FRENCH TOAST
France have won their second World Cup with a resounding 4-2 victory over Croatia. As billions of fans erupted across the globe, a euphoric French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated like a schoolboy with his wife Brigitte. Also, in attendance at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium was his Russian host Vladimir Putin, who is being congratulated for staging one of the most successful World Cups ever.
Macron was drenched in a storm that lashed the stadium after the final whistle but that did not prevent him from talking to every victorious player, while Putin took shelter under an umbrella.
The match had a dramatic intervention when Russian punk rockers Pussy Riot invaded the pitch, stopping play during the 52nd minute. The anarchist group is a bitter critic of President Vladimir Putin who watched in shirtsleeves as police swiftly rounded up the intruders and dragged them to detention. France took an early lead after Croatia's Mario Mandzukic scored an own goal in the 18 minute of the match. Ten minutes later, his humiliating blunder was rectified with an equaliser from 29-year-old Ivan Perisic
But France were once again back in front as Antoine Griezmann hit the ball home from the penalty spot. Goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe extended France's lead before Croatia's Mandzukic got one back.
In Paris, thousands of fans celebrated wildly after watching the game on big screens on the Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower and on the Champs Elysees in the city centre.
Meanwhile, in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, the mood was sombre after the national team were beaten in their first ever World Cup final.
The team's achievement in reaching the final brought the country of 4 million people to a standstill, as officials and the media described the event as the biggest in Croatia's sports history.