A ruthless French attack disintegrated a resilient Croatian side 4-2 to win the 2018 World Cup in dramatic fashion.
The scoreline was by no means a true reflection of an electric final which was dominated by Croatia but in the end, it was the ruthlessness of Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba that made the difference on the day.
The first half was thoroughly dramatic with France taking an undeserving 2-1 lead through a Madzukic own goal and a VAR determined penalty coolly converted by Griezmann.
Perisic’s superb strike in the first half was enough threat for a promising second half but on the return from the dug-out the comeback kings were deflated by an efficient French defence with a ruthless attack.
They didn’t need to create too many chances nor dominate possession; they just had to bury the ones they created and they did that to perfection. Pogba and Mbappe ensured that Madzukic’s late goal from a Lloris howler was nothing more than a gifted consolation.
It was a final few predicted- Croatia and France- yet when it came, the great story of the 1998 semi-final was about to be retold all over again.
Didier Dechamps was then a player who led the defeat of Croatia in 1998 before thumping Brazil in the final to win France’s first ever World Cup.
20-years later he was the coach leading a new breed of young French players against a hugely determined Croatian side motivated by a mercurial skipper Luka Modric and a spirited, sexy president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic who made presidential hugs to her players an unconventional routine.
But in the end Dechamps won the world cup as a player and coach in a fitting finale and left French president Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart in Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, exchanging a holy kiss to crown a month of great soccer extravaganza.
Croatia were on fire in the opening embers of the final, pounding the goal area of the French side with fire and brimstone.
Perisic more than once burst forward from the left with pace and power but his final delivery only let him down.
For the first time in as many matches, the Croatian midfield marshalled around Modric and Rakitic had completely taken over the center of the field and left Kante and Pogba chasing shadows for the most part.
However, after 17 minutes the French side opened their account with the only strike on target and it had to take a misdirected header from Madzukic.
The tall Juventus striker made a hush on defensive duties when his glancing header accidentally entered his own net for a Croatian heartbreak and a French celebration.