France 4-2 Croatia: 5 Talking Points - Les Bleus Crowned Champions, World Cup 2018

#3 VAR rescues France in poor first-half performance

Antoine Griezmann makes it 2-1 to France from the spot

France clearly struggled to create chances in the first half with Mbappe stifled, Olivier Giroud easily handled by Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida, and Griezmann unable to influence proceedings.

Didier Deschamps' side struggled to move the ball forward as Croatia cut down passing lanes and even double-teamed players such as Pogba who tried to advance the ball forward. Les Bleus were simply not allowed to string more than three passes together.

Although they were threatening on set-pieces, it was yet another stroke of luck that saw them extend their lead. A corner sent in was blocked at the near post by Ivan Perisic but he had used his hand to block the ball.

VAR helps the referee make a decision for the first time ever in a World Cup final

French players protested and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) immediately came into the picture. Whether Perisic's movement of the hand looked involuntary or not, it was the kind of handballs that are given in the box when they impede the ball's trajectory.

Griezmann had no qualms about stepping up and putting away the spot-kick to make it 2-1 to France. It was a cruel way to go down for Croatia who had seven shots in the first half alone.

At the break, France were leading 2-1 with just one shot on target.

1 - Antoine Griezmann's penalty (37:56) was France's first shot of any kind in this match against Croatia. Wait.#WorldCupFinal #WorldCup #FRA #CRO pic.twitter.com/gOBYOMJYXQ

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2018