France won the World Cup for the second time in spectacular style on Sunday as a 4-2 victory in one of the most entertaining and action-packed finals for decades ended battling outsiders Croatia’s dreams of a first title.

After an early own goal by Mario Mandzukic France’s big guns delivered on the biggest stage of all as Antoine Griezmann – with a penalty awarded after a VAR review – Paul Pogba and teenage tyro Kylian Mbappe all hit the target.

Ivan Perisic and Mandzukic replied for Croatia, who ended beaten but unbowed after making much of the running in their first appearance in the final.

It was the highest-scoring decider since England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra-time in 1966 and the highest in normal time since Brazil defeated Sweden 5-2 60 years ago.

There were as many goals in 90-action-packed Moscow minutes as in the last four finals combined, and three of those went to extra time.

The game featured the first final own goal and the first VAR-decided spot-kick — one that Croatia were furious about and that was arguably the turning point of the game.

But the only statistic France will really care about is that the result makes them world champions for the second time following their triumph on home soil in 1998.

Having lost the 2006 final on penalties to Italy, it also meant there was no repeat of two years ago when they were beaten in the European Championship final by Portugal in Paris.

The win means Didier Deschamps, captain of the 1998 side, becomes the third man to lift the World Cup as player and coach after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.

“How marvelous,” Deschamps said having been carried shoulder high around the pitch by his players in a post-match downpour. “It’s a young team who are on the top of the world. Some are champions at the age of 19.

“We did not play a huge game but we showed mental quality – and we scored four goals.

“It hurt so much to lose the Euro two years ago, but it made us learn too and we worked so hard for 55 days here.”

OWN GOAL

Croatia started full of energy but went behind in the 18th minute when a Griezmann free kick skidded in off the head of Mandzukic, who had scored the extra-time winner against England in the semi-final.

That meant it was the fourth successive knockout game in which Croatia conceded first but again they found a way back as Perisic, who got the equalizer against England, smashed in a low shot 10 minutes later.

But then came the moment which will keep the VAR debate at the top of the sport’s agenda.

Perisic flapped an arm at a corner and after Argentine referee Nestor Pitana conducted a protracted VAR review he awarded the 28th penalty of the tournament, another record.

Ignoring more Croatian protests, Griezmann stroked the ball home in the 38th minute for his fourth goal of Russia 2018.

That made it the highest-scoring first half since 1974, when West Germany led the Netherlands 2-1 – also the final score – but this time there was much more to come.

Croatia were on top again after the break but France held out and went 3-1 up on the hour as Mbappe and Griezmann combined to set up Pogba on the edge of the box.

The midfielder’s right-footed shot was blocked but he quickly and coolly curved the rebound in with his left.

Six minutes later Lucas Hernandez tore down the left to set up Mbappe to drill home a low shot as the 19-year-old young player of the tournament claimed his fourth goal in Russia and became the first teenager to score in a final since Pele in 1958.

After three successive extra-time knockout games the chances of Croatia coming back again looked impossible but they were thrown a lifeline by Lloris, who tried to dribble round Mandzukic only for the striker to block the ball and send it into the unguarded net.

Croatia, beaten by the French in the semi-finals in their first World Cup appearance in 1998, continued to press but their energy was sapped and France safely held out.

Croatia’s shirtless fans rightly saluted their players as torrential rain lashed down on the presentation ceremony and coach Zlatko Dalic had few regrets.

“We are sad but proud at the same time,” he said. “We played well but the penalty knocked the wind out of us and after that it was very difficult.

“The French did not surprise us, we let in two soft goals coupled with an own goal and a penalty. We wanted to win the World Cup so much but that’s football.”

Source: Reuters

The FIFA Referees Committee has selected 36 referees and 63 assistant referees, representing 46 different countries, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

Alireza Faghani from Iran has been appointed as a match official at the FIFA World Cup, while Mohammadreza Mansouri and Reza Sokhandan were selected as assistant referees.

Preparations for the road to Russia kicked off in September 2014 not only for the 32 participating teams, but also for the initial group of 53 FIFA referee trios from around the world.

The choice of the final group of match officials selected to officiate at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia was based on each referee’s skills and personality, as well as his level of understanding of football and ability to read both the game and the various tactics employed by teams.

Over the last three years, preparatory seminars have taken place for referees and assistant referees focusing on fair play, protecting players and the image of the game, as well as consistency and uniformity. The selected FIFA World Cup match officials will attend another dedicated seminar for two weeks in the second half of April at the technical center of the Italian Football Association in Coverciano, Italy. The officials will be divided into two groups, which will also include video assistant referee (VAR) candidates, FIFA.com reported.

Following this seminar, the FIFA Referees Committee will announce the names of the referees selected to act as VARs during football’s most important competition, the FIFA World Cup. The selection process will take into account the candidate’s VAR experience in domestic leagues, FIFA competitions and FIFA refereeing seminars since the beginning of the VAR project in 2016.

