Let me just start by saying this: the World Cup final was a weird game. It was probably the strangest game that I ever saw, and that included France's last World Cup final appearance in 2006, with the infamous headbutt incident.
France has played very well throughout this World Cup tournament, and that had earned them a spot in this Sunday's final. But once there, they seemed to play a sloppy brand of football that was, frankly, unlike them. Many of their passes ran errant, their defense seemed to have more holes than Swiss cheese too often and, to be truthful, they had to rely on some serious luck to help them win this thing.
However, they also showed glimpses of brilliant play that underscored exactly why they were in the final and, ultimately, why they did nevertheless earn the second star that will soon grace their jerseys as a result of this championship.
Croatia came out ready to play in this game. They dictated the tempo of the game for almost the first 60 minutes, or roughly two-thirds of the game. They dominated time of possession, controlling the ball 64 percent of the time, compared to just 34 percent for France, a ratio of nearly two to one, and frankly, it felt at times like it was even more than that. France really struggled to do anything most of the times that they had the ball during those first 60 minutes of the game. Croatia appeared fasted and far more determined. It sometimes seemed that they were running all over the place, zipping here and there, and my impression was that there was always a Croatian player within close proximity to wherever the ball was. By appearances, it sure felt like there were more Croatians than French players both when they attacked and when they defended.
Yet somehow, France came away from those nearly dreadful 60 minutes with a 2-1 lead. I told my family while we were watching that this was the most lopsided game in favor of the team that was losing that I had ever seen. When the game ended, I still kind of felt that the Croatian side had somehow squandered an opportunity to win a game that they had, for the most part, dominated. Don't get me wrong, I am French, and thus ecstatic that France won this championship. It just seemed that Croatia wanted it more for the vast majority of the match. That was my sense, because it was hard not to feel that way while watching the match, although I did not want to admit this out loud, since it felt like it might be a bad omen. Somehow, though, their opportunities were close, but not quite enough for them to capitalize on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, France took better advantage of the fewer opportunities that they got. That is likely the story of this particular final, although the highlight reels will deceptively suggest a very different story, one where France's offensive brilliance proved too much for Croatia.
The reality while watching this game, however, felt very different.
The first few minutes felt strange, and a little disorienting. France could not seem to hang onto the ball, and this was a trend that would continue for much of the game, especially the first 60 or so minutes. Sometimes, as my brother and I discussed yesterday, it felt like they could not even hold the ball for more than five seconds or so, before either a Croatian player would take it away, or before France would commit a mistake or a bad pass to give it right back to Croatia. Early on, it felt like Croatia was clearly dictating the tempo of the game, as they had the better and more frequent scoring chances. It also seemed that most of the game was being played on France's half of the field, meaning too close for comfort to the French goal. The Croatians had the French defense scrambling to keep up, and even though the score did not reflect this, it felt like France was being outplayed even worse than England had been following Croatia's tying goal in the semifinal game, when the momentum completely and irrevocably went in favor of Croatia - which was, of course, why they were in this game in the first place.
Despite their early dominance, however, Croatia was never able to convert that into goals so that their dominance could be reflected on the scoreboard. And the complexion of the game changed dramatically after the referee rewarded Antoine Griezmann with a free kick after he seemed to take a dive after a Croatian player made contact. Mario Mandžukić scored an own goal with his head in trying to defend the free kick. It was the first own goal in World Cup final history, and it gave France the early 1-0 advantage in the 18th minute.
Croatia, however, had been playing better than France had to that point, and so it did not take them long to answer. Ivan Perišić scored the equalizer in the 28th minute, kicking a rocket past French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Just like that, the game was tied, 1-1.
But just as France had only enjoyed their early lead for ten minutes, Croatia's tying goal also only tied things up for ten minutes. France had a corner kick, and Croatian defender Perišić - the same guy who had scored the goal to tie the game ten minutes earlier - suddenly became the goat. He hit the ball with his hands, although it is unclear whether that was intentional or not. The referee missed it initially, and gave Croatia a goal kick which was a decision that frankly was completely baffling to me. First of all, intentional or not, it was a clear handball. Secondly, it just as clearly went out of bounds after last hitting a Croatian player - Perišić. After convening with the video review, however the referee reversed his earlier decision and gave France a penalty kick, which Griezmann converted to allow France to retake the lead, 2-1, in the 38th minute.
