Deschamps all praise for his players' mental toughness

A triumph to cherish
France's coach Didier Deschamps is tossed into air by his triumphant players at the end of the World Cup final. AFP
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Reactions after France beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final on Sunday.

France coach Didier Deschamps: "How marvellous! It's a young team, who are on the top of the world. Some are champions at the age of 19. We did not play a huge game but we showed mental quality. And we scored four goals anyway. They deserved to win. The group worked so hard and we had some tough moments along the way. It hurt so much to lose the Euro two years ago, but it made us learn too. The win is not about me, it's the players who won the game. For 55 days, we have done a lot of work. It is the supreme coronation. We are proud to be French, to be Blues. The victory in the match belongs to them. Vive le Republic."

On target
Antoine Griezmann, right, converted a penalty in the final. AFP

France striker Antoine Griezmann: "I do not know where I am! I am really happy. It was a very difficult match, Croatia had a great game. We came back and we managed to make the difference. We cannot wait to bring it (the Cup) back to France."

Croatia assistant coach Drazen Ladic: "First of all I want to congratulate France. We are sad, but proud at the same time. We played well but the penalty knocked the wind out of us and after that it was very difficult. We wanted to win the World Cup so much, but that's football. The French did not surprise us, we let in two soft goals coupled with an own goal and a penalty."

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