Relentless France break Croatian hearts

MOSCOW: France overwhelmed Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday to win the biggest tournament in international soccer for the second time.

France had been among the favorites to win the tournament from the outset and proved too much for Croatia, who dominated possession but were undone by an early own goal and a penalty given for the first time in World Cup history using the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

Croatia pulled two back, including one from a goalkeeping error, but it wasn't enough with a French win cemented in the 65th minute by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe.The first French goal came off Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic's head from a free-kick in the 18th minute. Croatia equalized 10 minutes later through Ivan Perisic, but at the 35th minute France won a penalty.

It almost didn't happen -- referee Nestor Pitana initially gave a corner kick to France after the ball appeared to come off Perisic hand but the VAR system, introduced for the first time this World Cup, suggested he review the decision. After consulting the VAR, Pinatan ruled it had been handball and gave the pentalty.

Antoine Griezmann slotted the penalty left into the Croatian goal putting France 2-1 up.

Croatia never caught back up, though they kept battling. On the 59th minute, Paul Pogba scored a strong goal off his own rebound to put France 3-1 up and then a superb, low, long strike from Mbappe sealed France's victory in what was the highest scoring World Cup final since 1966.

It gave France its second World Cup win; it last won in 1998 when it hosted the competition.

Till the end, this was a surprising World Cup, of firsts and upsets -- the penalty, the first ever given after a VAR review remains controversial, with opinions online divided over whether it had in fact been a handball from Persic.

The game was also disrupted when, shortly into the second half, four members of the punk protest group, Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch and were chased and then dragged away by security. The activists were dressed as Russian police officers and released a statement saying the pitch invasion was a demonstration against political trials and persecution in Russia.

France's win brought to a close one of the most unpredictable tournaments in recent years in which many of the sport's giants fell by the wayside and underdogs exceeded expectations. Favorites Brazil, Spain and Germany all underperformed, while teams like England and Russia -- barely expected to progress -- reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.

Croatia, while never a complete outsider, was nonetheless one of those, with a team of world-class but older players digging deep to get their country to its first World Cup final. Along the way, they dispatched two favorites going into the competition, beating the European champions Portugal, and running roughshod over Argentina in a spectacular 3-1 win.

They also ended the host Russia's unlikely World Cup run, defeating them in the quarterfinals.

France, by contrast, started as a favorite and drove toward the final with a single-minded determination that's produced results, if not always excitement. A young team flush with talent, they have turned their brilliance on and off when required -- winning a stunning 4-3 victory against Argentina, coming from behind with some of the most spectacular goals of the tournament.