France became World Cup Champions for the second time in their history, with their first title coming in 1998.
First Half
Croatia had great start to their game. They were aggressive and were very active offensively. The Croatian XI dominated the match and controlled the pace of the play. That was, until a set piece came up for France.
Antoine Griezmann took the free kick from outside of the box and Mario Mandzukic headed it into his own net for an own goal. This would give France a lead in just the 18th minute of the match.
Mario Mandzukic grazes Antoine Griezmann's free kick and it ends up into his own net. #FRA with a 1-0 lead over #CRO.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/342a2tgvwc
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
France took control of the game after the goal. They went deeper into Croatia´s offensive zone and showed good ball movement. However, this suited Croatia like a glove, as they get more dangerous went down on the scoreboard. The was evident a few minutes later.
Ivan Perisic found the ball and truck a marvelous ball from the edge of the box and sent it into the net past Hugo Lloris.
The score was leveled just tend minutes late. 1-1 at the 28th minute.
Ivan Perisic with the huge response for #CRO.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/ZxUtzEAgzY
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
Croatia then resumed the attack as France had not yet registered a shot on goal by this point of the match. They were in control of the game despite not having any luck when finishing their plays. The score was still tied when VAR reviewed a controversial handball on the Croatian box. The end result was a penalty for France.
Griezmann converted the penalty kick cleanly this time around, giving France the lead.
Antoine Griezmann buries the penalty to give #FRA a 2-1 lead over #CRO.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/ruxIGHiWg6
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
Both teams headed to halftime with the score of 2-1
Second Half
Croatia once again was very aggressive from the start. They mounted the pressure on France as most of the opening minutes of the second half were played on France’s defensive zone. Despite their offense, the equalizer was denied either by the French offense, or by keeper Lloris.
All France needed was a good run up field with the Bacall. That was more than evident minutes later.
Paul Pogba scored with a laser-like shot to the back of the net.
Paul Pogba's goal to give #FRA a 3-1 lead.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/2wkhfywH9Q
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
France was up by two just before the hour mark.
The French were deadly on counter attacks. Aided by their speed and the Croatian fatigue, they were able to stack up another goal to their lead.
Kylian Mbappe scored off a counter attack scoring another goal for Les Blues.
Kylian Mbappe scores to extend #FRA's lead.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/gdxzR53tE8
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
The score was now 4-1 at the 64th minute.
Not everything went smooth for Didier Deschamps’ side, as Lloris committed an awful mistake on the box, allowing Mandzukic to score easily.
Super Mario got Croatia a little closer but the French were still up by two as the clock kept ticking.
Mario Mandzukic takes advantage of Hugo Lloris' mistake to pull one back for #CRO.#WorldCupFinal #TheAOSNWC pic.twitter.com/M6lDcoxtul
— The AOSN FC (@TheAOSNFC) July 15, 2018
Despite their tremendous offensive efforts, Croatia couldn’t level the score as fatigue was evident and the lead was too big to overcome.
France are your World Cup champions with a final score of 4-2.
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