Lost bag delays Iceland's Russia adventure

France have shut out all the euphoria back home over their run to the World Cup final in order to play a perfect match against Croatia on Sunday, France captain Hugo Lloris said.

The goalkeeper said the team were not being swept up by the wave of celebrations back home and were keeping their focus firmly on their shot of earning a second World Cup title after 1998 when they take on the Croatians in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

"To be honest we are in our little bubble and we don't know what is happening in France," Lloris told reporters on Saturday.

"We are far from thinking that we have reached our goal. We will face a high-quality opponent and they deserve as much credit as we do.

"They have displayed their physical and mental strengths and tomorrow we will need a great French team to win."

France have never needed to go beyond 90 minutes in their run to the final after beating Argentina in the round of 16, Uruguay in the last eight and Belgium in the semi-finals.

But Croatia had to battle from a goal down in all three of their knockout matches to beat Denmark, Russia and England.

They played extra time in all of them and needed penalties against the Danes and hosts Russia.

"Croatia have shown their mental strength which is quite incredible. They have managed to qualify after extra time three times in a row. There is something special in this team," Lloris warned.

"They also have an incredible collective strength. We have a lot of respect for them. We need to perform at a high level and deliver a perfect match to win," said the keeper.

France are in their third World Cup final after winning in 1998 and losing to Italy in 2006. They also reached the Euro final on home soil two years ago only to lose to Portugal.

Lloris said that defeat was not on their minds any longer, with many current players not part of the 2016 team.

"I think that our team is quite calm. I do not really know if we realise how far we have come but it is better that way," Lloris said. "We have this inner strength from the beginning of the tournament with which we can overcome any challenge."

"Tomorrow will be the most important match of our career. It will be a special match because it is a World Cup final and we have to stay in our bubble to focus on the ultimate goal."

Croatia captain Luka Modric says determination and self-belief were always more important than physical stature in football and that will be as true in Sunday's World Cup final as in any other match.

At 1.72 metres (5ft 8in) and 66kg (146 lbs), the Croatia playmaker can cut a diminutive figure on the pitch but he has few rivals when it comes to skill, game-management and stamina.

On Sunday, the winner of four Champions League titles with Real Madrid will play the biggest match of his life against France and size will be the last thing on his mind.

"I've always ignored such talk," he told reporters on the eve of his nation's first World Cup final.

"I have never doubted myself even if others did, I always believed I could get to where I am today and thank God this came true.

"You don't have to be a giant to play football, I'm happy with where I am. I am happy with where I am and I never cared what anyone else said, it only further motivated me."

France will be clear favourites to win a second World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium and Croatia will be relying on the resilience that got them through three lots of extra time and two penalty shootouts in their knockout matches.

Many of this generation of Croatian players grew up during the war following the break-up of Yugoslavia, however, and that have given them a mental toughness.

"I’ve seen a great deal of hardship in my life," added Modric, who lived in refugee hostels for several years as a child.

"The most important thing is to never give up, never give in to circumstances, believe yourself and to soldier on no matter what's in your way.

"There are ups and downs but whatever happens, you have to trust and believe in yourself.

"Fight for your dreams and success. This is what has always guided me."

Despite all the talent in their ranks, Croatia's place at the World Cup was in jeopardy as late as last October when Zlatko Dalic took over and Modric paid tribute to the impact the coach has had on the team.

"We are in the World Cup final, that was the influence of the coach," the 32-year-old said.

"He came into the picture at a very difficult moment ... In the first game, he talked us up to give us self-belief and told us we were still good players despite this crisis.

"He brought us calmness, he perked us up and what we most like is his sincerity and his attitude towards each and every player. We like having him around, he's shown his influence, not just as a coach but more importantly as a human being."

Newspapers and TV stations hailed France's World Cup victory on Monday, while clean-up crews worked against the clock to tidy up after a crazy night's partying in Paris ahead of a victory parade down the Champs Elysees.

