"It wasn't pretty but they got the job done. That's what counts at the end of the day."
Former Liverpool player and now pundit Mark Lawrenson says this in football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. It also perfectly sums up yesterday's French win.
The victory was built on a solid foundation of cynicism. Griezmann's dive to earn the free kick that led to the opener was obvious to the whole world except for the referee and his assistant, and debate continues to rage about the handball that caused the penalty and the second French goal (for what it's worth, I'd say it was a penalty, because Perisic seemed to pat the ball down).
But the French should be commended for taking the chances they were given, deserved or not. They're nothing if not clinical. Based on the statistics, they were outperformed by the Croatians. Indeed, they faced wave after wave of attacks from the red-and-white shirts. So the fact that they still managed not one, not two, not three, but four goals is testament to their ruthless finishing.
And it's not as if they didn't score nice goals. The shots by Pogba and the wunderkind Kylian Mbappe (who at 19 years of age has achieved more than I ever have at 20 and probably ever will) were right out of the top drawer.
Fair credit to Croatia too. They've done what Iceland did at Euro 2016, winning hearts all over the world as they shook up the traditional order of football powerhouses which have dominated the sport for years. Their run to the 2018 World Cup final is one that will live long in the memory.
They just couldn't squeeze out one last performance that would have written a happy ending to their fairytale.
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