Croatia Defender Dejan Lovren Slams France Tactics Following World Cup Final Defeat

Dejan Lovren has lambasted the way that France played throughout the World Cup following Les Bleus' victory in the final on Sunday, insisting that Croatia were the better team at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Zlatko Dalić's side were on the end of a 4-2 defeat against France which saw the World Cup final's first ever own goal and penalty that was awarded following the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

But Liverpool defender Lovren, who was recently compared to Jérôme Boateng by Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač, believes that Croatia were hard done by in the World Cup final, condemning France's tactics throughout the tournament in Russia.

"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 after the final, quoted by SBS.

"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.

"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."

Lovren will now how some time off before he is forced to return to Liverpool, where he will be joined by three new players at Melwood. Midfielders Naby Keita and Fabinho have already begun training, while Xherdan Shaqiri will link up with the squad following a short break.