By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
France defeated Croatia, 4-2, on Sunday to win the FIFA World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. This is the second time that France is at the top of the soccer world, as they also won the FIFA World Cup on its home soil in 1998.
France defeated Brazil in the 1998 World Cup, as they won 3-0. Like that game, France jumped out to an early lead and held onto the lead for the win.
France trails only Brazil with the second-most World Cup goals in a World Cup Final. Brazil had five goals in 1958.
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France and Croatia have the second-most goals in a World Cup Final with six. In the 1958 game, there were seven goals.
Luka Modrić, the 32-year-old midfielder, received the Golden Ball. He is the first Croatian player to win the Golden Ball in World Cup history, which is given to the best player in the tournament.
France is also the sixth country to win multiple FIFA World Cup Titles, as they now have two. Brazil leads the pack with five, while Germany and Italy have four. France is now tied with Argentina and Uruguay with two World Cup titles.
France’s Didier Deschamps has become the third person ever to win the World Cup as a player and a manager. Deschamps joins Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to ever accomplish this feat.
Croatia’s Mario Mandžukić scored an own goal in the 18th minute to give France the 1-0 lead. The own goal by Mandžukić was the first time this has ever happened in a World Cup Final.
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After Mandžukić’s mistake, his team tied the game at 1-1 in the 28th minute, as Ivan Perišić scored an even-strength goal. Then on a penalty kick, Antoine Griezmann scored to give France the 2-1 lead in the 38th minute.
After halftime, Paul Pogba put his team up 3-1 with a goal in the 59th minute. Then, in the 65th minute, Kylian Mbappé, the 19-year-old phenom, gave France the 4-1 lead.
The 32-year-old Mandžukić then made it 4-2 with his goal in the 69th minute. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information, he is the second player to have an own goal and score a goal in the same match in World Cup history. Ernie Brandts also did this in 1978.
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