France proves to be ‘different monster’
In wake of World Cup win, country has potential to be even better in Qatar
A special game to end a special tournament.
Sunday’s World Cup final between France and Croatia encapsulated everything that made this tournament so outstanding. The two teams combined to provide a riveting game of football — one with everything a neutral fan could hope for. In the end, France etched its name in the history books once more.
The final was a special occasion from the start.
So often these games are played with tension and caution. The weight of the occasion can get the best of even the very top players, and in the past this has led to some less than exciting finals. The fact that this is the first final World Cup since 2002 that didn’t go into extra time is a testament to that.
There was no such caution in this match, however.
The six goals scored on Sunday equal the total scored in the past four World Cup finals combined, and really was a perfect match on which to end the tournament. It was not so much the quantity of goals as it was the manner of them. Some of the defining features of this World Cup have been the introduction of VAR (video assistant referee), the number of penalties awarded and the number of own goals scored. So it was extremely fitting that all three were showcased at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.
Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic —
scorer of the extra time winner in the semifinal against England — opened the scoring this time around, unfortunately heading the ball into his own net and providing France with an early lead. Twelve own goals during this World Cup is double what any single player achieved, with Harry Kane of England winning the golden boot with six.
Croatia was in this game for far
longer than the result might suggest, however. Ivan Perisic, the other goal-scorer from the semifinal, provided a moment of brilliance minutes later to draw Croatia level. A left-footed drive from the edge of the area gave Hugo Lloris no chance and at that point it really seemed like this game would be a back and forth affair.
Then VAR reared its ugly head once more when the ball struck Perisic’s arm in the box from a corner and, after much deliberation the referee decided there was enough evidence to award the penalty.
There will be no definitive consensus from fans on whether the hand ball constituted a penalty.
The hand was up and the ball clearly struck it, but it certainly wasn’t deliberate.
It was a harsh decision given the magnitude of the match, and how the game was progressing.
It also meant that France went in to halftime with a 2-1 lead, and the penalty decision clearly deflated the Croatians, who up to that point had held their own.
The second half was an entirely different story, however, and the game was effectively put to bed at the 65 minute mark. Paul Pogba — the oft-criticized midfielder — curled a shot into the net from the edge of the area to double France’s lead, before World Cup golden boy Kylian Mbappé effectively killed off Croatia’s chances with a low drive into the bottom corner six minutes later.
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris decided to make things interesting with a perplexing error that gifted Croatia one goal back, but it didn’t provide the spark needed to ignite what would have been the greatest comeback in World Cup history.
The Croatians did look a bit tired.
A tired narrative maybe, but they did end up playing a full 90 minutes more than France over the course of the World Cup, and given how taxing these games are, it really was only a matter of time before it caught up with them. Despite controlling possession for 61 per cent of the game, they just couldn’t find enough opportunities to create chances. What chances they did generate were mostly spurned by poor finishing, with the majority of their shots missing the target by some distance.
So Croatia fell at the last hurdle, but it made its whole country proud in the process. After struggling to even qualify, very few would have pegged it to make it all the way.
But France proved to be an entirely different monster than the likes of England, Denmark and Russia. It showed its quality from start to finish, and although it never really set the tournament alight, its ruthless efficiency was enough to see it to victory.
France now has the opportunity to build something truly special. The core of its squad is still exceptionally young and it has the chance to dominate international football.
It’s proven that Russia 2018 wasn’t too soon as some had suggested, and it’ll go into the next World Cup in Qatar as clear favourites as this team is only going to get better.