World Cup Final: 3 reasons why France defeated Croatia

And that's the end of the World Cup. France have beaten Croatia to win the World Cup 2018!

From the stat of the game, Les Bleus sat back, defended and still scored 4 past Subasic to seal a 4-2 win! A Mandzukic own goal gave France an early lead but Perisic scored a stunned to level things up minutes later.

However, the night was not meant to be Croatia's as a Perisic went from hero to zero within 10 minutes. A handball in the penalty box gave France a penalty and Griezmann converted with ease.

Into the second half and it was all France. Paul Pogba scored a beautiful goal in the 59th minute to make it 3-1 and within 6 minutes, it was 4-1! Kylian Mbappe scored to become the second teenager to score at the World Cup final.

Here are three reasons why France won:

#3 Making most of the chances

At the end of the first half, France had just one shot on target – the penalty by Antoine Griezmann. In the same time, Croatia had seven. But the score? France 2-1 Croatia.

The French had just one plan today, the same they have made for most games at the World Cup this year, sit back and defend. And they did it to perfection.

The first time they went forward and tried to attack was in the 17th minute. They managed to get a free kick (thanks to Griezmann's dive) and that resulted in a Mario Mandzukic own goal!

Stright after the goal, it was back to defending for them. However, they couldn't do anything to stop Perisic from scoring – and that made France push forward again.

Just like last time France came forward, they won a set piece. A corner from Griezmann struck Perisic on the arm and a penalty was awarded. The Atletico Madrid stepped up and slotted it home.

By then, Croatia had 2-3 attempts on goal but were unable to score. There was nothing they could do to get past Hugo Lloris.

#2 Solid at the back

France have been criticized a lot for sitting back and defending in most of the games. What people don't realize is that defending is also important in a game.

Many call it a negative approach to the game and say that it's 'boring' to watch a team play like that. To make the most of Mbappe, Matuidi and Griezmann, France had to play that way. There was no other choice – counter-attacking was the ideal way for them to score.

And at the back, Umtiti and Varane were rock solid. They were making sure that Mandzukic, Rebic and Perisic were not getting any space and were closing the gap every single time.

On the other hand, Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida were finding it difficult to contain the French forwards. Subasic was left fully exposed and he kept conceding goals.

#1 Paul Pogba

France vs Croatia: Final - 2018 FIFA World Cup

A lot was said about Paul Pogba before the tournament. Some pundits even claimed that he could be the weak link in the team and that he should be dropped.

N'Golo Kante was surprisingly having a very game and there was nothing he was getting right. He was getting dispossessed and intercepted all the time and after he got a booking, he was not even 10% of what he usually is on the pitch.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Pogba stepped up and performed like a man on a mission. He was dominating the midfield and launching balls forwards for Mbappe to chase and counter.

Even defensively, he was playing as a 3rd centre back and blocking shots from the Croats. He was on the toes of the attackers and as soon as he got the ball, it was just about looking up and seeing where Mbappe was.