France Beats Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 World Cup Final

The French team’s last victory was 20 years ago.

For the second time in 20 years, France has won the World Cup. They did it with a decisive victory over Croatia, but not all the drama had to do with the men on the field.

Russian girl protest group Pussy Riot got in on the fun as well.

https://twitter.com/MattsIdeaShop/status/1018530340330061825

The protest, in which band members stormed the field dressed in police uniforms, was quickly stopped. And it’s easy to believe the tweet above could be correct; Russian president Vladimir Putin doesn’t take literal or figurative middle fingers very well.

As for the match itself: France was leading 2-1 at halftime and only slightly more dominant than Croatia. When players returned to the field, it looked as though Croatia had a second wind. 

They scored with an impressive effort from Ivan Perisic and for a moment it seemed like the tide had turned. Then France powered ahead again, launching a dramatic back-and-forth as two equally powerful teams battled for victory—a penalty finally giving France the lead again.

Almost an hour into the match Pussy Riot charged the pitch. The group later said they were protesting Putin’s unilateral power of the country and Russia’s lack of a truly competitive two-party system.

https://twitter.com/PalmerReport/status/1018560432821305344

France asserted its authority once the protesters were off the field, racking up a three-point lead. Croatia answered with just one more point, and then it was done.

France will take home the cup for the first time since 1998.