Ivan Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic lead Croatia in losing World Cup final effort

Kwese's Daniel Amokachi and Andrew Kabuura applaud France for their World Cup triumph and reflect on Croatia's unexpected run to the final.

ESPN's Alison Bender reports from outside Luzhniki Stadium with her key takeaways after France overpowered Croatia to win the World Cup.

Although Croatia had more control and were arguably the better side in the first half, they were on the wrong end of an own goal and had a penalty awarded against them for handball, both after set pieces.

They also started strong after the break, but that meant taking more risks and leaving space for Kylian Mbappe, which proved their undoing. Accumulated fatigue probably did play a part, just enough to briefly lose focus in key situations; France were brutal in punishing those moments.

Positives

Croatia...