Russia – (warsoor) – France won the World Cup for the second time after beating Croatia 4-2 in a pulsating final in Moscow that included a controversial use of VAR.
A Mario Mandzukic own goal (18) set France on their way in Sunday’s incident-packed showdown, only for Ivan Perisic to fire home an equaliser 10 minutes later.
But seven minutes before half-time, referee Nestor Pitana contentiously awarded a spot-kick for a handball by Perisic after consulting pitch-side replays, which Griezmann converted.
Second-half goals from Paul Pogba (59) and Kylian Mbappé (65) took the game away from Croatia, who did score a comical consolation through Mandzukic after a Hugo Lloris error.
The victory means France boss Didier Deschamps becomes only the third person to lift the trophy as a player and manager, following Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.
Deschamps’ risk-averse tactics allowed Croatia to boss the opening stages in terms of possession but it was France that struck first, with their first meaningful attack.
Griezmann whipped in a free-kick with his left-foot and, in a desperate attempt to clear, Mandzukic flicked the ball past his own goalkeeper and became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final.
Source: Skysport