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.

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.

They extended that lead in the 59th minute, when Paul Pogba scored at the second attempt after Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subašić had saved his initial shot.

Griezmann was named the man of the match, while Croatia's Luka Modrić was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament.

[15] Croatia's team at the time was described by many pundits as a golden generation, with Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić as the key players, although with many members of the team having passed the age of thirty, the 2018 World Cup was described as "surely a last quest towards making an impact on the greatest stage" by The Guardian's Shaun Walker.

An expanded version of the stadium was named as the provisional final venue in Russia's World Cup bid, which was selected by FIFA on 2 December 2010.

[22] Luzhniki Stadium was confirmed as the final venue on 14 December 2012, following a meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee held in Tokyo, Japan.

[33] The spectator stands were moved closer to the pitch, which was converted from artificial turf to natural grass, after the removal of the athletic track.

The historic facade of the stadium was preserved due to its architectural value, while the roof was upgraded using a new polycarbonate skin with exterior lighting.

[36] The renovation project cost €341 million,[37] and the stadium officially reopened with an international friendly between Russia and Argentina on 11 November 2017.

Argentina then scored on either side of half-time through Ángel Di María and Gabriel Mercado to take the lead, but Benjamin Pavard brought France level again.

[51][54] In their opening match, the team earned a 2–0 victory over Nigeria, with an own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo caused by Mario Mandžukić and a penalty scored by Luka Modrić.

[55] Striker Nikola Kalinić refused to enter the match as a substitute, citing back pain as his reason for not playing, and was expelled from the team by manager Zlatko Dalić, leaving Croatia with only 22 players for the remainder of the tournament.

[56] Croatia went on to beat Argentina 3–0, taking the lead in the second half when goalkeeper Willy Caballero's attempted clearance was intercepted by Ante Rebić, and then scoring twice more through Modrić and Ivan Rakitić.

The shootout was won 4–3 by Croatia after two misses by Russia and a shot by Modrić that rebounded into the goal off Igor Akinfeev's arm and the post.

[66] After the match, a video of Vida shouting "Glory to Ukraine" prompted controversy among Russians and a warning from FIFA's disciplinary committee, which enforces a ban on political slogans.

[67] Croatia's semi-final match against England, on 11 July at the Luzhniki, began as they conceded a free kick goal by English defender Kieran Trippier in the fifth minute.

This made Croatia the first team to earn three come-from-behind victories in the FIFA World Cup, all three matches also going into extra time.

Björn Kuipers of the Netherlands was chosen as the fourth official, with his fellow countryman Erwin Zeinstra as the reserve assistant.

[71] Italian Massimiliano Irrati was named the video assistant referee, presiding over the first use of the technology at a World Cup final.

[73] Opera singer Aida Garifullina sang the Russian folk song "Kalinka", accompanied by a children's choir and percussion section that featured a cameo by former Brazilian international Ronaldinho.

[78][79][80] The weather at Sheremetyevo International Airport, 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the stadium,[a] was recorded as partly cloudy at the time of kick-off.

In the 43rd minute, Lucas Hernandez was booked for a foul on Rebić and then Perišić had a shot on goal which was deflected for a corner by Paul Pogba.

Shortly before half-time, Croatia had a corner which was taken by Rakitić into the penalty area, where Vida had an opportunity to score with his head, but the ball went wide of the goal.

[89] A Croatian attack was stopped early in the second half after several pitch invaders ran onto the field before being removed by security officers; Russian feminist rock band and protest group Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the interruption.

[90] Three minutes into the second half, Croatia had an opportunity to score when Rebić struck the ball towards goal from the left side of the penalty area following a pass by Rakitić.

[91] Croatia scored their second goal in the 69th minute from a back-pass that Lloris failed to dribble away from Mandžukić, who poked the loose ball into the unguarded net with his right leg.

[104] Large crowds, including 90,000 people at the Eiffel Tower fanzone and an estimated million on the Champs-Élysées, celebrated the victory in Paris.

[105][106] The celebrations were marred by instances of rioting that were broken up by police, as well as the deaths of at least two people during celebrations elsewhere in the country, one man died after diving into a shallow canal and another died after crashing his car into a tree,[107][108] RATP, the operator of the Paris Métro system, temporarily renamed several stations in honour of the team and its World Cup victory.

[119] In total, the final drew more than 160 million viewers in 20 European territories, including Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany.