MOSCOW: This is the second time that French coach Didier Deschamps will be getting to hold the coveted World Cup trophy.
In 1998, he had kissed the cup as a player, and now he will do the same as the man who led the second youngest team in the tournament to a fantastic victory.
The president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, is also among 10 heads of state and national leaders at Luzhniki Stadium.They have joined Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the presidents of Belarus, Moldova, Gabon and Sudan.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is also here. Qatar hosts the next World Cup in 2022 and the emir attended a handover ceremony at the Kremlin with Putin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier Sunday.
Mario Mandzukic has become just the 5th player to score in both World Cup and European Cup/Champions League finals, after Ferenc Puskas, Zoltan Czibor, Gerd Muller & Zinedine Zidane.
The 19-year-old is now two goals away levelling with England’s Harry Kane as the top contender for the 2018 Golden Boot.Kylian Mbappe has just won the Young Player award, probably by about a country mile.
The other two major awards – Golden Boot and Golden Glove – have gone to Harry Kane and Thibaut Courtois respectively.
Luka Modric has won the Golden Ball. He doesn’t look too happy about it, for obvious reasons, but he 100% deserves this award. A brilliant player who has had a brilliant tournament.
France: Hugo Lloris; Lucas Hernandez, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane, Benjamin Pavard; Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante; Blaise Matuidi, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe; Olivier Giroud.
Croatia: Danijel Subasic; Ivan Strinic, Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko; Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric; Ivan Perisic, Mario Manduzkic, Ante Rebic.