The Final: France vs Croatia

[R0ssei]

Well, France was very fortunate to be leading by 2-1 by 1st half.

The first one that Mandžukić headed into his own goal from a free-kick wasn't exactly a foul that a free-kick should have awarded from such a spot.

The penalty, even after VR, awarded to France was a deal-breaker. To me, for a VR, the decision should come from 4th referee instead of the field referee (like in cricket). A field referee runs and sweats for full 90 min, hence it's not the best idea to put him in such situation where he has to take a major decision within seconds. The hand-ball didn't seem intentional while Perišić jumped and tried to defend the incoming ball with his knee.

From that, Croatia really did not recover. Overall, they played better, had more possessions; but couldn't create clear chances. Also, Croatian keeper Subašić was very dim during the whole game. France took the advantage in 2nd half and scored in counter-attacks. All in all, it was an entertaining final.

Match Stats: