2018 FIFA World Cup Final

The 2018 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2018 World Cup, the 21st edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams.^¹ The match was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on 15 July 2018, and was contested by France and Croatia.^¹ The tournament comprised hosts Russia and 31 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations.^¹ The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage.^¹ En route to the final, France finished first in Group C, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Argentina in the round of 16, Uruguay in the quarter-final and Belgium in the semi-final.^¹ Croatia finished first in Group D with three wins, before defeating Denmark in the round of 16 and Russia in the quarter-final – both through a penalty shoot-out – and then England in the semi-final.^¹ The final took place in front of 78,011 supporters, with more than 1.1 billion watching on television, and was refereed by Néstor Pitana from Argentina.^¹