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Records broken as France triumphs at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final

France just won its second World Cup title in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium, and its first since it hosted the tournament in 1998, 20 years ago. France Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps was a member of the 1998 French squad that defeated Brazil at the 1998 final. On Sunday, Deschamps became the third to ever win the World Cup as a player and coach. The other two to have made such an accomplishment are Mário Zagallo from Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer from Germany.

Croatia's Mario Mandzukic scored the first ever own goal in the World Cup finals history. The 32-year-old Juventus forward brought the overall tally of own goals in the tournament to 12 with a historic header into Danijel Subašić's net. Ivan Perisic scored a brilliant equalizer for Croatia 29 minutes into the first half.

Mandzukic redeemed himself when he a goal in the second half following Hugo Lloris' shocking blunder. 
The 31-year-old keeper who doubles as France captain was savagely mocked by fans on Twitter after his mistake gifted Croatia their second goal. "Goalkeeper Lloris lackadaisically cleared the ball as Mandzukic charged on, resulting in a much needed goal for Croatia. Brian Phillips reacted to Lloris' mistake on Twitter saying, "I've heard of negative football but France is the first team I've ever seen play negative-capability football"
Antoine Griezmann became the first player to score a penalty awarded by VAR (Video-assisted Refereeing) in a World Cup final. The Frenchman's easy penalty shot put France on a lead once more, in the 38th minute of the fixture.

The 27-year old France forward was also the first person to score from a VAR penalty decision in a FIFA World Cup, in France's game against Australia (at the group stage). Russia 2018 has been the tournament with most own goals scored, doubling the previous highest total of 6 in 1998.
Paul Pogba - one of France's finest midfielders - became the first Manchester United player to score in a World Cup final with his goal in the second half that extended France's lead against Croatia (3-1).
Three women and one man charged onto the field simultaneously in the 52nd minute of play. Croatia defender Dejan Lovren visibly enraged by the unwarranted intrusion pushed the man out, assisting a steward to detain him. "I was really mad because we'd been playing at that moment in good shape," Lovren said. "We'd been playing good footbal and then some interruption came. I just lost my head and I grabbed the guy and I wished I could throw him away from the stadium."
One of the female invaders reached the center of the field and shared a double high-five with PSG wonderkid Kylian Mbappe.
Protest group Pussy Riot - a heavily punk performance group - claimed responsibility for the World Cup final pitch invasion, in a statement on Twitter. They called for the freeing of political prisoners and demanded the allowance of "political competition" in Russia and an end to "illegal arrests" of protesters.
France's teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe scored the last goal of the tournament at the 65th minute, reinforcing France's edge over Croatia (4-1). The 19-year-old became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pele. He is also the second youngest player to score in a World Cup final at 19 years and 207 days, after Pele (17 years 249 days) in 1958. France carried the day in a breathless six-goal thriller, scoring four goals while Croatia scored two. 
Being the 2018 World Cup champions, France becomes the sixth country to win at least two World Cups, joining Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina and Uruguay. Only eight teams have won the World Cup at least once. England and Spain are the only two World Cup winners without multiple titles.
There was a heavy downpour at Luzhniki at the end of the fixture, and Croatia president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was the center of attention with the warm heart-felt hugs she was giving the players. Soccer fans reacted on Twitter, most wishing for an opportunity to be hugged similarly. 

Others expressed discontentment as Russia's president was shielded from the rain but the President of Croatia wasn't offered an umbrella.

All eyes will be on Les Bleus at the 2020 Euro and then at the Qatar World Cup in 2022 after their stunning World Cup 2018 triumph.


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