And fade to blue. On a stormy, slightly wild afternoon in Moscow France became world champions for the second time, providing a bookend to one victorious era and offering a seductive hint of another to come.It seemed fitting that victory here was never really in doubt. This despite the attentions of a manically committed Croatia who seemed to be charging after something that just kept moving away, engine purring, geared to a higher rate of frequency.
It seemed fitting, too, that the trophy should be handed over in fierce, warm Moscow rain at the end of a startlingly good World Cup, with every player, volunteer and head of state present soaked to the skin – all except for the great Vlad, who showed his eye for the fine details by deploying his personal golf umbrella holder.
Above all it was fitting that the most talented team in Russia should take the trophy at a gallop and in a manner that poses some obvious questions.There was a suggestion of an answer to both of these at the final whistle at the Luzhniki Stadium. As the referee, Néstor Pitana, blew to signify the dawning of the age of Didier an entire team of men who could probably also have won this tournament came sprinting on in formation, howling with joy and hurling themselves into the arms of their fraternal peers.
The ages of the reserves running on were salutary: 21, 21, 22, 23, 25, 23.This France squad was the second youngest at the World Cup. And here is the other thing: thanks to the efforts of these academy graduates France can now claim to be the most powerful nation in world football in the past 20 years.Spain’s brilliance was more concentrated and indeed more transformative. But France have appeared in five of the last 11 World Cup and Euro finals, winning three of them. Spain have played three, won three. Germany have played three, won one.
For the English it is a roll call of world champs that reads back like a gentle rebuke to any lingering dreams of major nation status: France, Germany, Spain, Italy. The World Cup has now spent the past 12 years and counting in the Schengen Zone, with one nation right at the heart of the project. From Thierry to Kylian: welcome to the age of L’Hexagone.
Given their resources there will be some wistful thoughts about France’s style. At the end here there was the tremendously funny sight of Didier Deschamps being given the bumps by his players, still stern and stiff and frowning as he flew high into the air, as though considering bringing on a third defensive midfielder even at the moment of his ultimate personal ascent.Some will suggest that, even when they were scoring four here and in Kazan, this France team never really found its deepest attacking gears. What drove them on was Deschamps’s will, his obsession with shape and team combinations.
In Antoine Griezmann’s set‑piece expertise, Paul Pogba’s easy craft and Kylian Mbappé’s extreme qualities of simply being like Kylian Mbappé France had enough controlled fantasy whenever their opponents showed signs of resistance. A brief word here about Mbappé. Blimey. Whoah. Cripes. Actually that is three. But you get the idea.