After a jaw-dropping month of football, Russia 2018 is all over.
Things didn't look so auspicious in the run-up. Most of the talk about the upcoming tournament wasn't so much about the football as Russia's notorious problems with football hooliganism and racism, and the Russian national team themselves were the lowest-ranked hosts in the history of the tournament. Take THAT, 2010 South African squad! To rub salt in the wound, the opening game saw the hosts face off against Saudi Arabia; two countries arguably more well-known for their human rights abuses than silky, free-flowing football.
That opening game was the first hint that something special was underway. Admittedly, my own hopes were so low that I spent the afternoon playing pool whilst keeping half an eye on a flatscreen in the corner. The game soon caught the attention. Saudi Arabia might have been just as bad as everyone had feared (indeed, they were even worse), but Russia played some cracking football, typified by Cheryshev's lovely curled dink on the outside of his left boot.
Russia ran out 5-0 winners, and things were suddenly looking pretty interesting. The real litmus test would be the first group stage heavyweight bout the following evening: Spain vs Portugal. To be honest, clashes between big teams in the first round of games (particularly if they're neighbours) tend to fizzle out into cagey, dull affairs. Both sides will usually play within themselves and are perfectly content to walk away with a 0-0 draw and avoid an embarrassing defeat, rather than gamble national pride on a victory. I went to the local pub with my mates more out of hope than expectation. How wrong I was...
Cristiano Ronaldo, current Ballon d'Or holder and the world's foremost narcissist, did what he does best and took the game by the scruff of the neck. Portugal were going for the win, whether they actually wanted to or not. Scoring in the first minute, Ronaldo then benefited from a rare David De Gea mistake before completing his hat-trick with a sumptuous free kick. This was a little inconvenient personally, as I'd spent the preceding two minutes telling anyone who'd listen just how (relatively) bad Ronaldo was at free kicks, and this effort would probably end up well in the stands. I was slightly wrong.
It wasn't all one-way traffic, however. Spain gave as good as they got, and arguably should have won the game. Diego Costa was an absolute beast, and his first goal was as good as he gets; not so much kicking the ball into the net as bulldozing his way through the Portuguese defense before picking out a finish that only he could see. However, the goal of the game belonged to Nacho, whose hit could charitably be described as "not bad for a second-string defender"
It was at the full-time whistle in this game that I fully realised things were about to kick off.
The rest of the group stage games saw a number of heavyweights stumbling: Brazil opened with a draw before scoring two injury-time goals to see off Costa Rica, Germany lost their opening game to Mexico, and Argentina were dangling by a thread after drawing 1-1 with Iceland and being battered 3-0 by Croatia.
Even in this, there was drama. A narrow win against Nigeria saw the Argentines go through, and Germany looked as though they'd completed a similar turnaround after a last-gasp winner against a difficult Sweden side. Naturally, I'd been cheering on the Swedes and was ecstatic to see them go into the break with a slender 1-0 lead, but the Germans played their way back into contention, scoring an equaliser early in the second half beforerobbing winning the game in the seventh minute of injury time. The Germans were typically understated in their victory, and the defeat felt almost as crushing as seeing England lose at the death.
Whilst most of the titans rediscovered their form to limp through to the knockouts, Group F held one final twist. Germany needed a result against South Korea but struggled to make a breakthrough. In injury time, the ball fell improbably to the previously unfancied Kim Young-gwon in the German penalty area. Cool as a cucumber, he took a touch before roofing it into the German net, only to see the linesman disallow the goal for offside. Not for the first time in the tournament, the decision went to the video referee. The VAR showed that the goal was indeed legitimate, and wild celebrations ensued amongst the Korean squad (and in my living room). Chasing the game, Manuel Neuer threw himself up the pitch, only to yield possession and see Tottenham's Son Heung-min roll the ball calmly into an empty net. Germany finished bottom of the group. Korea also went home, but Mexico showed their deep gratitude towards their Korean brothers-in-arms.
It was a rollicking finish to the group stages, and things would soon heat up further in the knockout round. The very first game here was France vs Argentina, a fixture that is known in the business as a spicy meatball.
In the event, it proved to be even spicier than anybody could have anticipated. I was at a wedding that day, and it seemed as though every time we had a cheeky clandestine look at our phones to check the score, another goal had gone in. France came from 2-1 down to run out 4-3 winners, thanks in part to this absolute banger of a goal from the French full-back Pavard:
Though it hurts me to give any credit to the Argentinians- especially after they essentially staged a coup against their own manager- they battled valiantly and could have won late on. At least Angel Di Maria went home with another cracker for the highlight reel.
Indeed, the first two days of knockout football were an absolute bloodbath. Ronaldo's Portugal soon followed Messi's Argentina out of the tournament, and the Spanish were soon to follow. Perhaps demonstrating why it is generally thought of as unwise to sack your manager just days before the start of a major tournament, Spain looked pedestrian and short of ideas as they struggled to break down a Russian team who were up for a fight and tough as nails, much like their frankly terrifying manager.
