World Cup 2018: 3 reasons why Croatia lost 2-4 against France
"So close, yet so far" is the phrase that encapsulated Croatia's fortunes in the 2018 World Cup final. Croatia suffered a gut-wrenching 4-2 loss against France at the Luzhniki Stadium with goals from Mario Mandzukic(OG), Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe securing Les Bleus' second World Cup trophy.
Croatia started the first half in fine fashion by restricting the French midfield from having any time on the ball. Their high pressing style made life difficult for France during the initial stages of the final. The Croats were unlucky to go behind in the 18th minute after Mario Mandzukic headed past his own net from Antoine Griezmann's freekick.
Ivan Perisic equalised for The Blazers in the 28th minute after his left-footed drive whizzed past Hugo Lloris, leaving him with no chance to keep the French lead intact. Croatia seemed to have found their stride after equalizing but an unfortunate handball from goalscorer Ivan Perisic, from a Griezmann corner in the 36th minute saw France awarded a penalty which was calmly dispatched by Griezmann.
The second half saw Croatia chase the game which resulted in large gaps being left between the midfield and defence. France took advantage of the situation and looked to attack Croatia on the break. Les Bleus took the lead a minute before the hour mark with Paul Pogba finely placing the ball beyond Danijel Subasic.
Kylian Mbappe completed the rout with a piledriver in the 65th minute, with Mandzukic reducing arrears for Croatia from a calamitous mistake from Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute.
In this article, we look at the three reasons why Croatia failed to secure the win against France in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.
#1 Atrocious defending in the penalty box cost Croatia their first World Cup trophy
Croatia's defence has earned plaudits during the course of the 2018 World Cup. The defensive quartet of Vrsjalko, Lovren, Vida and Strinic have put in some splendid performance keeping the attacks of Denmark, Russia and England at bay.
Although Croatia kept their shape in the first half, they were undone by some shoddy defending by their forwards in the penalty box and the Croatian defence failed to marshall their troops in the penalty box which led to costly errors.
They were punished in the 18th minute after Mario Mandzukic failed to clear the ball and instead slotted the ball past his own keeper, giving France the lead.
Although Croatia pegged back through Ivan Perisic's equalizer, they were undone yet again after Perisic handled the ball in his own box from an Antoine Griezmann corner in the 36th minute. VAR spotted Perisic handling the ball and Griezmann calmly scored from the penalty spot, sending Subasic the wrong way.
Finals are won and lost during such moments and Croatia suffered from two calamitous mistakes on the night. This gave France an upper hand which resulted in the French piling more misery on the Croatians in the second half, with the game finishing 4-2 in favour of France.