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France were 2-1 ahead against Croatia at halftime in the World Cup final after a pulsating opening 45 minutes at the Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.

France took the lead when Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic, who scored the extra-time winner over England in the semi-final, inadvertently headed home an Antoine Griezmann free-kick in the 18th minute for the first own goal in a World Cup final.

Croatia's Ivan Perisic, who had also scored in the semi-final, levelled with a powerful shot 10 minutes later after France had failed to clear a Luka Modric free-kick.

But Perisic was then responsible for conceding a penalty for handball that was give following a VAR decision and Griezmann coolly converted the spot-kick in the 38th to put the French back in front.

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France's soccer coach will have a subway train station named after him to celebrate his World Cup win and poet Victor Hugo will have to share his memorial slot on Paris's transport map with the team's goalkeeper and captain.

As "Les Bleus" headed home with the World Cup trophy on Monday, the French capital's RATP transport authority said it was renaming six metro subway stations in their honour for the day.

One station, Notre-Dame des Champs, will now be called Notre Didier Deschamps (Our Didier Deschamps), in an hommage to the coach.

Didier Deschamps is one of just three men in the history of the World Cup to take the trophy as team coach after winning it as a player - he helped the team to its first victory in the tournament in 1998.

Victor Hugo station is being renamed Victor Hugo Lloris after captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Bercy station will become "Bercy les Bleus", close to "Merci Les Bleus".

"Les Bleus" are returning on Monday from World Cup host country Russia to celebrate their victory with a parade on the Champs Elysees.

At one end of that avenue another subway stop called "Charles de Gaulle - Etoile" is being renamed "On a 2 Étoiles", replacing the wartime leader with the boast "We have two stars", one for each World Cup win.

With demand for the French team jersey surging, police urged crowds to move away from the entrance of the Nike shop on the Champs Elysees early on Monday.

England, which surprised many by getting as far as the semis, has changed Southgate station on the London Underground to Gareth Southgate Station in honour of the national coach.

France winning the World Cup trophy in Russia, Chinese kitchen and bathroom appliance maker Vatti Corp is now in the spotlight -- it is time for the company to deliver on a bold promise. 

Vatti, as a sponsor for the French national soccer team, said a month ago that if France won the title at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, it would refund customers who made purchases of designated products between June 1 and July 3, based on invoice value.

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On Monday, the Guangdong-based company said it had started the promised refund process, after the marketing campaign helped it net total sales of about 1 billion yuan ($150 million) during the promotional period, a year-on-year increase of over 20 per cent.

The sales of designated products, such as dishwashers and water heaters, which were listed in the refund initiative, hit around 79 million yuan, with online sales accounting for 29 million yuan and offline sales standing at 50 million yuan.

Vatti said the company will afford the refund of sales through its own online store, and its distributors and retail partners will be responsible for refunding offline sales and third-party online sales.

Also, total costs of the refund only include manufacturing and promotional cost, which is less than the combined sales price of 79 million yuan, thus exerting little impact on the company's bottom line, the company added.

"We chose to launch such a campaign to support the French team because the temperament of the French team is very compatible with our passionate, smart and fashionable brand image," Vatti said in an interview with China Daily.

The shares of Vatti surged as much as 9 per cent by midday on Monday before the rise narrowed to about 4 perc ent at closing, when share prices stood at 15.18 yuan.

Ma Bing, a 33-year-old bank employee in Beijing, bought a dishwasher in June after seeing Vatti's advertising post on an elevator.

"Well, my wife has been asking for a dishwasher for a long time. I am also a big fan of the French team. The dishwasher saved me from my wife's nagging when I stayed up at night for football matches. It was a good deal," Ma said, adding he has registered the refund information at a Vatti online store.

Vatti is one of a number of Chinese companies that are cashing in on the World Cup. Their combined spending on advertisements for this year's tournament hit $835 million, $400 million more than the next biggest spender, the United States, and easily exceeding that of host country Russia, according to market-research company Zenith.

Liu Buchen, an independent expert in the home appliances industry, said it is good for Chinese companies to experiment with creative marketing campaigns, but more effort is needed to ensure that enterprises do deliver their promises and consumers' rights are protected.

Copyright: China Daily/ Asia News Network

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday to congratulate the winning team, President Vladimir Putin, and Russia after the World Cup final, which he called "one of the best ever!"

"Congratulations to France, who played extraordinary soccer, on winning the 2018 World Cup. Additionally, congratulations to President Putin and Russia for putting on a truly great World Cup Tournament one of the best ever!," he wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the national team of France defeated Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final match in Moscow to snatch its second World Cup Trophy.