The penalty was a hard blow – Information – 24 hours

Croatia faces France in the final of the World Cup Sunday in Moscow but the penalty that the referee sanctioned after having consulted on VAR was a blow to the spirit of the team, said coach Zlatko Dalic.

France was crowned world champion for the second time in its history after defeating the Croatian 4-2 team, playing its first World Cup final, in an exciting game.

"It was probably our best game of the tournament, but against a team like France, we can not afford mistakes that end in goals" . and when the shares were tied 1-1, the Argentine referee Néstor Pitana was penalized by Ivan Perisic's hand inside the box after reviewing the game with the VAR. Antoine Griezmann shot at 37 to put France ahead with a low shot at the right post of the Croatian goalkeeper.

"We played well, but the penalty took our breath away and then it was very difficult, we wanted to win the World Cup .. that's football" Dalic told the journalists after the match.

"The French did not surprise us, we allowed them to score two easy goals with the goal against (by Mario Mandzukic at 18 minutes) and the penalty (…) We are sad but proud at the same time" , added the coach.

The coach said his players should be proud of what they accomplished. "I told them," If anyone had offered to be a World Cup finalist before the tournament, we would have all accepted immediately, "he said. Sometimes you lose, that's football, but we honor our triumphs and I did the same in defeat, that was the message to my players, " added. [19659009] Captain Luka Modric, who won the Golden Ball as best player of the World Cup, highlighted the performance of the Balkan team that dominated the match during a good part of the match and had the ball possession nearly 60%.

"Unfortunately, some delicate goals have transformed the result (…) we can keep our heads high", said midfielder Real Madrid

"I'm proud of the prize (the best player ) The incredible support of the fans makes me even happier, knowing that you have achieved something great despite the defeat, even if it is difficult to fail " he added [19659009] Despite the sadness of the result, the Croatian fans showed their pride for the team. The country is holding a big party in the main square of Zagreb to host the national team on Monday.

"I believe that what we have achieved will remain in our memories forever and we can be proud of ourselves", Croatian defender Sime Vrsaljko

"This includes our general conduct, our performances and that of our supporters who represented the country in the best way possible ", added.