Between now and the World Cup in June, the selected referees, assistant referees and VARs will be monitored and supported by FIFA Refereeing on an individual basis to ensure they are fully prepared. Following the seminar in Coverciano, all of the match officials will take part in a final preparatory seminar at the FIFA World Cup match officials’ HQ in Moscow, which will start ten days before the tournament kicks off. This seminar will also cover VAR.

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the selected match officials will operate in a variety of roles, e.g. referees, assistant referees, fourth officials, reserve assistant referees and video match officials.

IR Iran are all set to make their second consecutive FIFA World Cup™ appearance in a few months, the first time they will have graced two world finals in a row. And as was the case at Brazil 2014, the Iranians will have Carlos Queiroz at the helm. The experienced Portuguese coach is currently in Sochi attending the Russia 2018 Team Workshop, where preparations for the tournament are being finalized. “It’s essential for us to have detailed information on the technical aspects of the World Cup and how it’s going to unfold,” said Queiroz.

Absent from the big stage for eight years, Team Melli made their return to the world finals four years ago and built on that achievement by becoming the first Asian team to book their place at Russia 2018, following a near-perfect qualification campaign.

Looking ahead to the competition, the Iran coach spoke exclusively to FIFA.com about the new challenges facing his side and the test they will face in a tough Group B, where he will come up against his compatriots, having coached them at South Africa 2010.

FIFA.com: What is the team hoping to achieve in Russia? Iran are making their second World Cup appearance in a row, which means there will be more pressure on them.

Carlos Queiroz: Iran have come on a lot. With the experience of Brazil 2014 under our belts and with several players having since moved to Europe, we’ve become more solid and competitive. Playing in the Asian leagues is not the same as playing international football. We’ve become a better side. We’re the best Asian team in the FIFA Ranking, we didn’t lose a game in the qualifiers, and we only conceded a couple of goals. That’s why we’re going to Russia with a very clear dream in mind.

What is that dream?

We want to get through to the second round, but that obviously going to be a very difficult task. Everyone’s agreed that we’re in the hardest group at the World Cup, as we’ll be coming up against two title contenders in Spain and Portugal. But our duty is to go and improve on past performances and to keep making progress, not just at Russia 2018 but at the upcoming Asian competitions and the next World Cup qualifiers. The objective is to go through to the knockout phase, though we need to prepare the right way if we want to do that.

Do you feel a little strange about taking on Portugal?

I prefer to think that we’re taking on Spain and playing Portugal (laughs). As a Portuguese coach, I think that playing against Portugal is an opportunity and a very special moment both for me and my players. It will be interesting to play them and Spain and Morocco. It’s going to be a very attractive group at this World Cup.

Talking of special moments, what will it mean to you to have Cristiano Ronaldo on the other side of the pitch?

It’s going to be special, as it always is when you take on great players. In this case, it’s the best player in the world. But when the match starts there are just two teams who are trying to win. Football will decide who wins the day and who was better on the field of play.

What memories do you have of Cristiano? Your paths have crossed many times.

The memories stay with you, of course they do, especially in shared projects, like we had at Manchester [United] and the Portuguese national team. That was a long time ago, though. The South Africa World Cup was a few years ago now. Times have changed and now I’ve got other Ronaldos with me. They’re important players… the likes of [Alireza] Jahanbakhsh, [Reza] Goochannejad, [Ali] Karimi, etc. These are the Ronaldos I’ve got to look after now and who I’ve got to pay attention to achieve the success we all want.

You came up against another great player in Lionel Messi at Brazil 2014, and you know to your cost how players of his ability can punish a momentary lapse in concentration… (Interrupts)

I’ve always said that Messi is an extraordinary player. He’s out of this world. If he were human, he wouldn’t have had that magical moment in that match (Argentina beat Iran in the group phase with a late Messi goal). I don’t usually like losing, but I didn’t come away from that defeat with a negative feeling. It’s when something magical like that happens that you know that football is alive and kicking, and that’s why it’s one of the best sports in the world to watch. And it’s even more of a special moment when it comes from a player who shouldn’t be allowed to play by FIFA until it’s proven that he’s actually human!

One last question, and seeing as we’re in Russia: how important is it for you to be able to count on players who play their club football here (Sardar Azmoun, Saeid Ezatolahi and Milad Mohammadi)?

It’s very important, no question. It’s all part of the development process for Iranian players. In 2011 we had just the one player based in Spain, but now we’ve got nearly 60 percent of the starting line-up playing in Europe, three of whom happen to be in the Russian league. This is going to be important for the team because it’s going to build our knowledge and give us more of an affinity with the Russians. That just shows you all the different ways in which Iranian football has progressed over the last eight years.

Source: FIFA