twenty years later, the Blues again on the roof of the world

French football has long been regarded as an inexpressible romantic, whose glorious defeated, Seville 1982 for example, while other nations accumulated titles. True to what he was on the ground, a shadow worker and an apostle of victory above all, Didier Deschamps turned his team of France into a terrible machine to win. Irony of history, for someone who was nicknamed "La Dèche" and experienced the Bulgarian nightmare of 1993.

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                World Cup: relive the final France – Croatia minute by minute
    

Sunday, July 15, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the Blues were ruthless (4-2) against deserving Croatians to win the 2018 World Cup. While Russian President Vladimir Putin, finally out of his lair , moved away under the Moscow flood as foreign to the tricolor joy, the French players could brandish a historic trophy, twenty after the two victorious shots of Zinedine Zidane at the Stade de France. 1998-2018, the link is all found: the captain Didier Deschamps became the coach Didier Deschamps

Failing to be impressive by its level of play, this final was disjointed and the most prolific since the only English coronation at home against the FRG in 1966 (4-2). No matter the way, in ten years, only this second star added to the tricolor jersey during the Moscow summer will remain. The lesson of Euro 2016 has been well learned. Deschamps does not like to lose and that is certainly why he has won almost everything in his career: including two league champions, a Euro and, now, two World Cups …

"A final, this is wins, yes. Because the one we lost two years ago, it has still not digested " he said Tuesday night.

The arms Stretched to the sky and his fist raging, the tricolor coach could let explode a joy mixed with his legendary rage to win. After Brazil's Mario Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, he is now proud to be the third to win the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. An unimaginable performance for the one who, at the beginning, was never the best footballer, nor the best coach, but who always knew how to transmit his aggressiveness and his determination to a group. "It's so beautiful, so wonderful he exulted, I'm really happy for this group, because we started from a distance anyway. It was not always easy, but by dint of work, listening … There they are on top of the world for four years.

Kylian Mbappé continues his quest for record: at 19, he is the second youngest scorer in the final of a World Cup, behind the Brazilian Pele (in 1958). Without necessarily being aware of it, the Parisian, designated the best young person of the tournament, will remain on one of the strong images of this month of competition, the only one addicted to the operation of controlled communication of the Kremlin: his high five with one of four Pussy Riot, dressed in a police costume, whose movement claimed the invasion of the lawn in the second half.

Elected man of the match, sometimes eclipsed by his young teammate, Antoine Griezmann, meanwhile, responded at the best moment of a free kick on the first goal, a penalty full of composure on the second and thanks, in general, a brilliant performance throughout the eighties -dix minutes.

More globally, as its predecessor of 1998, this team of France built its success on an unsuspected defensive strength before the competition, to which it will have added a game ultra-direct and fast, formidable to To force the opponent's defenses

The equal of Argentina and Uruguay

Nevertheless, this final, especially the first period, was paradoxically one of the least successful games of the Blues, since the start against Australia, June 16. Mario Mandzukic's opener against his side and a questionable penalty (a seemingly unintentional hand from Ivan Perisic) obtained thanks to the VAR (video refereeing), these are the two slender shots that allowed the French to

The third goal tricolor, scored by Paul Pogba, after a counterattack, and Kylian Mbappé's surgical strike for the fourth, were only the punishment expected and inflicted on a an adversary who, led and exhausted by his three successive prolongations, was then to discover himself. In captain fair play, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gave the Croatians, a calamitous relaunch, the reduction in score. Not sure that it is enough to console them, nor the title of best player of the World Cup attributed to the captain Luka Modric.

In the vicinity of the Luzhniki stadium, as inside the tribunes of this gigantic stage theater of the Moscow Games in 1980, the French had to face a strong adversity. First of all to the strong numerical superiority of the Croatian supporters, 10,000 Balkans who constituted a real wall of checkered red and white. Then, massive support from other spectators to the underdog. Brazilians, who saw themselves in the final, Colombians, South Koreans or Mexicans, many confessed to support Croatia.

"She plays with the heart, with more passion. To end this crazy World Cup, the victory of an unexpected team would be ideal. But I think that France will win, you have the best players " prophesied Leandro, came from Rio with his friends. The Blues could still count on a few scattered supporters, like Munzi, a Malaysian fanatic Mbappé, or Kensuke, a Japanese who wore the jersey of a certain Lilian Thuram, double scorer in the semifinals of the World Cup 1998 against … Croatia

With this second success on the last six World Cups, the France team distance England and Spain. Above all, it matches football nations such as Uruguay and Argentina. In front, only Italy and Germany remain (4 titles) and Brazil (5 titles). With an average age of 25 years and 10 months, these Blues seem to arm to continue to win. Didier Deschamps will normally still be in charge until Euro 2020, at least. What's more logical for this father's victory, which has adapted to a younger generation that makes it wonderfully, as evidenced by the joyful and festive intrusion of its players in a press conference. "Excuse them, they are young and happy" summed up Deschamps, watered from the water to the head.