13-2 France fantastic as they win the World Cup

France were the 13-2 fourth favourites going into the World Cup but they were the last team standing after beating Croatia 4-2 in a dramatic final in Moscow.

Didier Deschamps' youthful squad will fancy their chances of creating an international dynasty and they can be backed at 5-1 with Betfred to win Euro 2020, when the tournament moves around the continent.

France followed their first World Cup success on home soil in 1998 by being crowned European champions, and Les Bleus are 15-2 with Betway to retain the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Les Bleus had been uneasy in the final market, drifting to odds-against having started the day at 20-21, and that negative vibe seemed justified when Croatia, 33-1 ante-post, dominated the early exchanges.

Croatia were not even rocked by Mario Mandzukic's own goal which broke the deadlock and they deservedly levelled through Ivan Perisic before Antoine Griezmann restored France's lead from the penalty spot.

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Second-half goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe gave an unfair look to the score, although Mandzukic notched a consolation following a mistake from French skipper Hugo Lloris.

Griezmann obliged for his man-of-the-match backers at 7-1 but he was unable to reel in England's Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, who took the top goalscorer award with six goals.

Kane had been 16-1 before a ball was kicked and he is 12-1 with bet365 to repeat the trick at the next European Championship, when the semi-finals and final will be played at Wembley.

There was small consolation for Croatia's star man Luka Modric as he picked up the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. He had been a 66-1 outsider for that and was still second favourite on Betfair's exchange as he walked up to collect the trophy with Mbappe seen as the odds-on market leader.

Mbappe had to make do with the young player of the tournament award and there was also a surprise in the Golden Glove as Belgium's Thibaut Courtois claimed the top goalkeeper gong.

The Belgian stopper was 12-1 on the day of the final but was helped by mistakes from both Lloris and Croatia's Danijel Subasic.

Unlike France, the current Croatian crop are unlikely to have much longer at the top with Subasic aged 33, Mandzukic and Modric 32 and Ivan Rakitic 30, but they are 25-1 to win Euro 2020 and 40-1 for the World Cup.

The Nations League, which runs through 2018-19 may be a more realistic target and Croatia are 20-1 to become the first winners of the competition which starts in September. France are 5-1 behind
4-1 favourites Spain.

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