On Sunday afternoon, amid a biblical downpour, Didier Deschamps wrote his name into football scripture. His France team beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final, making him only the third man – after Franz Beckenbauer and Mario Zagallo – to lift the trophy as a player and a manager. Deschamps, alongside the palpable joy the victory brought, must have felt an overriding sense of vindication. Coming into the tournament, and for the last two years following France’s defeat in the Euro 2016 final on home soil, he had been doubted and criticised incessantly by media and fans, at home and abroad. Before a ball had even been kicked, some were talking up Zinedine Zidane as a potential replacement. And after arriving in Russia, his team selection and style of play were called into question. With the delectable array of players at his disposal, he sometimes looked like a mechanic who had taken a Ferrari engine, an Aston Martin chassis and Maserati wheels and cobbled them together to make a Peugeot minibus. But with this hugely effective and ultimately glorious World Cup campaign, Deschamps has answered the questions in the best way he knows: by winning football matches. The minivan bore the hopes of the French nation and delivered them right to the door of their destination. Just like he was as a player, Deschamps the manager is an arch pragmatist, a facilitator whose main job is to permit others to perform at their peak. As Eric Cantona once said, Deschamps is the “water carrier”. But at international level, that sort of rationality is often the best approach. When in charge of a club side, managers have the luxury of being able to choose a system and bring in players in accordance with their vision. With a national team, they need to look at the resources available and mould them in such a way as to bring out the best in each individual. With this squad, Deschamps managed to do just that, setting up the collective to allow his three best players to thrive. It is not a coincidence that Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe all shone against Croatia.