They never relinquished it.
Still, Croatia continued to dictate the tempo of the game, despite this not being reflected in terms of the score, which obviously favored France. That trend continued through to the 59th minute, when France suddenly came alive. With a rare scoring opportunity, and seemingly mass confusion on the field in front of the Croatian goal, Paul Pogba pounded the ball into the side of the net, past a seemingly flatfooted Croatian keeper Danijel Subašić, who strangely seemed completely unprepared for it. It was a strange play, and admittedly, I initially thought that maybe the referee had blown a whistle or something, because it seemed that for a few seconds (which seemed a lot longer when it was actually happening), everyone in the vicinity except for Pogba himself just stood motionless and stopped playing. When Pogba hit that goal, I initially (and thankfully, mistakenly) assumed that it would be taken back, because surely the ref had stopped the play, which would account for that strange and brief stoppage. But the French celebration went on, and the Croatian side looked dejected, and so the goal stood. It just looked weird, and not at all what I was expecting. It was a good goal, but it seemed to happen in such a strange way. Somehow, despite Croatia dominating in every facet except for the all-important score, France was leading, 3-1. It was the most lopsided game in favor of the team that was actually losing that I have ever witnessed in my life. But as a fan of France, of course, I will take it.
Now, France finally kicked it into a higher gear. They seemed emboldened (and perhaps feeling more than a little fortunate) to be up so decisively in a game that had not gone their way in so many other ways, that they finally began to play more sharply. Suddenly their passes looked like they had a purpose. Suddenly, they no longer looked confused and/or lethargic while out there. And just minutes after Pogba's goal, young Kylian Mbappé made history, rocketing a shot past Subašić, who again appeared unprepared, simply falling on his butt and yelling (presumably at his defenders. At 19 years old, Mbappé became the second youngest player ever to score a goal in a World Cup final, and the first teenager to score a goal in a final since a then 17-year old Pelé managed the feat in 1958 for Brazil.
France suddenly was up, 4-1. If you looked at the scoreboard only, you might think that France had completely dominated. But in fact, Croatia had played extremely well to that point, which was likely why they visibly looked frustrated and dejected after that goal. At least fora few minutes, it indeed appeared like France was the dominant team.
Indeed, Croatia looked deflated and defeated, and France simply had to sit on ta surprisingly comfortable three goal lead and killed the clock, which was rapidly running out on Croatia. However, it never seems that France makes it easy, for themselves or for their fans. In the semifinal 20 years ago, they had to come back against Croatia to beat them, and they had to hold them off down one man, desperately trying not to allow a tying goal in the dying minutes. This time, it was one of the most bizarre plays in World Cup final history that gave Croatia a bit of life again. The Croatians had been attacking, but France's defense was finally shining. Goalkeeper Lloris took a ball kicked to him, but Croatia's Mandžukić pursued. All Lloris would have had to do is pick the ball up, or fall on it, or anything to avoid a small disaster. Instead, he rather lazily kicked the ball to the side, and it came too close to Mandžukić, who quickly capitalized by kicking the ball into the back of an empty net. Croatia scored their second goal in a very strange and unpredictable way, and the Croatians now looked like they had life in them once again. It was a stupid mistake, truth be told, and one that could have proven very costly had Croatia scored again to make the game tight again, or perhaps even rallied to tie it.
Finally, however, the French side, particularly the defense, shined. Croatia never had a great shot again for the duration of the game, and indeed, time ran out on them. They had had a golden opportunity to do something amazing, and they had really worked hard and showed tremendous desire to try and make it happen. Indeed, most people watching the game would have likely agreed that Croatia seemed to want it more for most of the game. Somehow, though, despite dominating the game in almost every way but the score, they simply were not able to convert their opportunities into much needed goals. They did not capitalize on the chances they worked so hard to create for themselves as much as they should have, while France capitalized more than they likely could count on with the fewer opportunities that they had.
