Winner not on the field

The World Cup-winning French team returned home to a heroes' welcome yesterday, parading down the Champs-Elysees as hundreds of thousands of cheering fans gave a raucous welcome to the country's newest idols.

France overcame a determined Croatia to win 4-2 in Sunday's final in Russia, with teenager Kylian Mbappe applying the coup de grace and cementing his place as a new global superstar at the age of just 19.

Millions of fans in France then celebrated into the night, honking car horns and flying the tricolour flag while the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe were lit up in the national colours of blue, white and red.

Crowds began converging early Monday on the Champs-Elysees, the gathering point for all national celebrations, to catch a glimpse of a returning squad which has captured the country's imagination.

As the celebrating players descended on an open-air bus under heavy police guard -- some of the 2,000 officers deployed in the capital -- nine jets from the Patrouille de France, the air force's acrobatic unit, did an honorary flyover trailing blue, white and red smoke.

After leaving the Champs-Elysees, the players quickly changed into custom-made blue suits before being welcomed at the Elysee Palace by President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, who were also decked out in blue for the occasion.

Macron previously promised the Legion of Honour for the victors' "exceptional services" to the country, an award already given to the legendary team which won France's first World Cup title in 1998.

The first couple then posed with the team as they sang the Marseillaise national anthem and waved scarves for a joyous group photo, before heading inside for a private meeting.

"Thanks to you all!" Macron told the team after gathering again outside. "This team is beautiful because you are united!"

Despite a voice nearly failing him, Pogba then proved himself a showman off the field as well as on by leading the guests in an impromptu celebratory rap punctuated by "Allez les Bleus!"

Nearly 3,000 guests were invited to the reception in the Elysee gardens, including around 1,000 youths from local football clubs such as Bondy, the gritty Paris suburb whose towering housing projects produced Mbappe.

Afterwards guests would be treated to the beats of DJ Snake, who has worked with pop stars including Lady Gaga and is part of the Pardon My French collective of French DJs.

Macron had already celebrated with the team on Sunday -- even doing "dab" dance moves with players in a video that has gone viral -- after attending the final in Moscow.

Later, the team were expected to attend a dinner in their honour at the posh Hotel du Crillon.

In Paris, the metro system has temporarily renamed six of its stations in honour of the key players, with the Victor Hugo stop -- named after the famed 19th-century writer -- becoming Victor Hugo Lloris after the team's goalkeeper.

Two stations were rebaptised in tribute to France coach Didier Deschamps, who captained the national side to its first World Cup victory, won on home soil in 1998.

"There are two things that matter -- one is that these 23 players are now together for life, whatever happens, and also that from now on they will not be the same again, because they are world champions," a champagne-soaked Deschamps said Sunday.

Macron will be relieved that joyous and occasionally chaotic celebrations across France on Sunday night passed off without any major incident following a string of terror attacks in France since 2015.

Sweden are delighted to make it to the quarter-finals but they are not satisfied yet, coach Janne Andersson told reporters after his side edged Switzerland 1-0 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1994.

In another gritty team performance, Emil Forsberg's deflected shot secured victory over a misfiring Switzerland who were smothered by Sweden's defence, and set up a clash with either England or Colombia on Saturday.

"This team personifies the approach we all share - we work for each other on and off the pitch, and I'm incredibly happy that it's paying off," Andersson told reporters.

"We're going to focus on one thing when we've digested this victory, and that's the game on Saturday. We don't even know what team we will face yet, but that is going to be the focus of our preparations," he said.

The Swedes have now seen off Netherlands from their qualifying group, Italy in a playoff, Germany at the group stage and Switzerland in the last 16, leading to questions about whether other nations have underestimated Andersson and his men.

"I think you'd have to ask everyone else that question. We know we are a good team, that we've earned our successes - we know how we got this far," the 55-year-old explained.

"We've worked this way throughout, we're continuing the same way, and what other teams and countries think about that is not interesting."

The delighted Sweden fans stayed behind to sing their modest coach's name long after the final whistle, and he came back out after the teams had left the field.

"It's a surreal feeling, to be standing in St Petersburg on the pitch afterwards and people are calling out my name. That feels strange - during the match I'm focused on the game," he said.

Sweden may have exceeded expectations in Russia but they are not done yet, and Andersson and his squad will now assess the players and their coming opponents before going into battle again.

"Now it's about taking the next step. We're not satisfied with this, and nothing more," he said.

"We want to win the next match as well - if you start to lower the bar, the level of ambition, that's not going to make for satisfaction."

TOO SLOW AND LACKING EMOTION, SAYS SWISS COACH

Switzerland were too slow and lacked emotion, coach Vladimir Petkovic said after watching his side meekly surrender to Sweden.

"We are sorely disappointed, we wanted to do more," Petkovic said. "Sweden did precisely what they were good at and that was enough to beat us. We should have done things better, but we were not good enough to win this match."

Switzerland had more possession but were too predictable to find a way past the massed Swedish defence.

"We wanted to play down the wings but we were too slow, our passes were not good," said Petkovic. "We played out of defence too slowly and we also tried to play diagonal passes, but we were not good enough."

