France win 2018 FIFA World Cup final
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The reading
France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a thrilling and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very first success in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition as a player and coach. The final was a true spectacle that had quality football, controversial refereeing decisions, an own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world watched as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding talent, which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.
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Croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a free kick after 18 minutes on the edge of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an own goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the referee reviewed video evidence of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots from outside Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error from France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held on for victory.
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/44754965
- https://sports.yahoo.com/france-storms-second-world-cup-title-final-victory-croatia-165354873.html
- http://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3566255/mbappe-powers-france-to-world-cup-glory-croatia-reeling-after-var-controversy