Still, that's part of sports. It happens in every sport, in fact, where a team works harder and outplays another, at least for most of the game, only to still lose in the end. And that is what happened in this game, too. France did not play their most brilliant game. But they had an excellent tournament, and earned their way to the final. You never know what is going to happen, and even though they did not play particularly impressively, they still had the opportunity to win, and when the chances came to kick down the door and bring it home, to their credit, they did just that.
Again, being French myself, obviously I had an interest in seeing France hoist the FIFA World Cup trophy again. It felt like a long and stressful game for much, and indeed most of it yet somehow, France managed not only to stay in a game where they were clearly being outplayed, but indeed, they held a lead for most of that early part of the game. Sure enough, they showed enough patience to hang in there until they created opportunities for themselves later in the game, when the Croatian side finally started to show some signs of fatigue, and they capitalized fully on it. Despite having made mistakes and generally being outplayed, and even often dominated, through most of the early part of the game, they took full advantage of their fewer opportunities to win this game, and thus, take the championship home.
My family celebrated, as did the players and coaches, and as did an entire nation. Here are some videos of the game, and of us, and finally of the players and the fans back home, all celebrating an unbelievable accomplishment. For the second time in 20 years, France manage to win the World Cup championship, Luck surely had something to do with it, but hey, listen: we'll take it. France has lost some heartbreakers in their day, and at times, been cheated, such as the semifinal against West Germany in 1982, when France outplayed West Germany, but still lost, and not without controversy. Anyone who remembers that game will recall how German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher illegally crushed French attacker Patrick Battiston, but no penalty was called. Battiston was seriously injured, and even though Schumacher did later apologize, he showed no visible remorse during the game, and celebrated when West Germany won in controversial fashion. There have been plenty of other heartbreakers in France's football history, as well, and plenty of times when France outplayed their opponents, but still lost. So yes, they did not play their best game, and in fact, I still feel almost surprised, and quite grateful, that they managed to win despite Croatia not only outplaying them, but outright dominating them through most of the game.
The French players, again to their credit, hung in there, and kept pressing. In the end, they did what they had to do to win it, and earned the championship as a result. My heart goes out to Croatia to some extent, because they played so well throughout this tournament, and played at times incredibly well yesterday, yet still came up short.
But that is part of sports. Often times, that is how championships are decided. ANd yesterday's game was just that: a championship. It was decided in favor of France after 90 grueling minutes played by both sides, and thus France earned the privilege to rightly claim, for the second time in twenty years:
There was even a sizable community of French people (presumably) celebrating the victory in New York City yesterday following the win:
While French people celebrated all over the country back home, the French players also decided to celebrate in a rather unorthodox manner, interrupting the press conference of their coach, Didier Deschamps, simply to celebrate in front of the cameras of the media.
Just in case you wanted to see the entirety of the press conference, and not just the few entertaining minutes when the players livened it up, here you go:
Here is an inside look at the celebrations inside of the winning French side locker room:
France has played very well throughout this World Cup tournament, and that had earned them a spot in this Sunday's final. But once there, they seemed to play a sloppy brand of football that was, frankly, unlike them. Many of their passes ran errant, their defense seemed to have more holes than Swiss cheese too often and, to be truthful, they had to rely on some serious luck to help them win this thing.
However, they also showed glimpses of brilliant play that underscored exactly why they were in the final and, ultimately, why they did nevertheless earn the second star that will soon grace their jerseys as a result of this championship.
Croatia came out ready to play in this game. They dictated the tempo of the game for almost the first 60 minutes, or roughly two-thirds of the game. They dominated time of possession, controlling the ball 64 percent of the time, compared to just 34 percent for France, a ratio of nearly two to one, and frankly, it felt at times like it was even more than that. France really struggled to do anything most of the times that they had the ball during those first 60 minutes of the game. Croatia appeared fasted and far more determined. It sometimes seemed that they were running all over the place, zipping here and there, and my impression was that there was always a Croatian player within close proximity to wherever the ball was. By appearances, it sure felt like there were more Croatians than French players both when they attacked and when they defended.