The defeat was doubly disappointing as the tournament had been seen as a golden opportunity for a generation of players -- many sons of immigrants from the Balkans -- which is regarded as the finest the country has produced.

"We didn't find any fluidity and we got stuck in the middle," said Petkovic. "Our emotions were playing tricks on us.

"Sweden are a strong team but we didn't expect to be losing against them -- but there were tiny details..."

He added: "This game was only ever going to be decided with a own goal or a long-range shot."

Ivan Rakitic scored the winning penalty as Croatia beat Russia 4-3 in a shoot-out after a dramatic 2-2 draw on Saturday to end the World Cup hopes of the host nation and advance to a semi-final against England.

Brazilian-born Mario Fernandes had kept Russia's dream alive when he headed home in the 115th minute to level the scores and force penalties, but he and Fedor Smolov both failed to convert their spot-kicks in Sochi.

Croatia, for whom Andrej Kramaric and Domagoj Vida had earlier found the net, advance to their first World Cup semi-final since 1998. They will face England, who beat Sweden 2-0 earlier, at the Luzhniki Stadium Moscow on Wednesday.

In contrast for Russia, who had taken the lead through another Denis Cheryshev wonder goal in the first half, there is only heartbreak as they finally go out.

The Russians, riding a wave of euphoria after unexpectedly knocking out Spain in the previous round, were determined to carry on to a first World Cup semi-final since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

But Croatia came into this game as the favourites. They may have a population of little over four million, but amongst that number are two of the finest midfielders in the world in Rakitic and Luka Modric.

They dominated the match, but Russia contributed to another fantastic occasion in what has been an outstanding World Cup.

The hosts went ahead thanks to a bolt from the blue just after the half-hour mark.

Cheryshev, who scored three times in the group-stage wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, was back in the line-up here after beginning on the bench against Spain last weekend.

He cut in from the left, exchanged passes with Artem Dzyuba and skipped away from a Modric challenge before firing home a superb shot from 25 yards on his left foot.

Croatia were stunned. But the Russian lead had lasted only eight minutes before they drew level, Mario Mandzukic cutting the ball back for Kramaric to head home.

Ivan Perisic hit the post for Croatia in a second half they controlled, yet they had to limp on into extra-time, with goalkeeper Danijel Subasic providing a scare as he hurt a hamstring late on.

However, Croatia took the lead for the first time in the 101st minute, defender Vida getting his head to a corner to send the ball low into the net, helped by substitute Vedran Corluka getting out of the way.

Vida removed his shirt as he ran away in celebration, possibly thinking Croatia were heading through.

However, Russia found the resources to draw level again, substitute Alan Dzagoev holding up a free-kick for Fernandes to head home in the 115th minute.

His shoot-out miss proved pivotal, however, especially after Smolov's weak attempt at a chipped penalty was saved by Subasic.

For Croatia, Mateo Kovacic had his penalty saved, but Marcelo Brozovic, Modric and Vida all netted theirs before Rakitic stroked in the winner.

Earlier in the day, Harry Maguire and Dele Alli scored as England comfortably defeated Sweden 2-0 in Samara to reach the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990.

Leicester defender Maguire headed in the opening goal from a corner on 30 minutes, with Alli adding a second just before the hour.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford then produced a series of crucial saves in the final half-hour to seal England's long-awaited spot in the last four.

Belgium shot Brazil out of the World Cup with a 2-1 quarterfinal win yesterday to set up a semifinal clash with France on Tuesday.

The five-time champions did everything in their power to crawl out of the 2-0 hole they had found themselves in within the first 30 minutes -- which saw Fernandinho head the ball into his own net before Kevin de Bruyne fired in a clean right-footer into Allison Becker's far post -- but could only pull back one in the 83rd minute of the game. It was a Renato Augusto header that finally beat Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made at least half a dozen saves to take the men in red close to dreamland.

Earlier, in the first quarterfinal match, France had made light work of Uruguay in a 2-0 win, who looked lost in attack without star striker Edinson Cavani to complement Luis Suarez. Raphael Varane soared high and headed home the opening goal from a brilliant Antoine Griezmann free-kick in the 40th minute before Griezmann doubled the lead in the 61st minute courtesy of goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's incredible blunder.

For Brazil it was a chastening blow after playing so well in the last three games. Interestingly, it was the very ground where young French forward Kylian Mbappe destroyed Argentina with his pace and guile a week ago. Last night it was the turn of Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku, who rattled a Brazil defence that conceded just one goal in the last four games.

Brazilian superstar Neymar (L) lies on the floor in anguish after just his second ever competitive defeat with Brazil in a World Cup quarterfinal against Belgium yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Belgium's opening goal came off a quick counter attack. Lukaku made a darting run down the middle before releasing the ball to Marouane Fellaini, whose shot was blocked for a corner. Belgian defender Vincent Kompany's backwards header from the near post was deflected into Brazil's net by Fernandinho, who actually had a miserable game after coming into the team as a replacement for the suspended Casemiro.

