Croatia misses out on best chance to win a World Cup.
The rain hid Croatia’s tears. After Luka Modric collected his Golden Ball award in a downpour, he shared an emotional embrace with Croatian President Kolinda GrabarKitarovic, both wearing the country’s red-and-white checkered uniform.
Croatia knows Sunday’s 4-2 loss to France in the World Cup final was a chance that may not come again anytime soon.
“We were so close and we played the best soccer. We deserved more,” said Modric, who at 32 may have played in his last World Cup match.
Croatia’s first golden generation lost to France in the 1998 World Cup semifinals, and its second went one better. Besides Modric, goalkeeper Danijel Subasic will be 38 at the next World Cup in Qatar, midfielder Ivan Rakitic will be 34 and forward Mario Mandzukic will be 36.
“I wish we are now 24, everyone and Luka especially,” Croatia defender Dejan Lovren said. “There is a time when something needs to end.”
Among a crowd of men in dark suits on the World Cup podium, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Grabar-Kitarovic’s team shirt showed her passion for Croatia, a country of barely 4 million people.
While some of the players shed tears on the field, fans at home celebrated in the thousands despite the loss.
“When you want to be the best then you need to win, simple as that,” said Lovren, who lost the Champions League final with Liverpool in May. “It’s not easy to accept that. It’s something that I will carry for my life.” FRANCE CELEBRATES >> It was a victory for all of France and the home crowd did it justice, pouring into Paris’ Champs-Elysees Avenue by the tens of thousands to celebrate in an explosion of joy.
Sunday marked the second time in 20 years that France has won the World Cup, and came at a time when the people feel needy.
“It represents enormous things,” said Goffrey Hamsik, dressed in a hat resembling a rooster — the French national symbol — and a shirt with the No. 10 for Kylian Mpappe, the 19-year-old breakout star who hails from the Paris suburb of Bondy.
“We’ve had lots of problems in France these past years,” he said, recalling deadly terror attacks. “This is good for the morale ... Here, we are all united. We mix. There is no religion, there is nothing, and that’s what feels good.”
People wrapped in flags and dressed in crazy hats, and one man spotted totally nude except for the tricolor, marched down the avenue where France displayed its military might a day earlier for Bastille Day.
Revelers set off smoke bombs in
the national colors — blue, white and red — obscuring Napoleon’s triumphal arch. People climbed atop every newspaper kiosk and bus stop in the area to wave flags and lead the crowds below in cheers. The national anthem, the Marseillaise, rang out, cars honked horns and cherry bombs cracks.
As night fell, The Eiffel Tower flashed 1998-2018 to mark France’s two World Cup titles.
The Arc de Triomph was awash in the national colors, lit with the rooster, the faces of the winning team and the words “Proud to be Blue,” or French.
PROTEST INTERRUPTS FINAL >> Protest group Pussy Riot, long a thorn in Vladimir Putin’s side, claimed responsibility for four people who brought the World Cup final to a brief halt by running onto the field dressed in police uniforms as the Russian president and a global audience watched.
Stewards tackled the three women and one man who charged onto the field simultaneously in the 52nd minute of one of the world’s most viewed sporting events.
Croatia defender Dejan Lovren pushed the man, helping a steward to detain him, and suggested the incident put Croatia off its game. The team was 2-1 down when the protest
happened, and eventually lost 4-2.
“I really was mad because we’d been playing at that moment in good shape,” he said. “We’d been playing good football and then some interruption came. I just lost my head and I grabbed the guy and I wished I could throw him away from the stadium.”
Before being hauled away, one of the women reached the center of the field and shared a double high-five with France forward Kylian Mbappe.
“Hello everyone from the Luzhniki field, it’s great here,” the heavily political punk performance group said on Twitter , and released a statement calling for the freeing of political prisoners, an end to “illegal arrests” of protesters and to “allow political competition” in Russia.
The four were charged with violation of spectators’ rights and illegal wearing of law enforcement symbols and could face penalties of up to 11,500 rubles ($185) or 160 hours of community service, the Interfax news agency reported.
ARGENTINA SEEKS NEW COACH >> Jorge Sampaoli is out as Argentina coach, two weeks after his team was beaten by France in the World Cup round of 16.
The Argentina soccer federation says it reached a “mutual agreement” to terminate his contract.