France wins its second World Cup title with 4-2 victory over Croatia
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France wins its second World Cup title with 4-2 victory over Croatia: France lifted the World Cup last night after a classic match that saw in Les Bleus beat underdog Croatia 4-2. Croatia started off strong but was dealt a painful blow when Mario Mandzukic accidentally scored an own goal in the 18th minute. France also scored on a controversial penalty shot towards the end of the first half. Croatia was dogged until the very last minute. Reuters has a solid play-by-play breakdown, the Guardian looks at how players from each team fared, while USA Today dissects why so many of us were keen to dismiss France’s excellence throughout the championship. Our favourite take on the match is from Cathal Kelly at Toronto’s Globe & Mail, and the WSJ has a sweet drill-down into Croatia and its fan. The on-field class of Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović after the match (and insistence she travel coach with Croatian fans) won hearts worldwide.