2018 FIFA World Cup final vs Croatia

Background

En route to the final, France finished first in Group C with two wins and a draw, then beat Argentina in the round of 16, Uruguay in the quarter-final and Belgium in the semi-final; Croatia won Group D with three wins before defeating Denmark and Russia on penalties and England in the semi-final. In front of 78,011 supporters and referee Néstor Pitana of Argentina, France took the lead through a controversial free kick that led to an own goal by Mario Mandžukić in the 18th minute – the first own goal in a World Cup final – before Ivan Perišić equalised ten minutes later.

France were awarded a penalty when Pitana ruled, after consulting the video assistant referee, that Perišić had deliberately handled the ball, and Antoine Griezmann scored it for a 2–1 half-time lead. Paul Pogba scored at the second attempt in the 59th minute and Kylian Mbappé made it 4–1 from outside the area, becoming the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pelé in 1958, before Mandžukić capitalised on a Hugo Lloris error in the 69th minute.

Griezmann was named man of the match and Croatia's Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball; it was the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966 and the only final since 2002 to end in regulation time.