WC 2018 Final | France vs Croatia

1.8 million people in the Champs Elysees

i always like when the champions storm the press conference deschamps deserves it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSE7G7C6xt0

S wrote:Immigrants(specially Muslims) helping France win their 2nd world cup

Viva la Immigraciòn

great sales pitch you have there.

Congrats to sports, farfan, nick and all french supporters on GL

Not a great final IMO, but a great way to get there

Congrats all French fans

Too bad, would have made some money on a Croatia win and I wanted Croatia to win anyway, but they have earned a place in their history books anyway, and it's good to see arguably Croatia's greatest generation make it this far, even if the last step was one too much. They played their hearts out over the tournament, beat some great teams, were a day less of rest and having played a full game more (3 extra times) and still were much better than France for the first half and until Pogba's strike in the second.

They've had lady luck on their side with the penalty shootouts, so it's fitting, I guess, that an unfortunate own goal and a stupid handling be a part of their downfall.

I thought Subasic was shocking. Both Pogba's and Mbappe's goals were saveable and a keeper at a professional level has to make those saves.

France was the best team over the World Cup and it's 100% deserved.

Modric winning golden ball was well deserved.

Best midfielder on the planet winning the golden ball after leading a decent but not outstanding Croatian team to their first ever final? It fits, and I'm happy for him to win at least that.

Giroud is a WC winner >>> Messi + Ronaldo

Leading a team to a world cup win as a main player... like Varane, Pogba, Griezmann and Mbappe... counts a lot for me. NT requirements and pressure are on a whole different level.

That's why Pele and Maradonna stay on a different stratosphere.

Congrats Sports and Farfan! France deserved to win the final in the end but I didn't like the manner how the ref was involved in the game.

Edit:
From what I have seen, the best France players were Pogba--> Varane----->Griezmann. Pogba was present in ALL matches and kept the crappy French midfield together. He even managed to do some playmaking while being placed by the manager behind the half line most of the time. Varane was invisible and made attackers invisible without fouls= sign of a supreme defender. He rarely lost sprint one on ones, too. Griezmann was shit in group stages but became better in K.O. stages,he was the the maker in the attack. As a pure attacker, MBappe was better.

Overall: my golden ball candidates would have been Hazard and Pogba.

https://media.giphy.com/media/fecNRCHJgeMzYu4BlE/giphy.gif

Obvious pen

It's funny that all these teams get their ass kicked by France and then end up saying "we played better" or "France doesn't play football".

Latest example is the best defender in the world, Dejan Lovren.

sportsczy wrote:It's funny that all these teams get their ass kicked by France and then end up saying "we played better" or "France doesn't play football".

Latest example is the best defender in the world, Dejan Lovren.

My favourite example is actually you, two and a half weeks ago about Italy in every previous World Cup

Luca wrote:

sportsczy wrote:It's funny that all these teams get their ass kicked by France and then end up saying "we played better" or "France doesn't play football".

Latest example is the best defender in the world, Dejan Lovren.

My favourite example is actually you, two and a half weeks ago about Italy in every previous World Cup

I took that back.  I still think it's not great football.  But heck, I'm not going to be a hypocrite and celebrate a France team that play a certain way and then make fun of Italy.

And France only won 1-0 (all other games were 2 goals or more... scored 4 twice in elimination rounds) against Belgium (due to Giroud being a numpty)... and were only outshot by Croatia during the whole tournament.  So the intent is to score.  But we don't use possession to do it... we use counter attacks.  We get our shots. It's very different from being outshot most games and managing to win.

Croatia was a strange game because we were incredibly efficient.  So for the last 30 mins after we were up 3-1, 4-1 and 4-2, we literally stopped trying to shoot.  Most of the other games were close enough... so we kept taking our chances when it was available.

And it's very different me saying it and a player. You never heard a France player show disrespect towards Germany and Italy OTHER THAN Schumacher and Materazzi.

sportsczy wrote:

Luca wrote:

sportsczy wrote:It's funny that all these teams get their ass kicked by France and then end up saying "we played better" or "France doesn't play football".

Latest example is the best defender in the world, Dejan Lovren.

My favourite example is actually you, two and a half weeks ago about Italy in every previous World Cup

I took that back. I still think it's not great football. But heck, I'm not going to be a hypocrite and celebrate a France team that play a certain way and then make fun of Italy.

And France only won 1-0 against Belgium (due to Giroud being a numpty)... and were only outshot by Croatia during the whole tournament. So the intent is to score. But we don't use possession to do it... we use counter attacks. It's very different from being outshot most games and managing to win.

Croatia was a strange game because we were incredibly efficient. So for the last 30 mins after we were up 3-1, 4-1 and 4-2, we literally stopped trying to shoot. Most of the other game were close enough that we kept taking our chances when it was available.

