<P> The official match ball for the final was the Telstar Mechta (Russian: Мечта; lit . dream or ambition), a red - coloured variant of the Adidas Telstar 18 introduced for the knockout stage . The Telstar family, a homage to the original 1970 Telstar, was designed similarly to 2014's Brazuca, but with longer seams and additional panels . </P> <P> Argentine referee Néstor Pitana was selected to lead the officiating team for the final, which was announced on 12 July 2018 by the FIFA Referees Committee . The final is Pitana's fifth match as referee during the tournament, becoming only the second referee to officiate the opening match and the final . Pitana officiated an additional group stage match, along with two knockout stage matches in the round of 16 and quarter - finals . Pitana has been a FIFA referee since 2010, and officiated four matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup . His compatriots Hernán Maidana and Juan Pablo Belatti were chosen as assistant referees . Björn Kuipers of the Netherlands was chosen as the fourth official, with his fellow countryman Erwin Zeinstra as the reserve assistant . Italian Massimiliano Irrati was named the video assistant referee, presiding over the first use of the technology at a World Cup final . Argentine Mauro Vigliano was chosen as the assistant video assistant referee, while Carlos Astroza of Chile was appointed as the second assistant and Danny Makkelie of the Netherlands as the third assistant . </P> <P> The tournament's closing ceremony was held prior to the start of the match, featuring a performance of "Live It Up", the official song of the tournament, by Will Smith, Nicky Jam, and Era Istrefi . Jam also performed "X (Equis)", wearing a shirt honouring J Balvin . Opera singer Aida Garifullina sang the Russian folk song "Kalinka", accompanied by a children's choir and percussion section that featured a cameo by Brazilian star Ronaldinho . </P> <P> Croatia kicked off the final at 18: 00 local time (15: 00 UTC), with the ground temperature reported at 27 ° C (81 ° F). The match was played through a minor thunderstorm, which produced several visible lightning strikes . An audience of 78,011 spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium watched the match, including ten heads of state, among them Russian president Vladimir Putin, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Croatian president Kolinda Grabar - Kitarović . The starting line - ups for both teams were identical to those fielded in the semi-finals . </P>

Who is performing at the world cup final 2018