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

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Lola
My husband and I have just returned from an amazing 16 day trip in France organized thoughtfully and beautifully by Emilie of France Just for You. As the other reviewers have stated, all interactions with Emilie have been prompt, professional and thorough. Although we have organized European travel on our own in the past, concerned that we might be …
Shanna
Emilie's services are amazing!! I contacted her after my one year anniversary trip planning fell through with another agency. She quickly picked up the reins from where they left off, listened to our budget requests and organized an absolutely fantastic trip for us! From Paris to Provence to the French Riviera, everywhere we stayed was wonderful …
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We just returned from a fantastic three weeks in Southwest France. I highly recommend the services of France Just For You, we could never have planned the trip ourselves as well as they did. Laura did the planning and gave us an amazing itinerary, and was available at a moment's notice when we had a plane cancellation on our flight to Bordeaux and …
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France Just for You has my highest recommendation. I will never forget our trip to France. Laura was amazing. Perfect itinerary. They did the little things right. Were available throughout the trip. We forgot my 4 year old's blanket at the first hotel. I contacted Laura and she had it waiting for us when we arrived at the hotel airport to leave. I …
Judy
I can echo everything that has been said in the previous three reviews. The personalization of this entire trip was incredible and Emilie communicated quickly and completely, both in the planning of the trip and after we were in France. My husband and I were spending four weeks in France in celebration of our 50th anniversary. We were a little …
Naomi
Our trip was arranged and detailed well in advance, with reservations for activities and places of special interest, and free days with suggestions for things to see and do. We fell in love with Dordogne and the Paleolithic caves for which we had reserved tours, and were able to take in another cave the next day at the suggestion of our B&B hostess …