Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

World Cup final 2018 LIVE France vs Croatia: France win the World Cup after six-goal thriller with Croatia - as it happened

Follow all the latest action from the World Cup final in Moscow

Molly Hudson
Sunday 15 July 2018 15:12 EDT
Comments
Pitch invaders interrupt play in World Cup final clash between France and Croatia

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

France won the World Cup for the second time in their history after defeating Croatia 4-2 in a dramatic and controversial final in Moscow.

In a match that just about had everything, France became only the sixth nation to win the World Cup more than once, with Croatia missing out on the opportunity to win their first world crown. With six goals, a VAR-awarded penalty, a politically-motivated pitch invasion and one of te youngest squads to achieve greatest, there was no shortage of talking points.

France took the lead when Mario Mandzukic headed into his own net only for Ivan Perisic to bring the game to life with an equaliser. However, he was penalised for handball in his own area and Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty, before Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe completed the win for France - though captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris still had time for a howler to gift Croatia a consolation goal.

Re-live the action below...


Follow all the live action below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load...

What time is it?

The World Cup final will kick-off at 16:00 BST at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Where can I watch it?

The game will be shown on BBC and ITV as well as BBC Sport website/iPlayer. BBC’s coverage will begin at 15:00 BST while ITV’s starts at 14:55 BST.

Prediction

France 2-1 Croatia (AET). This will be closer than people think as Croatia will have nothing but solid belief considering their route to the final, whereas France will have the doubts in the back of their mind from what happened at Euro 2016.

Odds

France: 9/10

Croatia: 4/1

Draw (after 90 minutes): 9/4

The Luzhniki Stadium, playing host to today's match, was originally known as the Vladimir Ilich Lenin Stadium...

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 13:54

Anthony Cuthbertson investigates.

"The final of the 2018 Fifa World Cup is almost here, with France and Croatia both hoping to claim the most vaunted prize in football. This year, more fans than ever before are tuning into tournament games through sites providing links to free live streams of the action, though cyber experts warn this could be risky."

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 13:58

Meanwhile, Argentina's World Cup dissection continues...manager Jorge Sampaoli unsurprisingly set to depart.

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:12

10 times better than Neymar. That's quite the statement. 

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:13

Another piece on Didier Deschamps, but will he have the final word this afternoon? By Jonathan Liew.

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:19

Here's your teams...heroes or villains, 11 of these players will lift the World Cup trophy. 

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:28

Pre-match stroll for the Croatians. The biggest game of their careers 

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:30

Team news

It's as we expected for both sides as they field their strongest possible sides in their bid for glory. Marcelo Brozovic into midfield again for Croatia leaving more space for Luka Modric to roam, and the chance for Andrej Kramaric to come on as an impact sub.

France have all of their talents on show, and another chance for Kylian Mbappe to assert his position as the biggest talent in the world.

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:36

Iva Olivari joins head coach Zlatko Dalic on the bench as team manager for the Croatia national side – the first woman to do so at a World Cup match. By Harriet Marsden

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:40

Mbappe wouldn't have a bad career if he follows in the footsteps of Pele... 

Molly Hudson15 July 2018 14:52

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in