France Wins its 2nd World Cup title
The final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday. Team France hammered Croatia 4-2 in the final match to grab its second World Cup Trophy.
The final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday. Team France hammered Croatia 4-2 in the final match to grab its second World Cup Trophy.
France led 2-1 at halftime courtesy of the first own-goal and the first video-reviewed penalty in a World Cup final. The own-goal off the top of Mario Mandzukic’s head was the 12th of the tournament. That’s double the previous World Cup record of six.
Croatia rallied to equalize on a terrific left-foot strike by Ivan Perisic, but France took the lead right back when Perisic handled the ball in the area. Argentine referee Nestor Pitana initially didn’t call the handball but awarded the spot kick after a video review. Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty to put France back in front.
France took a 4-1 lead with goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe in the 59th and 65th minutes before Mario Mandzukic pulled one back for the Croatians in the 69th.
Croatia was playing in its first World Cup final. For France, it was a first World Cup crown since winning on home soil in 1998.
The FIFA World Cup was held from June 14 to July 15 at 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities. More than 3 million people visited the matches.
