FIFA World Cup 2018: France was conservative, but not shy

France scored four goals behind Croatia in final of the World Cup. (Source: Reuters)

It is simply amazing that France managed to win the World Cup without its attackers, with the exception of Kylian Mbappe, who shoots. Their most prolific striker, Antoine Griezmann, scored three of his four goals with penalties. It's not that there is no skill in taking a penalty, but still a probability, with luck and composure. And Griezmann did not show any nerves to give France the lead in the final against Croatia. If it was a penalty, for starters, that's another story. France never lost when he was on the match sheet, as was the case last night.

And then there is Olivier Giroud, an attacker who scored a goal to his credit in the seven games that he played. Giroud spent most of his time back to the goal, waiting. When the chances came, he shot the ball into the stands. It sometimes seemed that Didier Deschamps only played Giroud to make things a bit difficult for France.

The French attack was somehow overtaken by Mbappe, 19, ripping apart the opposition, but it was not a solo effort.

Behind the front line was Paul Pogba, a midfielder who entered the tournament after a disappointing season with Manchester United. In the final leg of the season, Pogba had even lost his place against a 21-year-old who had climbed into United reserves. He was even excluded from the starting squad in Sevilla's last two meetings in the Europa League. This World Cup has proven to be his redemption. Ngolo Kante carried most of the defensive duties, but Pogba ran the midfield show. He has seen openings in the opposition that no one has. He bulldozed up to the last third, threatening to score. When the pace of the game dropped, Pogba was there to flirt with France by the back of the neck, kicking and screaming against his will.

To link all this from behind, Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti, two defenders who play for rival teams in the Spanish Football League. They would not see each other when Barcelona and Real Madrid faced each other, but in this France team they were a selection team. When Varane struggled with loose pieces, Umititi won the important headers. And when Umtiti panicked in the penalty area, Varane was there to make his last tackles.

France has not been the best team to watch in this tournament and yet, she knows how to win games. Their group stage matches were dull, with one of them decided by a VAR decision and another end in a draw. It took them time to find their rhythm, but when Argentina came in the knockout stages, France was ready. The suspense of seven goals came at a time when one wondered if the conservatism of director Didier Deschamps would work against teams with a superior mixture of attack and defense.

Argentina did the deal when it was attacking to defend their goal, as Deschamps counterpart, Jorge Sampaoli, would learn painfully later. The Sampaoli contract was terminated just hours after France was crowned champion last night. It seemed that the Argentine Football Association wanted to rebadure him that they were making the right decision. Be conservative but not shy, read the underlying message.

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