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World Cup final 2018: Manchester United, youth, and own goals: the records broken as France beat Croatia

France beat Croatia 4-2 in an emphatic final which broke a number of records

Sunday 15 July 2018 19:16 BST

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Pitch invaders interrupt play in World Cup final clash between France and Croatia

France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the World Cup in a record-breaking final in Moscow.

Mario Manduzkic scored an own goal but Ivan Perisic quickly made up for that and levelled the score with just 28 minutes on the clock. Griezmann scored a penalty after a VAR review, then Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe chipped in with strikes.

Mandzukic scored in the right net in the second half with one of the most bizarre goals of the tournament. He blocked Hugo Lloris’ clearance and the ball diverted into the net to set up an exciting finish.

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

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1/22France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

<b>France:</b> Hugo Lloris – 5 out of 10

Not much he could do to stop Perisic’s howitzer from flying past him but was 100 per cent responsible for the mindless attempt to play the ball around Mandzukic that allowed him to deflect the ball into the net. Lucky for him, France were already home and dry.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Benjamin Pavard – 6 out of 10

No long-range missiles like we saw against Argentina but this was a disciplined display, even if Croatia sent little down his channel.

AFP/Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Raphael Varane – 7 out of 10

Did a good job alongside Umtiti in preventing Croatia from creating clear-cut chances and his position was sensible throughout. A four-time Champions League winner and now world champion, and only the 11th player to win both in the same season. Not bad by the age of 25.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Samuel Umtiti – 7 out of 10

Really stood out on France’s defence as he came off on top in the battle with Mandzukic. Could have made Lloris’ job easier with a better pass before his error, but he was by no means to blame.

PA

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Lucas Hernandez – 7 out of 10

Burst down the left, riding a tackle when most players would’ve gone down, to play the ball into Mbappe that led to the final goal. Impressive showing

AP

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Kylian Mbappe – 8 out of 10

Quiet throughout the first half but the beauty about a player like Mbappe is that they need a single moment to come to life. When the chance opened up for him, he could easily have tried to curl the ball to the side that Mandzukic was running towards, but instead he smartly drilled it back against the direction of play to seize his chance to shine.

EPA

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Paul Pogba – 9 out of 10

Lucky not to be ruled offside for the opener as he was still involved in play when Mandzukic headed in the own goal, but from then on he was fantastic. Created time on the ball, took his goal on his weaker left foot excellently and was there when needed in defence. A great showing.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

N’Golo Kante – 5 out of 10

Allowed Perisic to round him too easily and fire into the back of the net for the equaliser. Booked soon after for a cynical foul on the same man, and replaced after 55 minutes by Steven N’Zonzi to remove the risk of a red card.

AP

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Blaise Matuidi – 6 out of 10

The quiet man of the French midfield who didn’t do anything wrong, and provided the discipline to allow his extrovert teammates to push on in front.

AP

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Antoine Griezmann – 8 out of 10

Bought a dubious free-kick that he floated into the box for the opening goal, and took free lovely touches before passing to Pogba that then produced the third goal. In between that he scored the penalty to put France back in the lead and he had a major say throughout the entire tournament for France.

AP

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Olivier Giroud – 7 out of 10

Did his job as targetman, although Croatia’s allowance for France to play with the ball on the deck negated Giroud’s job somewhat.

Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

<b>Croatia:</b> Danijel Subasic – 4 out of 10

Whether or not the injury that he suffered earlier in the tournament affected him is unknown, but he was far from his best, particularly for Pogba’s and Mbappe’s goal as his movement was nowhere to be seen.

AP

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Sime Vrsaljko – 6 out of 10

Brilliant header on Modric’s free-kick drilled the ball back into the box and led to Perisic’s equaliser. However, he was passed too easily by Hernandez in the lead up to Mbappe’s goal.

AFP/Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Dejan Lovren – 5 out of 10

Caught out of position too often and given that he was bigging himself up as one of the best defenders in world football, conceding four goals in a World Cup final was particularly embarrassing for him.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Domagoj Vida – 6 out of 10

Got a touch on the ball to flick it forwards and into Perisic’s path, but defensively he was poor.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Ivan Strinic – 5 out of 10

France appeared to target him and it paid off in the second half as the tide turned, with Zlatko Dalic hauling him off when the game was already gone.

AFP/Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Marcelo Brozovic – 6 out of 10

One of the better performers in a Croatia shirt but he couldn’t do anything to stem the French flood that was coming his way in the second half.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Ante Rebic – 6 out of 10

Had one good flash at goal that flew over the bar in the second half, and he was slightly disappointing going forward.

EPA

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Luka Modric – 6 out of 10

Ran out of steam after a virtuoso display throughout the tournament, and while he picked up the Golden Ball following the match, his disappointment was obvious to see.

REUTERS

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Ivan Rakitic – 6 out of 10

Once again outshined by his midfield teammate and he was lucky not to be booked for sarcastically falling over in front of the referee and getting up to applaud him. His frustration was obvious to see.

AFP/Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Ivan Perisic – 7 out of 10

Another hugely important goal – at the time – as he swivelled and fired the ball past Lloris. Unfortunate to be penalised for the hand ball that swung the game in France’s favour, but he can be proud of the performance.

AFP/Getty Images

France vs Croatia World Cup player ratings

Mario Mandzukic – 7 out of 10

Tried to head clear Griezmann’s free-kick, only to get his timing wrong and put it into his own net. Made up for the error as he charged down Lloris to score, but the damage was already done.

Getty Images

The thrilling final is a hot favourite to be the game of the tournament, and there were many record breaking moments.

Mandzukic’s became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final. Griezmann’s curled free kick from the right flank was headed into his own net by the Croatia and Juventus forward who was stretching to clear the ball. The own goal was also the 12^th of the tournament, doubling the previous highest total, six in 1998.
Paul Pogba became the first Manchester United player to score in a World Cup final. Surprisingly, Pogba became only the third United player to win a World Cup, joining, Bobby Charlton and Nobby Stiles who won with England in 1966. The United and France midfielder also became the first Premier League player to score in a World Cup final since Arsenal’s Emmanuel Petit scored for France in the 1998 final.

France win their second World Cup after beating Croatia 4-2 (AP)

Mbappe continued his fine form in Russia and joined Pele as the only teenager to score in a World Cup final. Pele was one year and 42 days younger than Mbappe when he scored in the 1958 final, which Brazil won.
Video Assistant Referee was used for the first time in a World Cup final. The VAR technology was first used in the World Cup when France were awarded a penalty against Australia in their first group match. In the final, the referee Nestor Pitana did not initially penalise Perisic for appearing to handle the ball in the penalty area. The referee reviewed the incident on the monitor on the side of the pitch and made up his mind, checked again, then awarded a penalty, which was converted by Griezmann.

Didier Deschamps guided France to World Cup glory after Euro 2016 heartbreak (REUTERS)

Didier Deschamps became the third player to win a World Cup as a player and manager. Deschamps captained France to glory in 1998, and joins German Franz Beckenbauer and Brazilian Mario Zagallo. Beckenbauer captained Germany in the 1974 final and won as a manager in 1990 after losing the previous tournament final to Argentina. Zagallo won the World Cup twice as a player, in 1958 and 1962. He returned to guide the Brazilian side to victory in 1970 as manager.

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