00:04FIFA's award of the 2018 World Cup to Russia was mired in allegations of corruption.
00:10It was then dogged by Vladimir Putin's foreign policy ambitions.
00:18History will not look kindly on Sepp Blatter's defense of the decision at the time,
00:22nor of the inevitable vision of Putin leveraging the tournament for propaganda.
00:31In spite of the controversy, the tournament itself was a roaring success.
00:38The hosts lit the blue touch paper with a jubilant 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia in the opening game.
00:46Cristiano Ronaldo starred, Germany suffered their earliest exit in 80 years,
00:52and own goals topped the scoring charts, reflecting the volume of madcap matches in a thrilling tournament.
01:00It took a record 63 contests before a scoreless draw.
01:07Since a couple of years I was saying that this will be the best World Cup ever.
01:15Today I can say it even more, with more conviction, because I lifted and you lifted. It is the best
01:23World Cup ever.
01:26After reaching the final of Euro 2016, France were among the favourites.
01:31But expectations were tempered by the propensity of Les Bleus to implode on football's greatest stage.
01:38Like at the disastrous World Cup of 2010, in which a winless squad went on strike after Nikola Anelka was
01:46sent home by then manager Raymond Dominic.
01:51But this was now Didier Deschamps' side.
01:53The man who lifted the World Cup in 1998 was not to be trifled with.
01:59Even if that meant a more cautious playing style, despite the abundant attacking riches at his disposal.
02:07He wins wherever he goes, because he has the playing experience which helps him know he's a coach.
02:14He also can quickly analyse a match and the players' profiles.
02:19The group phase in Russia was a case in point.
02:22France only scored once from open play as they eked out unconvincing wins against Australia and Peru,
02:29before settling for a goalless draw with Denmark.
02:34Their reward was a round of 16 clash against Lionel Messi's Argentina.
02:41The heavyweight pairing delivered the match of the tournament.
02:46Messi made two assists and Angel Di Maria scored a thunderbolt.
02:51But it wasn't enough as Benjamin Pavard scored the goal of the World Cup
02:56and Kylian MbappƩ proved irresistible as France prevailed 4-3.
03:02After that glut of goals, Entertainment was at a premium in a quarter-final victory over Uruguay,
03:08while semi-final progress came at the expense of Belgium,
03:12who entered the match favourites after a two-year unbeaten run.
03:18But it was France that reached the decider, led by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris,
03:24marshalled by the classy Raphael Varane and protected by the indefatigable N'Golo Conte.
03:34His role is not in the spotlight as it should. That's football. The players who are more creative and more
03:41decisive.
03:43But for every coach, the first player you put on the line-up is often that player.
03:48Because he's essential. He's at the heart of the game. And he's the link between offence and defence.
04:00The final against surprise packet Croatia was the tournament in Microcosm. The opening goal was an own goal.
04:09The video assistant referee, in operation for the first time at a World Cup, played its part awarding a penalty.
04:17And there were goalkeeping howlers.
04:22But rising above the chaos once again was MbappƩ, whose goal brought him alongside Pele as the only teenagers to
04:30score in a World Cup final.
04:35As confetti rained down on Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, household names like Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba enjoyed their moments in
04:44the spotlight.
04:45But it was clear that this final heralded the dawning of the age of MbappƩ.
04:51MbappƩ has shown us who he is, both with his club and with the national team.
04:55He is already doing really well in the present, but he is also the future of football.
05:00He embodies football, post Cristiano Ronaldo, post Messi. He is an outstanding player.
05:06The victorious French squad returned to a hero's welcome and an audience with the president.
05:13You made your families proud. You made each and every one of those clubs that has seen your beginnings proud.
05:19Each of those clubs that are today yours. You have made an entire country proud.
05:24Because you won all together. Because you have demonstrated these values that I talked about earlier.
05:30And because you have married individual excellence with the unrequited sense of collectiveness.
05:37Emmanuel Macron awarded the successful squad the Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit.
05:45It's always an honour, a privilege to meet with the president and to have this decoration in the name of
05:53the Republic.
05:58MbappƩ went back to his childhood roots in the Parisian commune of Bondi, where he was idolized.
06:05It means the world for the kids. My son has been playing in Bondi for two years and Kilian inspires
06:12him.
06:12He speaks very well. He's well educated. He's not big headed.
06:20MbappƩ also donated his entire World Cup salary, about 400,000 euros, to a charity providing sporting opportunities to children
06:30with disabilities.
06:33It shows that his hard work has paid off. He never forgets where he comes from. So it's a good
06:38thing for us.
06:40With MbappƩ leading the line, France almost defended their World Cup crown four years later.
06:46But Argentina and Messi exacted their revenge.
06:52But nothing can take away the glory of 2018.
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