How France won the 2018 World Cup: Pragmatic Deschamps, electric Mbappe and brilliant Griezmann

We’re nearly there. Previously, we’ve looked at Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934 and again in 1938, Uruguay in 1950 and West Germany in 1954, before a Brazilian double in 1958 and 1962. Next came an England success in 1966, another Brazil win in 1970, a second West Germany triumph in 1974, Argentina’s first in 1978, Italy’s third in 1982, Argentina’s second in 1986, West Germany’s third in 1990 and Brazil’s fourth World Cup in 1994, before France joined the party on home soil in 1998. Advertisement In the 21st century, Brazil celebrated an unprecedented fifth title in 2002, Italy a fourth in 2006, Spain got involved in 2010 and Germany won their fourth in 2014. This time, in the penultimate article of the series, the French lift their second trophy.

Introduction

Two decades after their first World Cup triumph as hosts in 1998, France won their second tournament in Russia with some familiar elements: a glorious No 10, an electric young wide attacker, a striker who couldn’t score and an excellent defence. Oh, and Didier Deschamps.

The manager

Deschamps became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach, after Mario Zagallo of Brazil and West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer. A hugely underrated defensive midfielder in that 1998 side, who was regularly compared to his France and Juventus team-mate Zinedine Zidane in unflattering terms, Deschamps almost had the aura of a coach during his playing days. Once he did graduate to management, he quickly took Monaco to the Champions League final in 2004, won Serie B with Juventus in 2007 after their relegation because of the Calciopoli scandal, then Ligue 1 with Marseille in 2010. But Deschamps was always destined to coach his country’s national side. He took over after France’s disappointing Euro 2012 campaign (runners-up in their group, then out in the quarter-finals, having scored three goals in their four matches) and is still in charge 14 years later, although he will step down after this summer’s World Cup at age 57.

Tactics

Deschamps started the tournament in Russia with a 4-3-3, which featured the highly exciting, mobile front three of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele buzzing around unpredictably. But these things always look better on paper than they function on the pitch, and towards the end of a flat performance in their group opener against Australia, Deschamps introduced Olivier Giroud, and France recorded a narrow 2-1 win. That was their system for the rest of the tournament: Giroud as the fixed striker, with others playing off him. Giroud was never a world-class striker, and didn’t score a single goal in his six starts at this competition. That said, it should be acknowledged that he is France’s record goalscorer — for now anyway, with Mbappe only one behind his 57 goals.

The defining moment

Mbappe scored twice in that 4-3 second-round victory over Argentina, but it was another moment that day in Kazan which lives longest in the memory — his sensational dribble through the middle of the opposition side, before being hauled down by Marcos Rojo, giving Griezmann the chance to open the scoring from the penalty spot.

Star player

Mbappe, then 19, underlined his status as football’s next big thing, but the best performer was Griezmann, who was awarded the Bronze Ball as the World Cup’s third-best player, behind Croatia playmaker Luka Modric (gold) and Belgium winger Eden Hazard (silver). Griezmann’s role changed after that opening fixture against Australia, but he thrived in this No 10 role, linking play effectively, making sudden runs in behind and providing a stream of good set-piece deliveries. Unlike many of the other best attackers of his era, Griezmann was always responsible when his team didn’t have possession, and in this tournament helped to plug the gaps left due to Mbappe’s advanced positioning down the right.

When Griezmann struck a long-range goal

When Griezmann struck a long-range goal in the 2-0 quarter-final win against Uruguay, thanks to a terrible error from goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, he refused to celebrate, because he’d become something of a Uruguay fan over the course of his playing career, starting from when he was coached by the Montevideo-born Martin Lasarte at Real Sociedad. “Then, Carlos Bueno (the Uruguayan forward), who was at Real Sociedad with me, took me under his wings,” he said before that fixture. “He taught me how to make and drink maté. Every season, I had one or two Uruguayan team-mates with me. Emotionally, it will be a very strong moment for me.”

The final

After a run of three World Cup finals which all went to extra time but featured only four goals combined, a 4-2 France victory over Croatia felt out of place, like something from the 1950s. Croatia’s ability to consistently reach the latter stages of the World Cup is hugely impressive, but realistically they were a fairly gentle last opponent for France. They had progressed to the final thanks to two penalty shootout wins against Denmark and Russia, and then a narrow 2-1 victory over England in the semi-finals. After three periods of extra time in as many knockout rounds, they were exhausted. The goals almost felt undignified for a World Cup final. Mario Mandzukic nodded a Griezmann free kick into his own net to open the scoring. Ivan Perisic blasted home an excellent equaliser, but then conceded a penalty for a handball which wouldn’t have been awarded in any previous World Cup — this was the first where VAR was used. Griezmann made it 2-1 from the spot. France ran away with it in the second half, with Pogba scoring a calm curler after his initial shot was blocked, then Mbappe scoring from a similar position with curious ease — 4-1 just past the hour. Then, as the French were coasting to victory, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was tackled by Mandzukic, and the ball bounced in. It was an entertaining game, but somehow felt more like a third-place play-off.

Were they definitely the best team?

Considering they won all four knockout matches without the need for extra time, it’s difficult to have any reservations about France’s success. They arguably had this World Cup’s most solid defence, its best midfield and were the only side among the 32 taking part who had two outstanding attackers, too. Brazil looked good until they were eliminated by Belgium in an excellent quarter-final, while the Belgians themselves were a seriously good side, but probably too open defensively. England were well organised and good at set pieces, but didn’t have the individual quality of France. Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal never seemed likely winners, while Spain were hampered by the dramatic departure of manager Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the tournament. The France of 2018 weren’t particularly loved or respected by neutrals, but in truth there have been few more convincing World Cup winners.