Yet somehow, France came away from those nearly dreadful 60 minutes with a 2-1 lead. I told my family while we were watching that this was the most lopsided game in favor of the team that was losing that I had ever seen. When the game ended, I still kind of felt that the Croatian side had somehow squandered an opportunity to win a game that they had, for the most part, dominated. Don't get me wrong, I am French, and thus ecstatic that France won this championship. It just seemed that Croatia wanted it more for the vast majority of the match. That was my sense, because it was hard not to feel that way while watching the match, although I did not want to admit this out loud, since it felt like it might be a bad omen. Somehow, though, their opportunities were close, but not quite enough for them to capitalize on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, France took better advantage of the fewer opportunities that they got. That is likely the story of this particular final, although the highlight reels will deceptively suggest a very different story, one where France's offensive brilliance proved too much for Croatia.
The reality while watching this game, however, felt very different.
The first few minutes felt strange, and a little disorienting. France could not seem to hang onto the ball, and this was a trend that would continue for much of the game, especially the first 60 or so minutes. Sometimes, as my brother and I discussed yesterday, it felt like they could not even hold the ball for more than five seconds or so, before either a Croatian player would take it away, or before France would commit a mistake or a bad pass to give it right back to Croatia. Early on, it felt like Croatia was clearly dictating the tempo of the game, as they had the better and more frequent scoring chances. It also seemed that most of the game was being played on France's half of the field, meaning too close for comfort to the French goal. The Croatians had the French defense scrambling to keep up, and even though the score did not reflect this, it felt like France was being outplayed even worse than England had been following Croatia's tying goal in the semifinal game, when the momentum completely and irrevocably went in favor of Croatia - which was, of course, why they were in this game in the first place.
Despite their early dominance, however, Croatia was never able to convert that into goals so that their dominance could be reflected on the scoreboard. And the complexion of the game changed dramatically after the referee rewarded Antoine Griezmann with a free kick after he seemed to take a dive after a Croatian player made contact. Mario Mandžukić scored an own goal with his head in trying to defend the free kick. It was the first own goal in World Cup final history, and it gave France the early 1-0 advantage in the 18th minute.
Croatia, however, had been playing better than France had to that point, and so it did not take them long to answer. Ivan Perišić scored the equalizer in the 28th minute, kicking a rocket past French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Just like that, the game was tied, 1-1.
But just as France had only enjoyed their early lead for ten minutes, Croatia's tying goal also only tied things up for ten minutes. France had a corner kick, and Croatian defender Perišić - the same guy who had scored the goal to tie the game ten minutes earlier - suddenly became the goat. He hit the ball with his hands, although it is unclear whether that was intentional or not. The referee missed it initially, and gave Croatia a goal kick which was a decision that frankly was completely baffling to me. First of all, intentional or not, it was a clear handball. Secondly, it just as clearly went out of bounds after last hitting a Croatian player - Perišić. After convening with the video review, however the referee reversed his earlier decision and gave France a penalty kick, which Griezmann converted to allow France to retake the lead, 2-1, in the 38th minute.
They never relinquished it.
Still, Croatia continued to dictate the tempo of the game, despite this not being reflected in terms of the score, which obviously favored France. That trend continued through to the 59th minute, when France suddenly came alive. With a rare scoring opportunity, and seemingly mass confusion on the field in front of the Croatian goal, Paul Pogba pounded the ball into the side of the net, past a seemingly flatfooted Croatian keeper Danijel Subašić, who strangely seemed completely unprepared for it. It was a strange play, and admittedly, I initially thought that maybe the referee had blown a whistle or something, because it seemed that for a few seconds (which seemed a lot longer when it was actually happening), everyone in the vicinity except for Pogba himself just stood motionless and stopped playing. When Pogba hit that goal, I initially (and thankfully, mistakenly) assumed that it would be taken back, because surely the ref had stopped the play, which would account for that strange and brief stoppage. But the French celebration went on, and the Croatian side looked dejected, and so the goal stood. It just looked weird, and not at all what I was expecting. It was a good goal, but it seemed to happen in such a strange way. Somehow, despite Croatia dominating in every facet except for the all-important score, France was leading, 3-1. It was the most lopsided game in favor of the team that was actually losing that I have ever witnessed in my life. But as a fan of France, of course, I will take it.
