Ligue 1 Conforama prodigy Kylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain was a happy teenager after collecting a World Cup title and the gong for young player of the tournament; coach Didier Deschamps paid homage to the entire team and staff.
Sunday, 15 July, 2018
2018 FIFA World Cup Final
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
France 4 – 2 Croatia 
Kylian Mbappé (France striker and Young Player of the tournament): “I am very happy. I stated my collective ambition at the start of this World Cup was to win it and the road was long. We are world champions and very proud of that. The life of world champions is the life that we wanted for ourselves. We are proud to have made the French people happy and we were aware that we had this role to help them forget about their problems. Being the first champion since Pele to be younger than 20? That is great. We play for these sorts of things. I always said that I did not want to simply compete in football. Being a world champion is great and a passport to working even harder and doing even better – even if things are already good! My goal? It was great, especially as it enabled us to really hit our straps and open up a sizeable lead.”
Didier Deschamps (France coach): “This is amazing, it’s the pinnacle: France are on top of the world! It’s really fantastic. Kudos to the team and my staff. We’ve spent 55 days working hard together. I’m thrilled to see my players so happy. They did it and I’m proud of them.”
Antoine Griezmann (France forward and Man of the Match): “After a match like that it doesn’t really sink in. Believe me though: I’ll be the first to buy the jersey with the two stars. We’re so happy. We feel so proud, and we just want one thing: to go and celebrate this with the people of France. I love matches like this. It’s win or you’re out. That’s when I’m at my most confident and when I feel the best. I’m delighted I was able to show that again tonight.”
Zlatko Dalic (Croatia coach): “We played well but the penalty knocked the wind out of us and after that it was very difficult. I just want to say one sentence about that penalty: You don’t give a penalty like that in a World Cup final. We wanted to win the World Cup so much, but that’s football. The French did not surprise us; we let in two soft goals coupled with an own goal and a penalty. What we had in terms of luck earlier in this tournament, we lacked today. When you concede four goals, you cannot expect to win the game.”
Luka Modric (Croatia captain and Golden Ball winner): “We have no regrets because we were the better team for much of the game. Unfortunately, some clumsy goals swung it their way. They will be celebrating, but we can hold our heads high. When the emotions settle, we will be able to analyse more clearly.”
>> France’s World Cup hero Mbappé: ‘I can do even better’
>> MATCH REPORT: Mbappé stars as France beat Croatia to win World Cup
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