Flashes of Brilliance Vs Game-Long Consistency: The World Cup Finals

It was the most exciting World Cup Finals match in a looong, loooong time and both teams showed the world why they deserved a chance to bring the Cup home.

That being said, here are three thoughts about that match:

Thought #1 Croatia played a better game.
I have just fallen in love with Croatian football. It's everything I remember Argentinean and Brazilian football to be. The intricate passing, the llightning quick runs, the pinpoint volleys, the intense passion.

In my honest opinion, for about 86 minutes of the game, Croatia played better football than France. I guess that's why there's a lot of angst about Croatia's loss (not just among Croatians), because they were the better team today but the better team did not win today.



Thought #2 France is loaded with superstar quality.
As a team, France played poorly int he first half and just okay in the seond half. But they had their moments of brilliance and that was the key difference in this match.

First. Kylian Mbappe. That dude is a football god. I think, as early as this point in his career, he's already as good at Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, (less skilled but more powerful, so things balance out). What's so scary (and not just to opposing backlines) is that he's only 19 and can still get better. I think he can be as dominant as Pele once was.

And then, there were Paul Pogba and Anton Griezeman. They were key cogs all tourney long and while they didn't shine all throughout the match, they shone when most needed. It was Griezeman's ball that the unfortunate Mario Mandzukic headed into his own goal and Griezeman who slotted in the penalty after an Ivan Perisic handball. Pogba was solid in the middle while also giving France some breathign space with a wonderful goal (from another Griezeman assist).

Thought #3 Football is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.
There have been a lot of controversies surrounding FIFA and football in the last couple of years. But all that is just peripheral noise (and politics) to the beautiful game. What is even more wonderful is that the days when 5 or six countries would dominate the World Cup are gone.

Now, as Croatia, Iceland, Japan, and Russia have proven, the football pitch is more even than we think and we can look forward to years of exciting and even competitions.

To France, congratulations. To Croatia, you were wonderful. See you in four more years.