Belgium silenced the five-time world champions again in the 31st minute. Although De Bruyne scored with neat right-footer past Alisson, the instigator was once again a giant Lukaku. The 25-year-old powered through the middle and drew almost all of Brazil's defensive pack towards himself before releasing a perfect through pass wide on the right-hand side from where Manchester City forward De Bruyne made no mistake in drilling a low shot.

By time Brazil captain Miranda was entrusted with the duty to defuse Lukaku, the Belgian had already done the damage. After that it was the Courtois' turn, the Chelsea goalkeeper who kept Brazil at bay time and again.

It is not that Brazil were at the receiving end in a game that was played at a frantic pace. They were not only unlucky to have one of their many attempts come off the post, but they had at least four shots saved by Courtois in the first half.

On the opposite end of the scale were the Red Devils, who revelled in their victory with a healthy mixture of disbelief and euphoria. Photo: Reuters

Brazil made two changes in the second half with Roberto Firmino coming on in place of Willian at the interval before Gabriel Jesus made way for Douglas Costa in 55th minute to bolster the attack.

They created a lot of opportunities but were only to be blamed as they wasted at least four chances with only Courtois to beat. Augusto replaced Paulinho in the 70th minute and headed a Coutinho floater into the net in the 73rd minute.

Brazil still had plenty of time to score but somehow managed to shoot the ball wide from advantageous positions.

With the game heading into the last ten minutes and a tiring Belgium resorting to time wasting, Neymar dashed down the flank before providing a neat cutback to Firmino, whose left footed shot on the turn flew over the bar.

Augusta had only Courtois to beat in the 80th minute but shot the ball miles over the bar. Brazil had a final chance to take the game into extra-time when Neymar nicely fed Coutinho with a superb cutback in the 85th minute. But the Barcelona forward, who had earlier in the tournament scored a couple of magnificent goals, somehow managed to shoot the ball over the bar from top of the box.  And when Courtios tipped Neymar's curler over the bar, a defeat was a foregone conclusion.

Brazil's departure from the tournament means that six out of the eight teams who have already won the World Cup have left the biggest stage. France, who dispatched former champions Uruguay 2-0 in the first match of the day, are one of two remaining heavyweights alongside England. 

The World Cup final between France and Croatia on Sunday was briefly interrupted when three intruders affiliated to anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch before being hauled off by stewards.

The pitch invaders, who were dressed in police-style outfits, were later detained by police, one of them told Reuters by telephone from a police station near Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, venue for the match.

In a post on its Facebook page, the group said its action was intended to draw attention to what it said were human rights abuses in Russia.

Three of Pussy Riot's original members were jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church and the group have since become a symbol of anti-Kremlin direct action.

In the second half of Sunday's match, the three people wearing white shirts with police-style epaulettes, black trousers and police hats ran out onto the pitch from the area behind the French goal. A fourth person tried to run onto the pitch but was tackled on the sidelines.

The three ran about 50 metres, dispersing in different directions, before stewards wearing high-visibility jackets tackled them to the ground and dragged them off the pitch.

One photograph on social media showed one of the pitch invaders, a woman with blonde hair tucked under a police cap, performing a high-five with France player Kylian Mbappe before being caught.

The match, watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents, was halted, but resumed about 25 seconds later. A witness at the stadium said he had seen police escorting the pitch invaders out of the stadium grounds.

The pitch invasion was the first significant security lapse in the five-week tournament that has won hosts Russia widespread praise for their good organisation and efficiency.

Pussy Riot member Olga Kurachyova told Reuters she was one of the pitch invaders and was being held at Luzhniki police station. She said she could not speak further because police were trying to take her mobile phone away from her.

Moscow police said in a statement that three young women and a young man had been detained after running onto the pitch.

LIST OF DEMANDS

In its Facebook post, Pussy Riot complained of rights abuses in Russia. They alluded to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker jailed for 20 years in 2015 for setting fire to two offices in Crimea, including one belonging to Russia's ruling party, after Moscow annexed the region from Ukraine.

Pussy Riot said their demands included freeing political prisoners in Russia, freedom of speech on the internet, freedom to protest, and allowing political competition.

The group shared a video on social media recorded before the incident featuring three female activists, at least two of whom were among those detained. They wore police uniforms and one of them wore a pink balaclava.

"The World Cup has shown wonderfully what the police can be like in Russia, but what will happen afterwards?" one of the activists asked in the video, an apparent allusion to lenient policing noted by Russians during the tournament.

A separate video posted on social media appeared to show the moments after the pitch invaders had been detained.

Two of them, a man and a woman, could be seen standing in a room, dressed in dishevelled police uniforms, while a voice off camera demanded handcuffs be brought.

"Do you know that Russia will pay for this to FIFA through sanctions?" the off-camera voice said, in an angry tone. "You wanted to shit on Russia, didn’t you?"

"We are for Russia," the male detainee replied.

"Sometimes I regret that it's not 1937," the person off- camera in the video said. That year was the height of political repressions carried out by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Photographs of the pitch invasion suggested the pitch invaders did not include the three Pussy Riot members who were jailed in 2012 for performing in the church.

Russian news website MediaZona, co-founded by one of the original three Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, reported that one of the pitch invaders was Pyotr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova's husband.