The balaclava-clad women of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk rock group, rose to global prominence with their daring outdoor performances critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2012 that sent two members to prison for nearly two years. France led 2-1 at half time and extended the lead to 4-1 with goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe in the 59th and 65th minutes before Mario Mandzukic pulled one back for the Croatians in the 69th. Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup 2018: Paul Pogba's curling shot puts France 3-1 up against Croatia

In a compelling second half, France looked to have wrapped it up with two strikes in six minutes from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe either side of the hour mark. Video replay was used to call Perisic for handball in his own area, and Griezmann calmly made no mistake from the spot. France's victory meant Deschamps, who captained them 20 years ago, became just the third man to win the competition as a player and coach. France had taken the lead in the 18th through Mario Mandzukic's own-goal — the first in a World Cup final and a record 12th in the tournament — off a Griezmann free kick, before Croatia's Ivan Perisic equalized with a fierce left-foot strike 10 minutes later. Croatia were left nursing a burning sense of injustice when France restored their lead seven minutes before half-time through Griezmann's penalty, awarded by referee Nestor Pitana for handball against Perisic after a lengthy delay while VAR was consulted. It is already the highest-scoring World Cup final since France won its only previous title in 1998, beating Brazil 3-0. The Croats, who will be playing for the title for the first time, arrived at the Luzhniki Stadium a few minutes after the French squad. Man of the match - Antoine Griezmann (France)

Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup 2018: Antoine Griezmann tucks away controversial VAR penalty

First PL player to score in final since '98 - the stats

Deschamps is the third person to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager, after Brazil's Mario Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer. Perisic has been directly involved in 11 goals at major tournaments (7 goals, 4 assists), more than any other Croatia player. Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup 2018: Own goal from Croatia's Mario Mandzukic give France early lead

In one of the most exciting World Cup finals of the modern era, played out to a soundtrack of thunder, Croatia and France delivered an enthralling spectacle that brought the joint highest goal tally in a final since 1958, a pitch invasion, and a controversial intervention from the video assistant referee that had a huge influence on the outcome. Croatia had done it the hard way to reach this final, winning on penalties in the last 16 and quarter-final against Denmark and hosts Russia respectively before requiring extra time to beat England in the semi-final. Croatia's pride and passion

Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup 2018: Ivan Perisic fires Croatia level against France in the final

Croatia return home as beaten World Cup finalists but their approach to this match will have won the hearts of neutrals and earned them a prolonged standing ovation from their fans at the final whistle. And when the final whistle blew, its players circled the field in glee, piled atop one another, shared embraces with their coach, Didier Deschamps, a midfielder on the 1998 team who became the third man to win the World Cup as a player and head coach. It was not to be but world-class midfielder Luka Modric has illuminated this World Cup, while the energy, commitment and threat of Perisic stood out here. The match made for some proper edge-of-the-seat entertainment and it was France who held their nerves to win their second ever World Cup trophy.
In football, France defeats Croatia 4–2 to claim its second World Cup championship.