2018 can still be Messi's WC: Maradona

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."

Didier Deschamps proclaimed France’s second World Cup triumph was “just as beautiful” as their first after leading them to glory again 20 years on, but Croatia defender Dejan Lovren said that Deschamps' team "did not play football."

"I'm disappointed because we lost the game, we played much, much better football than them, but on the other hand I'm proud of this team and what we have achieved," Lovren said.

"We played beautiful football again. France were one of the favourites to win the World Cup and they did it. I think we were better. They did it another way. They didn't play football, they waited for their chances and they scored. They had their own tactic and you need to respect that. They played the tournament like that, every game, but when you look at all the countries behind us, we're second.” he added.

"There's nothing to talk about now. It's difficult to describe. Maybe after a week or two, a couple of months... right now, it's difficult. Some moments I feel sad, some moments I'm happy. Overall, I'm proud."

Ivan Perisic conceded the first-half penalty after referee Nestor Pitana penalised him for handball following a VAR review.

"I was sure he would not give the pen," said the Liverpool centre-back. "From my point of view, he [Perisic] could not react.

"It was a critical moment, we came back at 1-1, and then this penalty and then 3-1, 4-1, but even then we didn't stop playing football, we still believed, we gave everything, and this is why people are proud now in Croatia."

Didier Deschamps' side had claimed a 1-0 over Belgium in the semifinals with a defensive masterclass which left Belgium star Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois deeply unimpressed with what he felt were overly cagey tactics by France in the semi-final, and now Lovren also felt the frustration of coming up against Deschamps's style. Not always the most entertaining, however, in the end, French squad just had too much talent at its disposal to get the job done.

Italy's highest court cleared the late Agentine soccer legend Diego Maradona of tax evasion charges, ending a 30-year-long legal battle between the ex-Napoli striker and revenue authorities.

Known as "El Pibe de Oro", or the Golden Foot, Maradona was accused of allegedly using proxy companies in Liechtenstein to dodge legal fees when receiving payments between 1985 and 1990 from the Napoli club for his personal image rights.

"It is over and I can clearly state without fear of being contradicted that Maradona has never been a tax evader," his lawyer, Angelo Pisani, told Reuters.

Rome's Court of Cassation overturned a 2018 verdict in mid-December, a court document published on Wednesday and seen by Reuters showed.

Maradona died in November 2020 from a heart attack. Fans of Napoli and of the Argentine national team worshipped him as the "god of football".

Investigations into the footballer's tax payments started in the early 1990s and resulted in charges of 37 million euros ($40.38 million) and the confiscation of some of the player's belongings during his visits to Italy.

Pisani added that the final verdict "does justice to fans, to the values of sport, but mostly to the memory of Maradona".

"It places a grave stone on a persecution that he suffered for 30 years," he said.

"...The heirs now have a legal right to claim damages," Pisani said. "I hope that they use it, in memory of their father."

Turning in a stunning performance in Friday's quarter-final against Brazil at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, Claudio Echeverri's hattrick helped Argentina beat the four-time winners of the competition for the first time in the age group.

With the No. 10 stamped on his back and the captain's armband firmly in place, Echeverri -- nicknamed El Diablito (the Little Devil) -- produced a display worthy of comparison with Lionel Messi, almost a year on from his heroics in Qatar.

Aside from sharing a certain likeness with the Argentina talisman and a similar gift for dribbling and bringing the ball under instant control, the youngster also made a little piece of history that Messi can relate to. Back in 2005, Messi produced a virtuoso performance of his own against Brazil at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.

Following a shock defeat against Senegal in the ongoing tournament opener, Echeverri told FIFA in an interview that he idolises Messi and one of Messi's idols, Pablo Aimar. "I always said that my idol was Messi, but I'm nowhere near Messi. I also really liked Pablo Aimar … and he gives me useful pointers about what I need to correct in my game."

Despite being only 17, Echeverri's reputation has preceded him for a number of years. In fact, he was barely ten when his four-goal haul versus Juventus in a youth competition became the talk of the internet.

Daniel Brizuela, who discovered Echeverri while scouting for River Plate, recalled his initial impression of the exceptional talent.

"When I had just arrived and I saw him one day, I told one of the coaches 'he's a mix of [Diego] Maradona and Messi'… because he has the mettle, personality and character of Maradona and the characteristics are similar to those of Messi."

"We have the team's number 10 shirt in good hands for the future, and that is something incredible."

Once the tournament draws curtains on December 2, Echeverri is likely to be in the radar of several European heavyweights. Echeverri, though, desires to follow in the footsteps of Messi, donning the FC Barcelona colours.

Prior to the tournament, he said, "As well as River, I would like to play for Barça. I used to watch Messi play for Barcelona, so I've had this team inside me since I was very young."

Echeverri, currently the joint-top scorer in the competition with Agustin Ruberto on five goals, is all set to lead Argentina to their only missing silverware. But first, they have to pass the Germany hurdle in Tuesday's semifinals.

Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup Golden Ball trophy, a symbol of his legendary status and the controversial "Hand of God" goal, is set to be auctioned in Paris on June 6th. The trophy's sale at Aguttes Auction House is expected to draw immense interest from collectors and fans, potentially fetching millions.

At a recent event at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where Maradona scored his first international goal, former teammate Ossie Ardiles and England captain Terry Butcher shared contrasting perspectives on the Argentine icon. 

Ardiles, reminiscing about his friend, called the trophy "the pinnacle of the World's greatest player" and a symbol of Maradona's unmatched skill, saying, "The pace, the power, the belief and the incredible, unmatched in history, control of the ball."

Butcher, who was famously dribbled past by Maradona during the infamous "Goal of the Century," joked, "I would pay 7 million to buy Maradona's Golden Ball just to destroy it." Yet, even he acknowledged Maradona's undeniable talent, stating, "Maradona is The best player I've ever played against and certainly a contender for the greatest player ever; he really didn't need to cheat."

The auction comes after Maradona's World Cup jersey sold for over 7 million pounds, setting a precedent for the potential value of the Golden Ball. While the final price remains to be seen, this auction represents a unique opportunity to own a piece of football history that embodies both the brilliance and controversy of one of the sport's greatest figures.