"Our Day of Glory Is Here" declared Le Figaro, referencing a rousing line from the Marseillaise anthem.

"History Made" announced sports daily L'Equipe, while business journal Les Echos went for the more straightforward "Champions of the World". Photos of superstars Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, as well as shots of the team holding aloft and kissing the trophy, dominated coverage.

The victory has created a sense of national unity, with commentators playing up the fact the squad, the second-youngest in the competition, includes many with central and north African heritage, even if all but two were born in France.

When the country won its first World Cup in 1998, when Zinedine Zidane was its talisman and playmaker, the team was referred to as "Black-Blanc-Beur" (Black-White-Arab), a positive reference to its diverse ethnic make-up.

Gallery: France fans celebrate

But some were keen to push that phrase to one side, seeing in it a sense of separateness, even if it was meant positively.

"We're not in 1998," said Mounir Mahjoubi, the secretary of state for digital affairs, whose parents emigrated from Morocco.

"We're not still celebrating 'Black-Blanc-Beur', we're celebrating brotherhood," he said of the current team.

Videos shot by the players in the frenetic changing room after the win showed them singing, dancing and raising a toast together, while teaching President Emmanuel Macron, who could barely contain his excitement, how to do a "dab".

METRO STATIONS

For Macron, who became president last year at the age of 39, taking his political movement to victory against the odds, the football team's success is likely to have positive repercussions after a slump in the polls.

The Paris metro system got into the celebratory mood, announcing the names of a number of stations were being briefly changed to honour the players and coach, Didier Deschamps.

So Notre-Dame des Champs station was relabelled "Notre Didier Deschamps", and Victor Hugo was switched to "Victor Hugo Lloris" after the captain and goalkeeper.

The 2 km Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and the vast Place de la Concorde turned into a heaving sea of people on Sunday night, waving red, white and blue flags, setting off firecrackers and blowing horns until early morning.

On Monday, the after-effects were still visible. A number of smashed windows, an overturned car and graffiti scrawled here and there, including the phrase "Liberte, Egalite, Mbappe", a reference to the national motto "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite".

On Twitter, Brazil legend Pele paid tribute to the exploits of Mbappe, France's standout, 19-year-old superstar, saying that if the teenager kept equalling his goal-scoring records, Pele might have to strap his boots back on.

Mbappe replied to the tweet in English saying "The king will always remain the king", quickly gaining 15,000 retweets.

The team is scheduled to arrive back in France at 1400 GMT, with crowds set to gather at Charles de Gaulle airport to receive them. A parade down the Champs Elysees is scheduled for 1530 GMT, and there will be a formal victory reception with Macron at the Elysee Palace at 1630 GMT.

And it's not just in Paris that the nation has been taken over with football fever. From Nice and Marseille in the south to Lille in the north, Nantes in the west and scores of towns and cities in between, TV stations were full of images of red, white and blue clad fans singing in streets and squares.

The Spartak Moscow Arena turned into a theatre of dreams for World Cup debutants Iceland when they held two-time champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw. After a pulsating encounter it was Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson who stood like a Spartak gladiator-- a 25-meter monument on a vast football in front of Russia’s most successful football club’s home ground – following that monumental penalty save against Lionel Messi. 

Messi drove a low left-footer from the spot that Halldorsson judged perfectly and fisted it away, depriving Argentina a winning start. Apart from that crucial second-half save, Halldorsson also denied the Barcelona star in the first half when he parried Messi’s swerving left-footer diving to his right. Messi, desperately looking for a World Cup title after two abortive attempts, got one last chance to win the game late. But his 35-yard free-kick, which was the last shot of the game, bounced off that water-tight Ice Dragon wall. 

