Croatia finished runners-up at the 2018 FIFA World Cup after losing 4-2 to France in the final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Monday (AEST).

"It's painful to lose in the final this way, France had three goal scoring chances and scored four goals," he said.

"It is painful to lose this way, even though in some areas we have outplayed France."

Russia's first-ever FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and came to a close on Monday (AEST) with 64 games played in 11 cities across the country.