France Manager Didier Deschamps Hails 'Beautiful' World Cup Triumph After Final Victory Over Croatia

France manager Didier Deschamps was full of praise for his side after their 4-2 victory over Croatia in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. An own goal, a

France manager Didier Deschamps was full of praise for his side after their 4-2 victory over Croatia in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final in Moscow. 

An own goal, a controversial Antoine Griezmann penalty and memorable goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe earned Les Bleus their second World Cup triumph.

Fred Lee/GettyImages

Speaking to a news conference after the game, and quoted by Reuters, Deschamps was particularly keen to highlight his young side's mental attitude. "It’s a young team who are on the top of the world," he said, adding: "Some are champions at the age of 19, but my greatest source of pride is they had the right state of mind."

CHAMPIONS DU MONDE. Vive la France 🇫🇷⭐⭐ pic.twitter.com/YI3bGeHr5e

— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) July 15, 2018

Nevertheless, even while lauding his players, Deschamps acknowledged that his side hadn't given an impeccable performance, saying: "Today we did not do everything right but have those mental and psychological qualities which were decisive - and we did score four goals."

France were outplayed for long periods by an impressive Croatia side, but their star trio of Griezmann, Pogba and Mbappe all made match winning contributions when needed.

1998: 🇫🇷🏆
2018: 🇫🇷🏆

Didier Deschamps - a born winner 👏👏👏#WorldCupFinal #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/qkc59qpsDd

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 15, 2018

The result means that Deschamps is now just the third man in history to win the World Cup both as a player and as a manager, after Brazil's Mario Zagallo and Germany's Franz Beckenbauer.

MY LOVE 💍 pic.twitter.com/Ut72cZTLWU

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) July 15, 2018

However, Deschamps modestly refused to focus on this aspect of his side's triumph, which came 20 years after he had lifted the trophy as France captain. "This is not about me, it’s about everyone around me and the players," he insisted.

ERIC FEFERBERG/GettyImages

The 49-year-old also hailed the current France side's 'beautiful' World Cup triumph, which he put on a par with the 1998 win: "I had the immense privilege to live through this 20 years ago, and in France, but what the players have just done is just as beautiful, just as powerful," he said.