Before the start of the game the Argentina fans dominated the 45,000-capacity dome with deafening roar. It got extra gear when their living legend Diego Maradona, who was watching the game from the VIP box, appeared briefly in the balcony sporting red sunglasses and joined the chorus. But after match they left silently, leaving a small yet noticeable Iceland fan-group in blue to sink in a result, which was more than a draw for them. And it was not a fluke for a team that made it to the Euro quarterfinals at the expense of England two years ago.   

Kun Aguero gave Argentina a 19th-minute lead with a spectacular left-footer. The Manchester City striker’s first World Cup goal lasted only four minutes before Alfred Finnbogosan cashed in on from sloppy Argentine defending, slotting home with a cool placing.

Argentina might have enjoyed the territorial dominance, but it was the Iceland team that looked more menacing when they broke forward. They looked solid while defending, hardly allowing Messi to create any space. They attacked like hounds and created a lot of trouble for a disjointed Argentina defence with a shaky Willy Caballero under the bar. 

And apart from an ageless Javier Mascherano, the four men behind him struggled to cope up with a fast counter-attacking Iceland who were very good in the air. 

Watching the horror defending of Jorge Sampaoli’s charges, one curious fan aptly quipped that it was defence ‘wearing an unstitched lungi and could be embarrassed any time’. Argentina defence has always been a concern in their qualifying campaign. 

They just looked like a one-man team with Angel di Maria painfully short of ideas down the other flank. Messi was heavily marked in the game, which was understandable. They needed more variety in the attack. Argentina will play their next game against Croatia on Thursday. They can ill-afford another draw, a result which may put their World Cup hopes on the line. 

Messi had a tough day and specially after his rival for golden boot Cristiano Ronaldo’s hattrick for Portugal in the previous night. Messi led Argentina to a warm-up session 30 minutes before the start of the kick-off.

Interestingly, he took three consecutive shots at goal during training. The first one just missed the mark. The second one was blocked by the goalkeeper. He scored from the rebound, the only difference was that was practice and nobody was blocking his way. Almost identical. But we all know Messi is from a different planet. He can produce magic that others can only envy. Hopefully for the Argentine fans he will come to the party with all his magic against Croatia. 

Tiny Iceland made a stunning first-ever World Cup appearance on Saturday when they held 2014 runners-up Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a dramatic match where Lionel Messi blew his chance to win it when he had a penalty saved by Hannes Por Halldorsson.

Sergio Aguero had given the twice world champions the lead after 19 minutes of the Group D match. However, Iceland, who stunned the soccer world with their run to the quarter-finals of the European Championship two years ago, showed exactly the same commitment and self-belief to hit back four minutes later through Alfred Finnbogason.

Argentina, playing in all-black and roared on by the vast majority of the crowd in the Spartak Stadium, eventually took command and delivered wave after wave of attacks in the second half. But they actually created few chances either side of Messi's poorly-struck 64th-minute penalty.

Iceland, by far the smallest country by population to appear at the World Cup, famously beat England in the last 16 of Euro 2016 and again inspired by their "thunderclapping" fans ran tirelessly and fought for everything.

They signalled their intent from the kick off, sending seven men charging into the box to challenge as the ball was pumped long and it proved to be just the first of many uncomfortable moments for a decidedly shaky Argentine defence.

The South Americans looked more assured in attack, though, and went ahead when Aguero turned tightly in the box and smashed in an unstoppable shot.

Iceland, however, are not a team to sit back and sulk and soon forced an equaliser when goalkeeper Willy Caballero palmed Gylfi Sigurdsson's low shot straight into the path of Finnbogason to sweep into the unguarded net.

After Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick in Portugal's 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday, all eyes were on Messi to respond but he got little joy from the rugged but controlled Iceland defenders, no respecters of even the greatest reputation.

The great man was given the ultimate opportunity after Hordur Bjorgvin Magnusson got entangled with Aguero in the box, only for Halldorsson to fly to his right and palm the penalty clear.

Iceland then defended superbly, almost fanatically, and will have real belief that they can get out of a group that also contains Croatia and Nigeria, who meet later on Saturday.