I'm just teasing you. I find it quite poetic justice that France won playing a similar style and now you're seeing the similar criticism and reacting in the same way I and my fratelli have been when faced with the same stuff.

For me, France won. Best team in the tournament, best team in the final.

Congrats on the win

Yeah I know.  Btw, I was mad at Italy in 1982 not because they didn't have quality... very great players.  But I was such a fan of that Brazil team that it broke my heart.  Brazil played dream football back in the day.

Doesn't mean Italy didn't deserve the trophy.

If this France beat that Brazil... i would almost be unhappy lol. No joke. They were that great to watch.

sportsczy wrote:Yeah I know.  Btw, I was mad at Italy in 1982 not because they didn't have quality... very great players.  But I was such a fan of that Brazil team that it broke my heart.  Brazil played dream football back in the day.

Doesn't mean Italy didn't deserve the trophy.

If this France beat that Brazil... i would almost be unhappy lol. No joke. They were that great to watch.

Fair enough. I'll take your word for it about Brazil. It only makes Italy beating them mean that much more

ok penalty , we ' ll never agree on it, but what a fantastic goal scored my man Ivan Perisic ?



not stopped watching it,  button X + Circle together and then Square immediately

What a PS4 player

Modric won it just because this prize is always a consolation trophy.
Kahm won it in 2002 ( even if it was the Ronaldo cup , and Kahn made a tragic mistake in final .. Great WC overally, let's be clear ) , Zidane in 2006 ( it was ok without that warhead) , 2010  by Forlan (meh) , 2014 by Messi (lol?) , 2018 by Modric.
if Croatia won WC, it would have been won by a French player.

sportsczy wrote:Thanks Arqi...  we did it old school Italian way too lol.  Reminded of Italy NT of the 80s:  WC defense, good keeping, strong midfield and then lethal strikers.

Gazzetta dello Sport has written it on the title



even though it sounds as a pathetic way to appropriate some merit .. or just gnawing...
99 % of Italians supported Croatia

I wonder if rivalry France - Italy is felt from French as such as Italians make it towards France .. because it's deeply felt here.

Robes...  Germany, Italy and Brazil are the big ones for France.  A lot of epic Euro and WC encounters.  As far as how each is felt.  My generation HATES Germany due to 80s.  I'm sure the younger generation feels badly towards Italy due to Zidane.  Brazil because of truly epic games...  no hate at all; all respect there.

Success breads such feelings  France has been insane last 20 years (2 WC, 1 Euro, 1 WC runner up and 1 Euro runner up...  3 QFs in there too).  I think Italy felt entitled in terms football with respect to France.  But things have shifted France's way in almost every way... hard to accept.

France's main rival before the mid 80s was Italy as an example but since Italy won more... I'm sure Italy didn't feel it the same way as the French. Things started to shift in 1984.

98 - 2000 is the basis . And it find sap from a historical background. French are the regional cousins and everything is compared, to the point of be traced back to the history ... Similar to Dutch-Germans .. if then football gives the opportunity to face each other in epic battles ... everything amplifies ..
Or should I say " gave" . It's never been so high the gap between France-Italy in favor of France.
France won in 98 and 2000 but you suffered also because you wasn't so inferior. Comparison would be offensive now lol
France has left at home players as Rabiot, Lacazette etc who would walk into Italy NT . And perspectives are not different.

WTF My gif didn't show. I'm on PC now so I updated it

As you can see it was a clear pen.

Rami just told a fantastic story on TF1...

The night after the Argentina win, 15 of the 23 players went to party a bit in town. They came back late in the morning and continued the party in the hotel. So they would go room by room to wake up those who didn't go and basically destroyed their rooms... Rami went to his room but Mendy decided to pay him a visit and called the rest of the band to start a party in Rami's room. Rami had a fire extinguisher and went "ghostbusters" (his words) on them when they came in.

Problem was, the fire alarms for the whole hotel went off and triggered the fire protocol. They don't use water... it's a gas system. So hotel security ran over and told everyone that the gas is toxic and to evacuate.

So the entire hotel... players, staff; hotel staff, cooks; security; were outside... and the police and fire department showed up.

Deschamps was outside in his pijamas and Rami thought he was going to get kicked off the team.

Can't wait for the team documentary out tomorrow loooooooooooooool

Challenges that French players accepted in the event they won the World Cup:
Hugo Lloris: a pub crawl in Nice
Nabil Fékir & Olivier Giroud: Shaved head
Blaise Matuidi: Paris to Turin cycle
Thomas Lemar: Dye his hair
Adil Rami: Fight Teddy Riner

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) July 16, 2018

one of most beautiful things of the final for me
(brozovic and lovren)
And after these scenes I think Rodgers was right to pay 30 for Dejan Lovren tbh.
( Brozovic was the GOAT even before)