The French men finally managed to put another star on their jersey after the unfettered joy and a refreshing 4-2 victory over Croatia in this year’s thrilling World Cup final on Sunday.
With the stars Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé on the scoresheet, France earned the second victory in the World Cup since 1998.
The storm also hid tears streaming from the eyes of the fallen Croatians, whose heroic run through soccer’s ultimate testing ground offered hope to every small country with big dreams.
France took the lead after 18 minutes when Antoine Griezmann’s free-kick deflected in off Mario Mandzukic’s head -but Croatia were by far the better side in the first half and deservedly equalised courtesy of Ivan Perisic’s left-foot finish.
In a compelling second half, France looked to have wrapped it up with two strikes in six minutes from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe either side of the hour mark.
France’s victory meant Deschamps, who captained them 20 years ago, became just the third man to win the competition as a player and coach.
“I have never seen or lived through such a World Cup”, said Didier Deschamps “There was a leveling toward the top. The small teams arrived really well-prepared. I don’t know if it was a beautiful World Cup. There were goals, good matches and crazy scenarios. But this World Cup was very, very tough. I don’t know if we did it better.”
France’s 19-year-old striker Kylian Mbappe was the winner of the Young Player Award. Croatia’s Luka Modric was named as the winner of the Golden Ball as the best player of the Tournament.
Belgian goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, who made 27 saves was named as the winner of the Golden Glove as the best keeper after conceding just five goals in seven matches. Harry Kane was the winner of the Golden Boot for the World Cup’s top scorer with 6 goals.
> Shatabdi Sarker Poushi
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