Before today’s main event at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, World Cup final spectators were treated to the closing ceremony on the pitch. Around 80,000 got to watch 49-year-old Will Smith lip sync a pretty bad song and Ronaldinho slap a drum while a cohort of attractive women danced around him.
So just another day in the life of Ronaldinho, I guess.
When France and Croatia battle for the World Cup trophy on Sunday in Russia (learn how to watch it here), two national teams with iconic looks will take the pitch side by side for the first time in 20 years. The question is, will those iconic uniforms be the ones we see for the World Cup final kits?
Yes, we’re doing the third place game. No, I don’t know why.
For the second time in this World Cup, Belgium beat England. For the second time this World Cup, England’s loss proved to be a partial success, helping cement a Harry Kane Golden Boot on Saturday.
Belgium took down England 2-0 in the lowest-scoring third-place match since Poland beat Brazil 1-0 in 1974 (leave it to England to make a third-place match boring). It reaffirmed what most astute observers already knew: The Red Devils are far superior to the Three Lions and fully deserve their best-ever finish at a World Cup.
We’ve given you previews and predictions for the France vs. Croatia match, but the most important item to know is: how to watch the World Cup final 2018.
The beauty of the World Cup is in how it brings together people of all races, creeds, ethnicities and nationalities under their shared passion of soccer. There are moments where tensions spill over, but more often than not the World Cup is a celebration of diversity. Even within teams at the World Cup there is a wide range among players' backgrounds.
The Russia World Cup goes full circle as Argentinian referee Néstor Pitana is cast as the leading arbitrator in the France vs. Croatia World Cup final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. The 43-year-old physical education teacher, probably the most successful gym teacher of all time, will be aided by two more Argentinians Hernan Maidana and Juan Pablo Belatti with the Dutch Bjorn Kuipers as the fourth World Cup final referee.
The World Cup is coming to an end and with the final approaching, we have created a compilation of some of the players who will be playing in this monumental event.
With fewer players involved, it is important to focus on being able to quickly identify who the French and the Croatian players are. With France being back in the World Cup final for the first time since Zinedine Zidane's headbutt in 2006, this game might be one for the record books. Croatia too has an enormous historical weight on this tiny country's shoulders.
Croatia is through to the World Cup final against France this Sunday, but the team didn't make it easy for itself with a lengthy journey to reach the pinnacle of soccer.
All three of their knockout matches went to extra time, meaning that they had ultimately played an extra game compared to their opponent France, which managed to defeat all of its opponents within 90 minutes.