We all had our eyes on this great talented French team from the start of the tournament.

If you said they had everything it takes to go all the way in Russia, many people would have been likely to agree, but there would be a but. We have seen so many talented nations underperforming at the World Cup. And yes that’s coming from a Dutch man that has been seeing it and living it.

You can have all the talent on paper and you should be beating everyone but for some reason you don’t get all the heads working together and facing the same direction with the same objective. There is often a big ego in the dressing room, and sometimes it is the whole team that is not in sync with the manager’s philosophy.

The France team was different and it looked like a group of friends with a close bond. A coach like Didier Deschamp also understands that he needed to change the way one of his key players, like Pogba, would need to play to work well with other key men in the side like Kante and Matuidi. That was needed for the balance of the team. It allowed Pogba cover so he could make those risky runs that can end up being crucial to the win, just like in the final when he scored that important goal to make it 3-1.

A player like Pogba is meant to take risks because that’s what can make the difference between winning and losing, and it’s how these players become who they are today, just like Griezmann or the new big star on the block Mnappe.

Maybe as a fan of these players it easy to praise them, but for me it is more than that because I have seen and played in the French league so I know how much talent that country has. Seeing the president being so free and happy because his national team brought home the biggest and greatest trophy was an amazing moment. I almost forgot Macron was the president of France and seeing him celebrate with the team, no matter the religion or colour, is one of the most powerful things this game brings to the world.

I also hope it will send the same message to the world as it did when they won it back in 1998, but this time we don’t have to go back to how it was before.

I have seen so many presidents at football and other such events, and they are normally too stiff and look like they don’t know how to behave. It’s like they are scared to show their human side, even though we all know that happiness isn’t a bad thing to show to the world. But Macron was loose and he really did show his feelings.

Giroud is also a player I heard people talk about because he didn’t score a goal the whole tournament – and I do get it because he is a striker. But remember we all play to lift that gold trophy, and on Sunday all of us fans, professionals and ex-pros were all at home seeing him lift the trophy.

That’s why when I saw the comments about him not scoring I was expecting him to give us his famous wink. He has done it and knows he was important for the team because his way of playing has helped the team as much as the goalscorers themselves.

I will be watching them lift the trophy in Paris in front of the fans and I can’t wait to see the happiness on the nation’s, and the players’ faces.

Enjoy, Viva La France.

#mmlove