At the end of one of the most closely fought World Cups, France emerged deserving champions with a clinical 4-2 win over Croatia in the summit clash in Moscow on Sunday. The Les Bleus, coached by Didier Deschamps, remained unbeaten in the competition and won all their knockout games in regular time.
The French were one of the favourites going into the competition and they lived up to the billing.
Deschamps, who became the second man after German legend Franz Beckenbauer to win the World Cup both as a captain and manager, played his cards smartly. France did not always play eye-catching football, but they did most of the things better than their opponents. The Croats were the better team in the opening half of the final, but two goals in the space of six minutes by Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe in the second period of play killed the game.
Earlier in the competition, the French did not panic when they fell behind against Argentina in the pre-quarterfinals. The pace of Mbappe made the difference and the teenager's brace meant Lionel Messi and Co. came second best in a thriller.
Deschamps was blessed to have an array of experienced players at his disposal. Striker Antoine Griezmann and defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante were the standout players in the French ranks. Kante was the tireless worker and he was the guiding force behind the French attack while the opponents invariably found it tough to get past him. Griezmann brought his experience into play and he combined well with his strike partner Mbappe who made the world sit up and take note of his prodigious talent. French captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris pulled off quite a number of vitals saves, though he conceded a silly goal in the final.
Crucial strikes by defenders
Just like their triumph on home soil in 1998, the Les Blues got important goals from their defenders in the big games. Benjamin Pavard's splendid strike meant they were back on level terms soon in the second half against Argentina, while Raphael Varane put them ahead off a free-kick against Uruguay in the quarterfinal and Samuel Umtiti headed home the winner in a hard-fought semifinal against Belgium.
Luka Modric and his men can be immensely proud of their display at Russia 2018 despite falling at the final hurdle. The team finally managed to get out of the shadows Davor Suker & Co. who made it to the semifinals on Croatia's maiden World Cup finals appearance in 1998.
The Croats routed Argentina 3-0 and topped Group D with an all-win record. They displayed tremendous fighting spirit to edge out Denmark and hosts Russia on penalties in the pre-quarterfinals and quarterfinals respectively. They showed the same resilience to come from behind and dash England's hopes with a thrilling 2-1 win after extra time in the second semifinal. However, the team managed by Zlatko Dalic found the French too hot to handle in the final and the rub of the green also did not go their way.
Red Devils steal the show
Belgium were one of the most impressive sides in the competition. The Red Devils, managed by Roberto Martinez, played an attractive brand of football and won the hearts of all those who watched them in action. The Belgians fought back from a two-goal deficit to stun Japan 3-2 in their round-of-16 tie and then send five-time champions Brazil home with a 2-1 win in a gripping last-eight duel. Eden Hazard led from the front as Belgium's Golden Generation finally did justice to their potential and the third-place finish should spur them on in the future events.
England's fine run
England managed to make it to the World Cup semifinals after a long gap of 28 years. The side coached by Gareth Southgate did well to erase the horror shows in their last two big events - the group stage exit in the last World Cup and the embarrassing loss to minnows Iceland in the pre-quarterfinals of Euro 2016. England ended their penalty shootout jinx with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford turning hero in the round-of-16 clash against Colombia. England got lucky in the fact that they were placed in a relatively easy half of the draw and the Three Lions would rue having let slip a golden chance against Croatia in the semifinals. But there is no denying the fact that it was a hugely promising campaign for the young English side.
It was also a World Cup which further underlined European domination as six out of the eight quarterfinalists were from the continent. Brazil failed to exorcise the ghosts of the 2014 edition as they were undone by Martinez' tactical brilliance and the pace of the Belgians in the quarterfinals.
As for Messi and Argentina it was a highly forgettable campaign. La Albiceleste huffed and puffed through the group stage, but they were no match for an Mbappe inspired France in the pre-quarterfinals despite the 4-3 result. Coach Jorge Sampaoli too was responsible for Argentina's lacklustre show as he kept the promising striker Paulo Dybala mostly on the bench and his decision to leave out Mauro Icardi too proved fatal in hindsight. With time running out it could well be end of the World Cup dream for Messi.
Germany's fall
It was a World Cup laced with upsets there was no bigger shock than holders Germany crashing out in the group stage. Joachim Loew's men were expected to easily top Group F, but they lost to Mexico and South Korea and only a Toni Kroos special in the final minute of injury time helped them get past Sweden. Though that win gave them a lifeline after the loss to Mexico in their opener, South Korea eliminated the Germans with a couple of strikes in added time. But one can expect Germany to bounce back and the European Championships in a couple of years will be a litmus test for Loew who has decided to stay on.
Spain and European champions Portugal failed to get going and fell in the first knockout game. The sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui just couple of days prior to their opening game was a big setback for Spain. Though new coach Fenrnado Hierro tried his best, Spain were far from inspiring and eventually they lost to Russia on penalties. Hierro was quick to call it quits and former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has been entrusted with the job of rebuilding the Spanish Armada.
Cristiano Ronaldo's heroics proved in vain as the Portuguese failed to reach the quarterfinals. Ronaldo netted four out of the six goals Portugal scored in Russia, but a strong Uruguay defence shut him out in their pre-quartefinal clash.
Three Asian sides - Japan, Iran and South Korea - caught the eye with their fighting display. Though only Japan progressed to the knockout phase, Iran and South Korea gave a good account of themselves and can be proud of their display. Japan gave Belgium a real scare in the pre-quarterfinals and the Samurai Blue could have well earned a famous victory.
None of the African teams progressed past the group stage. Senegal can count themselves extremely unlucky as they lost out to Japan on fair play. But on the whole it was a a thoroughly disappointing World Cup for the African sides.
VAR makes a huge difference
The introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system meant blatant errors were eliminated. There was a clamp down on the number of fouls and the fears of frequent stoppages in play were allayed. The only sour point was the inconsistency regarding the VAR referrals.
Russia played the perfect host and it was fairly complaint-free World Cup. Now, it's the turn of Qatar and one can be hopeful that tiny Gulf kingdom will make Middle East's first World Cup a grand affair in 2022.