On This Day: France beat Croatia 4-2 in breathless FIFA World Cup 2018 final

Today marks the 2-year anniversary of France lifting its second FIFA World Cup title after defeating Croatia 4-2 in a high-octane final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia.

In a tournament which was full of dramatic ups and downs, the 'Les Bleus' stood tall in the end, keeping cool at all times despite not being in its sublime form in the group stage.

In the final, France took an early lead in the 18th minute after Mario Mandzukic scored an own goal while heading away from a free-kick from Antoine Griezmann.

However, Ivan Perisic's lightning strike soon found an equalizer for the Kockasti, after he received a super pass from defender Domagoj Vida.

The highly anticipated high-voltage finale witnessed another major twist in the 38th minute when the referee gave France a penalty after Perisic's arm was not in a natural position as the ball struck his hand. 

Left-footed Griezmann stood up for his nation once again and converted the penalty into a goal after sending the Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subašić the wrong way.

Following that moment, star midfielder Paul Pogba dribbled past at least three Croatian players with his twinkling feet to bend one into the top corner in the 59th minute.

WATCH THE FINAL HERE:

Kylian Mbappe also marked his name on the scoresheet with a low strike in the 65th minute which took the momentum completely away from Croatia and gave France a 4-1 lead.

Mario Mandzukic did manage to decrease Croatia's defect when he scored a goal in the 69th minute, however, it turned out to be too late they failed to get the ball past French goalkeeper Lloris later on in the game.

With this victory, France’s head coach Didier Deschamps also became the third person after Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer to win the FIFA WC both as a player and coach.