Now, France finally kicked it into a higher gear. They seemed emboldened (and perhaps feeling more than a little fortunate) to be up so decisively in a game that had not gone their way in so many other ways, that they finally began to play more sharply. Suddenly their passes looked like they had a purpose. Suddenly, they no longer looked confused and/or lethargic while out there. And just minutes after Pogba's goal, young Kylian Mbappé made history, rocketing a shot past Subašić, who again appeared unprepared, simply falling on his butt and yelling (presumably at his defenders. At 19 years old, Mbappé became the second youngest player ever to score a goal in a World Cup final, and the first teenager to score a goal in a final since a then 17-year old Pelé managed the feat in 1958 for Brazil.
France suddenly was up, 4-1. If you looked at the scoreboard only, you might think that France had completely dominated. But in fact, Croatia had played extremely well to that point, which was likely why they visibly looked frustrated and dejected after that goal. At least fora few minutes, it indeed appeared like France was the dominant team.
Indeed, Croatia looked deflated and defeated, and France simply had to sit on ta surprisingly comfortable three goal lead and killed the clock, which was rapidly running out on Croatia. However, it never seems that France makes it easy, for themselves or for their fans. In the semifinal 20 years ago, they had to come back against Croatia to beat them, and they had to hold them off down one man, desperately trying not to allow a tying goal in the dying minutes. This time, it was one of the most bizarre plays in World Cup final history that gave Croatia a bit of life again. The Croatians had been attacking, but France's defense was finally shining. Goalkeeper Lloris took a ball kicked to him, but Croatia's Mandžukić pursued. All Lloris would have had to do is pick the ball up, or fall on it, or anything to avoid a small disaster. Instead, he rather lazily kicked the ball to the side, and it came too close to Mandžukić, who quickly capitalized by kicking the ball into the back of an empty net. Croatia scored their second goal in a very strange and unpredictable way, and the Croatians now looked like they had life in them once again. It was a stupid mistake, truth be told, and one that could have proven very costly had Croatia scored again to make the game tight again, or perhaps even rallied to tie it.
Finally, however, the French side, particularly the defense, shined. Croatia never had a great shot again for the duration of the game, and indeed, time ran out on them. They had had a golden opportunity to do something amazing, and they had really worked hard and showed tremendous desire to try and make it happen. Indeed, most people watching the game would have likely agreed that Croatia seemed to want it more for most of the game. Somehow, though, despite dominating the game in almost every way but the score, they simply were not able to convert their opportunities into much needed goals. They did not capitalize on the chances they worked so hard to create for themselves as much as they should have, while France capitalized more than they likely could count on with the fewer opportunities that they had.
Still, that's part of sports. It happens in every sport, in fact, where a team works harder and outplays another, at least for most of the game, only to still lose in the end. And that is what happened in this game, too. France did not play their most brilliant game. But they had an excellent tournament, and earned their way to the final. You never know what is going to happen, and even though they did not play particularly impressively, they still had the opportunity to win, and when the chances came to kick down the door and bring it home, to their credit, they did just that.
Again, being French myself, obviously I had an interest in seeing France hoist the FIFA World Cup trophy again. It felt like a long and stressful game for much, and indeed most of it yet somehow, France managed not only to stay in a game where they were clearly being outplayed, but indeed, they held a lead for most of that early part of the game. Sure enough, they showed enough patience to hang in there until they created opportunities for themselves later in the game, when the Croatian side finally started to show some signs of fatigue, and they capitalized fully on it. Despite having made mistakes and generally being outplayed, and even often dominated, through most of the early part of the game, they took full advantage of their fewer opportunities to win this game, and thus, take the championship home.
