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WORLD CUP

Three things we learned from France’s World Cup final win

France are world champions for a second time as Les Bleus ran wild while Croatia's energy reserves ran dry to win a thrilling World Cup final 4-2 in Moscow on Sunday.

Published: 15 July 2018 20:23 CEST
Three things we learned from France's World Cup final win
Photo: AFP

Didier Deschamps's men also had luck on their side as they led 2-1 at half-time thanks to Mario Mandzukic's own goal — the first ever in a World Cup final — and a controversial Antoine Griezmann penalty awarded by video assistant referee.

However, Croatia finally paid for their exertions in going to three periods of extra-time in defeating Denmark, Russia and England after the break as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe put France out of sight before a rare error from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gifted Mandzukic a consolation goal.

READ ALSO: France are World Cup champions after victory in Moscow final

Here are three things we learned from the World Cup final:

French redemption

After blowing the final of Euro 2016 on home soil to Portugal, it did not matter how France got the job done, just that they brought the World Cup home.

Twenty years on from lifting the trophy as captain, Deschamps became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach.

On route to the final France had been largely efficient rather than enthralling. That was also the case for the first 45 minutes, with Griezmann's penalty their first shot on goal.

However, two years ago France did not boast the pace of Mbappe.

The 19-year-old cut loose in the second period to confirm his status as the breakout star of the World Cup.

His run and cross helped set up Pogba before drilling his fourth goal of the tournament low past Danijel Subasic.

VAR cruel on Croatia

On the eve of the final, FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed VAR a resounding success in the system's first World Cup, but there are four million Croatians who would now strongly disagree.

France's vital second goal came from a fiercely contested penalty call by Argentine referee Nestor Pitana for an Ivan Perisic handball.
Perisic had little time to react when Blaise Matuidi's header skimmed off his arm. But Pitana overturned his initial call not to award the spot-kick and Griezmann sent Subasic the wrong way.

Croatia even had a case VAR should have intervened to rule out Mandzukic's own goal as Pogba appeared to be standing in an offside position as Griezmann's free-kick was swung into the box.

For the smallest country to reach the final for 68 years to lose out thanks to such a marginal call was cruel.

Griezmann delivers the goods

Griezmann did not shine as a goalscorer in Russia like he did in winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2016 from open play, but he made a telling contribution with the dead ball in a World Cup dominated by set-pieces.

The Atletico Madrid striker's four goals came from three penalties and a goalkeeping error by Uruguay's Fernando Muslera.

However, Griezmann's wicked set-piece delivery that provoked Mandzukic to head into his own net also saw Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti open the scoring against Uruguay and Belgium in the previous two rounds.

Griezmann missed a penalty in the 2016 Champions League final, but this time he stayed cool to dispatch his spot-kick and also had a hand in teeing up Pogba for France's third goal.

READ ALSO: Champions du monde: Photos and videos of World Cup celebrations across France

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SPORT

Norway’s football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott

Will Norwegian football star Erling Braut Haaland stay home or play on what fans have dubbed a "cemetery?" This Sunday, a meeting of Norway's football community will decide whether to boycott next year's World Cup in Qatar.

Published: 18 June 2021 11:27 CEST
Norway's football clubs to vote on Qatar World Cup boycott
Norway's forward Erling Haaland (L) and teammates wear jerseys reading "Fair play for migrant workers" before the international friendly football match between Norway and Greece at La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga in preperation for the UEFA European Championships, on June 6, 2021. JORGE GUERRERO / AFP

Under pressure from grassroots activists the Norwegian Football Federation(NFF) has decided to hold an extraordinary congress to decide on whether to pass up football’s showpiece event all together.

The games on the pitches in the Middle Eastern emirate will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery,” according to Ole Kristian Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), invoking a commonly used metaphor among opponents of Norway’s participation.

Norway, which has not qualified for a major international competition since Euro 2000, is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group behind Turkey, the Netherlands and Montenegro. 

So while qualification seems an uphill task, the result of the vote could have an impact on whether Norway and its young star Haaland — one of the rising stars of world football — continue to play qualifying matches. 

The movement calling for a boycott began north of the Arctic Circle when football club Tromso IL spoke out against turning a blind eye to alleged human rights abuses at the end of February.

“We can no longer sit and watch people die in the name of football,” the first division club proclaimed.

Qatar has faced criticism for its treatment of migrant workers, many of whom are involved in the construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup, with campaigners accusing employers of exploitation and forcing labourers to work in dangerous conditions.

Qatari authorities meanwhile insist they have done more than any country in the region to improve worker welfare.

“There is no doubt that this World Cup should never have been awarded to Qatar,” Tom Hogli, a former professional footballer turned public relations officer for Tromso IL, told AFP.

“The conditions there are abominable and many have lost their lives,” he added.

In March, a spokesman for the Qatari organisers put the number of deaths on the construction sites at “three” since 2014, with another 35 having died away from their workplaces, challenging the heavy toll reported by some rights groups.

Push from fans
The Tromso call began gathering pace in Norway, where clubs operate under a democratic structure, and under pressure from fans, many teams now say “nei” (no).

According to Sandvik, the fans feel that the deaths on the World Cup sites would have been avoided “if they had not had to build hotels, railways and stadiums”.

Nearly half of Norwegians, 49 percent, now say they are in favour of a boycott, while only 29 percent are against it, according to a poll published by newspaper VG on Wednesday.

The Nordic country’s national squad has already protested conditions in Qatar, but stopped short of calling for a boycott.

Before recent Norway games, Borussia Dortmund superstar Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and the rest of the team have worn t-shirts with slogans like “Human rights on and off the pitch.”

Other countries, like Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark have also followed suit.

FIFA, on the other hand, argue that awarding the hosting of the World Cup in Qatar has opened the door to social progress.

“We know there is still work to be done, but we need to recognise the significant progress achieved in a very short time,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in May.

‘Few successes’ 
While the executive committee of the NFF have said they regret Qatar being awarded the World Cup, they oppose a boycott.

President Terje Svendsen said he thought it was “not the right tool to improve the human rights situation or the working conditions in Qatar,” when speaking at the federation’s ordinary annual congress in March.

According to the NFF, a boycott could end up costing Norway 205 million Norwegian kroner ($24 million, 20 million euros) in fines and compensation as well as lost revenue.

Feeling the pressure from grassroots campaigns, the NFF referred the matter to an extraordinary congress which on Sunday will bring together the eight members of its executive committee, representatives of 18 districts and of hundreds of professional and amateur clubs.

The discussions will be revolve around the findings of an expert committee which, with the exception of two members representing fans, has also come out against a boycott.

“For a boycott to succeed, you need a critical mass behind it, an opposition that calls for it in the country, the UN to put pressure on the
authorities, the business world, the trade unions and civil society to put pressure on it in the long term,” committee chairman Sven Mollekleiv said in a debate hosted by broadcaster TV2.

“Historically, there are few successes,” he said.

Rather than a boycott, the committee recommended 26 measures to consolidate and further the gains made in Qatar but also to ensure that FIFA doesn’t become complicit in so called “sportswashing” — the polishing of a country’s public image through a major sporting event.

Some initial supporters of a boycott, like Tromso’s Hogli, have since sided with these conclusions, although calls for a complete boycott remain.

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