Twenty years after France won its first World Cup final at home in Paris, our team brings the golden trophy home for a second time, this time from Moscow. See this video of Paris paying homage to its national team.

 

It was a dramatic end to an exciting month of football in Russia. The match against the strong Croatian team ended 4 - 2, including a stunning goal from Paris St Germain football club's latest star, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé. making him the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Brazilian legend Pelé in 1958. France's manager Didier Deschamps also goes down in history as only the third man to win the World Cup both as a player and manager. 

 

President Macron had traveled from Paris to Russia to attend the match and see our team's triumph, and warmly hugged every player after the match. Macron literally jumped for joy as he celebrated the French win, marking a fantastic end to what has been a tournament full of surprises. 

 

France took the lead first with an own goal from Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic, as the ball skimmed off his head and past his own goalkeeper Subasic after a French corner kick. Although the moment was shrouded in misfortune for Croatia, it demonstrated the power, impact, and importance of set plays throughout this World Cup. Croatia quickly recovered from this mishap and equalized ten minutes later after Perisic scored following a free-kick from Modric.

 

The VAR system (Video Assisted Referee) confirmed a hand-ball from Perisic and France scored the third goal of the match from the resulting penalty taken by Griezmann. 

 

It was still a close match after half-time until Manchester United star Pogba scored the goal of his career with his left foot, after Griezmann and Mbappé had set him up on the edge of the penalty area. Mbappé fired in the fourth goal six minutes later to become the second youngest player ever to score a goal in a World Cup final (Pele was just 17 when he scored for Brazil in 1958). 

 

 

Many may have thought France could breathe a sigh of relief after increasing their lead by three goals to 4 - 1, but with 20 minutes of the match remaining, Croatia continued to fight back hard. A lapse in concentration from French goalkeeper Lloris gave Mandzukic the opportunity to score Croatia's second goal and both sides played hard right up to the last minute. 

 

As the full-time whistle was blown, President Macron jumped out of his seat in celebration and French manager Deschamps was thrown in the air by his jubilant French players. Thousands are expected to line the streets of Paris as their champions return home on Tuesday 16th July.

We are very excited to see what will become of this talented young French team in the next few years! 

 

The next major sporting event, the Ryder Cup, will be held in Paris from 25-30 September 2018. Golf lovers who plan to attend may like to take the opportunity to visit other parts of France too. We would be very happy to plan the perfect itinerary for you!

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Barbara & Gary
Emilie, You have created for us the most outstanding well planned vacation possible. We have thoroughly enjoyed following your suggestions each day-- each choice well selected specifically for us. And even when things didn't go perfectly-- like a flat tire on the rental car or a pilot's strike which resulted in the cancellation of our light, you …
Jenifer
When planning my 60th birthday celebration, my sister and I stumbled upon France Just For You, which saved us from the potential nightmare of traveling with 40 strangers on a bus. As a result, my sister and I, along with our husbands, experienced a trip of a lifetime! From the beginning, Emilie was extraordinarily responsive, informative, and more …
Ed
This is the third year in a row that we have traveled to France, as part of a two country vacation. Because of our positive experiences with Emilie's help in the past, and our desire to be relatively independent, we chose to have her craft our French trip again this year. In a word, she is incredible! We have such a high level of confidence in her …
Judy
This was one of the best trips we have taken to Europe. We have often done our own planning. It was so nice to have Laura help. We were very delighted with accommodations and friendliness of all our hosts and tour guides. As Americans that don't speak much French, we would never have been able to arrange a trip like this ourselves - and we've done …
Joey
We found France Just For You on Trip Advisor as we were beginning our plans to visit France. All of the TA reviews raved about quality of service and planning by Emilie so we decided to have Emilie plan our 3 week trip to France. Now we know why all the reviews of France Just For You are "excellent". We spent time in Paris, Dijon area, Loire Valley …
Jena
Our trip was exactly as expected, planned perfectly with so many amazing tips on where and how to get around like a local. 25 days, with lots of driving and so much to see. Paris, Versailles, Normandy, Loire Valley, Sancerre, Dordogne and Bordeaux. We were warmly welcomed at all B&Bs and felt that we really got a local feel everywhere we went. All …