Five reasons France won the World Cup

#2 The luck was with them

France were awarded a penalty via VAR in the final

Every country ever to win the World Cup has had luck on their side. There have been some famous examples. When France won their first World Cup in 1998, they benefitted the from uncertainty in Brazil’s camp surrounding Ronaldo’s fitness. In 1986, Argentina had Diego Maradona’s Hand of God, and as for 1966, there is still debate as to whether Geoff Hurst’s second goal crossed the line or not.

Things were no different for France in this tournament. They benefitted massively from refereeing decisions in the final. The free kick they scored their first goal from came from what looked like quite a soft foul on Antoine Griezmann, and then there was the penalty. VAR has been a big cause for discussion in this tournament, and it was under scrutiny once again in the final. It was used to overturn a handball given against Ivan Perisic, which seemed incredibly harsh, as it was impossible to say that was deliberate.