home soil. For the small nation of Croatia, the loss spells bitter pain but fans at home will celebrate the best run in the nation's history, which featured a stunning win against Argentina and a semi-final victory against England. Earlier, Croatia's fans, massed behind Danijel Subasic's goal, unveiled an enormous flag during their national anthem and their side roared out of the blocks, pinning France back in their own half. It was the French who scored first, courtesy of an own goal in the 18th minute by Mario Mandzukic following an Antoine Griezmann free-kick but they were pegged back by a lovely Ivan Perisic strike 10 minutes later.Griezmann restored France's lead from the penalty spot after the referee awarded a controversial spot-kick with the help of VAR (video assistant referee) for a hand ball.
July 15, 2018 | 08:08 PM