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France capped off a month of football fever as they defeated Croatia 4-2 to be crowned World Cup winners for the second time in the country’s history. The four weeks in Russia produced one of the best tournaments the game’s ever seen, with the introduction of VAR, a record number of penalties and huge upsets including Germany finishing bottom of group F. Didier Deschamps became only the third person ever to lift the World Cup as both a player and manager (joining Mario Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer) as his France side brushed aside Croatia in a thrilling finale.

1. A Champion Performance in the biggest game of all from Paul Pogba.

Paul Pogba the Manchester United enigma, is now Paul Pogba a World Cup winner.

How can a player struggle so badly throughout the last season to exert his dominance at one of the biggest clubs in the world, yet saunter to success with one of the biggest nations at the World Cup two months later?

His sublime talent has now been showcased on the global stage twice, here in Russia where he was one of the top performing midfielders overall, following on from his breakout tournament four years ago in Brazil where he took home the Best Young Player accolade.

He clearly has the taste for the spotlight – evidenced further by his outlandish hairstyles, celebratory dance routines and the ease with which he handles the glare of the public eye.

Yet, this belies his struggles on the domestic front as he strives to live up to the weighty £89 million price tag which was placed around his neck when Manchester United brought him back “home” from Juventus two summers ago.

Compatriot Kylian Mbappe usurped Pogba of his young player crown following France’s epic 4-2 triumph over Croatia on Sunday, while the teenage terror and Antoine Griezmann each netted four times over the course of the tournament.

N’Golo Kante mercilessly and tirelessly chased, harried and tackled opponents. Raphael Varane was a calm and commanding presence at the back, looking like the top-tier defender we’ve seen him struggle to aspire to be at Real Madrid.

However, Pogba outshone them all. His nine key passes were second highest for Les Bleus while only two players passed more (N’Golo Kante and Raphael Varane). Set up to catch and counter, Pogba’s 35 accurate long balls were the most from France’s midfield and an important characteristic of their play and added to that was his 22 tackles which was third most for his side.