My family celebrated, as did the players and coaches, and as did an entire nation. Here are some videos of the game, and of us, and finally of the players and the fans back home, all celebrating an unbelievable accomplishment. For the second time in 20 years, France manage to win the World Cup championship, Luck surely had something to do with it, but hey, listen: we'll take it. France has lost some heartbreakers in their day, and at times, been cheated, such as the semifinal against West Germany in 1982, when France outplayed West Germany, but still lost, and not without controversy. Anyone who remembers that game will recall how German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher illegally crushed French attacker Patrick Battiston, but no penalty was called. Battiston was seriously injured, and even though Schumacher did later apologize, he showed no visible remorse during the game, and celebrated when West Germany won in controversial fashion. There have been plenty of other heartbreakers in France's football history, as well, and plenty of times when France outplayed their opponents, but still lost. So yes, they did not play their best game, and in fact, I still feel almost surprised, and quite grateful, that they managed to win despite Croatia not only outplaying them, but outright dominating them through most of the game.
The French players, again to their credit, hung in there, and kept pressing. In the end, they did what they had to do to win it, and earned the championship as a result. My heart goes out to Croatia to some extent, because they played so well throughout this tournament, and played at times incredibly well yesterday, yet still came up short.
But that is part of sports. Often times, that is how championships are decided. ANd yesterday's game was just that: a championship. It was decided in favor of France after 90 grueling minutes played by both sides, and thus France earned the privilege to rightly claim, for the second time in twenty years:
🏆
🇫🇷
⚽ On est les Champions ! 🏆🇫🇷⚽
While France's performance might have been shaky through much of the game, they still nevertheless undeniably won the game. Therefore, they earned the right to hoist the cup and celebrate, while an entire nation celebrated their huge accomplishment along with them:
Obviously, people back home in France were joyous with the outcome and in the mood for a celebration. These images evoke my own memories from the last time that France won the World Cup back in 1998, because my brother and I were there for that. We actually saw the semifinal game back then, where ironically, they had to play another tough Croatian side. Then, after they defeated Brazil, the celebrations were wild. It looks like they were quite wild yesterday, as well:
There was even a sizable community of French people (presumably) celebrating the victory in New York City yesterday following the win:
While French people celebrated all over the country back home, the French players also decided to celebrate in a rather unorthodox manner, interrupting the press conference of their coach, Didier Deschamps, simply to celebrate in front of the cameras of the media.
Just in case you wanted to see the entirety of the press conference, and not just the few entertaining minutes when the players livened it up, here you go:
Here is an inside look at the celebrations inside of the winning French side locker room:
I agree – it was a bizarre game. I mean, I watched quite a few games during this World Cup, and I don't remember seeing one in which a team was so thoroughly outhustled and outclassed for such long stretches. (I missed the first round clash between England and Panama, which the Three Lions won 6-1. Perhaps the Panamanians looked as inept in that game as France did for most of yesterday's final.) Any team – even a championship caliber team like Les Bleus – can look sloppy and uninspired at times, but it was so flagrant and unrelenting that I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Like you, I've watched them play world class opponents over the years, including but not limited to Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. They of course lost some of those games, and struggled in some of the games they won, but I don't remember them EVER looking so uncharacteristically ineffectual, disorganized and overwhelmed. I agree with those who say that the free kick awarded as a result of what was unmistakably a dive on Griezmann's part (I watched a slow-motion replay later that evening, and it was clear as day) had a major impact on the outcome. Conversely, to me the handball call against Ivan Perišić was correct. And France did, as you point out, show fleeting glimpses of play more on a par with what we've come to expect from them. But on some level the happiness I feel as a result of this victory by Les Bleus is dampened and subdued by what was generally a half-assed performance unworthy of their stature. Frankly, if Croatia had won there would have been nothing remotely unfair about it. As great as Croatia's team is, there's no reason for Les Bleus to struggle to the point of looking so embarrassingly amateurish, and I don't like it when they render themselves guilty of resorting to diving or embellishment. I'm glad that France is now one of only six countries to have more than one star on its jersey, and those of us who support them were able to see it happen. But the weird circumstances in which that was achieved are, to me anyway, something of a buzzkill.
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