JOIN USAfter twenty years and many heartbreaks, France can call themselves world champions again. The road to the pinnacle of world football wasn’t easy but the Frenchmen fused skills, temperament and tactics into a potent amalgam over the last one month in Russia to climb the summit. The final result, a 4-2 verdict against a fighting Croatia on Sunday, was a true reflection of the class that had led many experts to install them as the favourites prior to the start of the tournament. France, though, revealed their full firepower only occasionally in their seven-match unbeaten run to the trophy. Incisive forwards, midfielders of varied skills and defenders of solidity gave the French the freedom to play as they pleased — slow and boring as in the draw against Denmark in the group phase, or fast and furious as a blazing wildfire in the last-16 match against Argentina. The best of France was seen in that game when the brilliant teen talent of Kylian Mbappe burnt holes in the Argentine defence, ripping the former champions apart.
It was controlled aggression from then on as their coach Didier Deschamps, a World Cup winner himself, embraced a more practical approach, placing substance over style. Always, France gave the impression that they had something in reserve, and even in the final, when Croatia started well, the French held their nerve before a touch of luck turned it their way through an own goal. Paul Pogba and Mbappe then applied the finishing touches, brightening up an entertaining encounter, besides highlighting the diversity in the French squad. With 14 of their 23-member roster having roots in Africa, the immense strength of their immigrant community came shining through again, just as it had done in 1998, when the Les Bleus tasted World Cup success for the first time. France’s triumph also underlined the European dominance of the sport. Brazil were the last champions from outside the continent, and that was way back in 2002. That the semi-finalists were all from Europe was a testimony to their progress as also to the decline of the once-powerful South American methods.
In a tournament where many big names fell early and upsets were the norm, Croatia stood tall through a series of determined performances, underlining the fact that what matters in sport is the size of your heart, not just skill and talent. The country of just four million people made the world sit up and take notice before ceding the limelight to a team that was better in all departments of the game. Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Belgium all came and saw, but it was the French that conquered — the game as well as the hearts.