‘We showed strong mental quality’

MOSCOW/ZAGREB: After France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the final on Sunday, an euphoric coach Didier Deschamps remarked, “It is really beautiful. It is marvellous. We did not play a great match but we showed a strong mental quality.

“We also scored four goals. We merit it. I am very happy for this team. We are coming from very far and it has not always been easy, but thanks to hard work, they are here and are on top of the world for the next four years.”

Antoine Griezmann, who scored off a penalty, said: “I don’t know where I am, it is great... Very happy. It was a difficult match. Croatia played a great game. We started timidly. We knew it was a World Cup final. We got into the game and on counter-attacks, we made the difference. We look forward to lifting the cup and taking it to France.”

MIXED EMOTIONS

After watching their team lose, Croatians wept while others felt pride that their tiny nation had gone so far in the tournament.

When the final whistle blew fans who had gathered in Ban Jelacic square in the capital Zagreb to watch the match on a big screen hugged each other in commiseration.

One young woman used a redand-white Croatian flag to wipe tears from her eyes as a female friend, also crying, put her arm around her.

“For a nation of four million people it’s a miracle to come to the World Cup final,” said Aleksander Ceferin, the head of European soccer’s governing body UEFA.

Croatia will stage on Monday a welcoming party for the soccer team in Zagreb. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic appealed to employers to let staff leave work early to join the celebration. Train tickets will be 50% cheaper for those wishing to travel to Zagreb from other cities.