The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes' welcome yesterday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country's newest idols.

Once the French have their hands on the coveted golden trophy, Griezmann grasp it and run down to fans behind the goal to show them the World Cup, before skipping back along the side of the pitch holding it aloft.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic stated outright what he felt regarding the controversial penalty call following his side’s 4-2 defeat to France in Sunday’s World Cup final, saying : “You don't give a penalty like that in a World Cup final.”

It was the first time that Video Referee Assistant (VAR) technology was used in a World Cup final but controversial refereeing decsions ensured that a spectacle of the calibre of the final might have been marred by inconsistencies.

Energetic, disciplined and clinical, France won the World Cup on Sunday with a 4-2 victory over Croatia that, even in such a moment of achievement, still left the feeling there may be much more to come from Didier Deschamps' outstanding young team.

The World Cup final between France and Croatia was briefly interrupted when three intruders affiliated to anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch before being hauled off by stewards.

Croatia captain Luka Modric beat competetion from the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard to win the golden ball as the best player in the World Cup even as his side lost the final of the showpiece event 4-2 against France.

Paul Pogba wanted his own star and 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe wanted to make an everlasting impression on his World Cup debut. Their wishes were granted as France lifted the World Cup with a 4-2 win against Croatia in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

A month ago, if someone had predicted that France and Croatia would play the World Cup final in Russia, most of us would have dumped it as an impossible option. But here we are with that spectacularly different reality -- the Les Bleus and the Blazers lining up for today's final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Ivan Rakitic is hoping this Croatia team can go a step further after matching the country’s heroes of 1998 by making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup.

David Beckham wins a friendly England versus Sweden bet against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the terms of the bet stating that if England beat Sweden in the quarter-final to book a place in the World Cup 2018 semi-final, Zlatan would be buying dinner for Beckham where ever he wants in the world.

Harry Maguire and Dele Alli scored as England comfortably defeated Sweden 2-0 in Samara on Saturday to reach the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990.

Ivan Rakitic scored the winning penalty as Croatia beat Russia 4-3 in a shoot-out after a dramatic 2-2 draw on Saturday to end the World Cup hopes of the host nation and advance to a semi-final against England.

Brazil midfielder Paulinho says that the 2-1 defeat against Belgium in their quarter-final match of the World Cup 2018 is harder to take than the 7-1 humiliation handed by Germany in World Cup 2014.

Russia will look to continue the winning tradition of host nations at the World Cup when it takes on Croatia in a quarter-final matchup at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi today. The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 am in Bangladesh time. Here we look at some of the statistics ahead of the game.

The Belgium defender Thomas Meunier praises his team’s defending against Brazil and also says that he expected a better show from the Selecao star man Neymar while defending against him during the Red Devils’ 2-1 win over Brazil in their quarter-final match of the World Cup 2018.

Four years ago, Brazil were hit by a tragedy bigger than a tsunami. A 7-1 thrashing by Germany was beyond the wildest imagination of the proud football nation.

Belgium shot Brazil out of the World Cup with a 2-1 quarterfinal win yesterday to set up a semifinal clash with France on Tuesday.

Is it about time for Brazil to really think that they have got the best chance to win a record-extending sixth Word Cup title in Russia?

England edged Colombia 4-3 on penalties yesterday to halt a run of five successive shootout defeats at major tournaments and book a quarter-final clash against Sweden at the World Cup.