Following on from the earlier disappointment of Sweden vs Germany, there was to be another non-England related World Cup heartbreak for me. For some reason, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Japanese; perennial WC underdogs, they play tight technical football and always put up a good fight. Against the highly-fancied Belgian team spearheaded by Hazard, Lukaku, and De Bruyne, the Japanese team deservedly found themselves 2-0 up thanks to some crisp passing and well-applied pressure. It was too good to last. After Vertonghen improbably lobbed the keeper with a crossed header, and human wrecking ball Marouane Fellaini rose to power in an equaliser. It looked to be heading to penalties, when a surging Belgian break swept from one end of the field to the other before being calmly slotted home by West Brom's very own Nacer Chadli. Take that, Radja Naiinggolan. It was a cruel blow for the Japanese team and their impeccably behaved supporters, who went home with nothing but their reputation for being absolutely lovely people.
The quarterfinals went much as you'd expect, with the highlight being Belgium's victory over Brazil. Whilst the Brazilians had been much fancied before the tournament, the team had become known for Neymar's theatrics as much as anything else. This was not only incredibly embarrassing for Neymar personally, but also absolutely infuriating for football fans around the world. The World Cup is a high profile event that draws in casual viewers by the millions, and when a player of Neymar's caliber rolls around on the floor like a toddler having a tantrum in the supermarket, it makes the sport as a whole look like a joke. In the event, he failed to have an impact in the QF and Belgium duly sent the Brazilians packing. It was a real shame, as the Brazilians failed to live up to the pre-tournament hype and uphold their reputation as a nation that plays with flair, energy and a smile on its face.
Things didn't look so auspicious in the run-up. Most of the talk about the upcoming tournament wasn't so much about the football as Russia's notorious problems with football hooliganism and racism, and the Russian national team themselves were the lowest-ranked hosts in the history of the tournament. Take THAT, 2010 South African squad! To rub salt in the wound, the opening game saw the hosts face off against Saudi Arabia; two countries arguably more well-known for their human rights abuses than silky, free-flowing football.
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| A criticism expressed by Britain's highest-ranking diplomat at the opening ceremony. |
Russia ran out 5-0 winners, and things were suddenly looking pretty interesting. The real litmus test would be the first group stage heavyweight bout the following evening: Spain vs Portugal. To be honest, clashes between big teams in the first round of games (particularly if they're neighbours) tend to fizzle out into cagey, dull affairs. Both sides will usually play within themselves and are perfectly content to walk away with a 0-0 draw and avoid an embarrassing defeat, rather than gamble national pride on a victory. I went to the local pub with my mates more out of hope than expectation. How wrong I was...
Cristiano Ronaldo, current Ballon d'Or holder and the world's foremost narcissist, did what he does best and took the game by the scruff of the neck. Portugal were going for the win, whether they actually wanted to or not. Scoring in the first minute, Ronaldo then benefited from a rare David De Gea mistake before completing his hat-trick with a sumptuous free kick. This was a little inconvenient personally, as I'd spent the preceding two minutes telling anyone who'd listen just how (relatively) bad Ronaldo was at free kicks, and this effort would probably end up well in the stands. I was slightly wrong.
It wasn't all one-way traffic, however. Spain gave as good as they got, and arguably should have won the game. Diego Costa was an absolute beast, and his first goal was as good as he gets; not so much kicking the ball into the net as bulldozing his way through the Portuguese defense before picking out a finish that only he could see. However, the goal of the game belonged to Nacho, whose hit could charitably be described as "not bad for a second-string defender"
It was at the full-time whistle in this game that I fully realised things were about to kick off.
The rest of the group stage games saw a number of heavyweights stumbling: Brazil opened with a draw before scoring two injury-time goals to see off Costa Rica, Germany lost their opening game to Mexico, and Argentina were dangling by a thread after drawing 1-1 with Iceland and being battered 3-0 by Croatia.
Even in this, there was drama. A narrow win against Nigeria saw the Argentines go through, and Germany looked as though they'd completed a similar turnaround after a last-gasp winner against a difficult Sweden side. Naturally, I'd been cheering on the Swedes and was ecstatic to see them go into the break with a slender 1-0 lead, but the Germans played their way back into contention, scoring an equaliser early in the second half before
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| As soon as this free kick was given, you knew it was ending up in the back of the net |
It was a rollicking finish to the group stages, and things would soon heat up further in the knockout round. The very first game here was France vs Argentina, a fixture that is known in the business as a spicy meatball.
In the event, it proved to be even spicier than anybody could have anticipated. I was at a wedding that day, and it seemed as though every time we had a cheeky clandestine look at our phones to check the score, another goal had gone in. France came from 2-1 down to run out 4-3 winners, thanks in part to this absolute banger of a goal from the French full-back Pavard:
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| Warning: this goal is not suitable for viewers under the age of 18 |
Indeed, the first two days of knockout football were an absolute bloodbath. Ronaldo's Portugal soon followed Messi's Argentina out of the tournament, and the Spanish were soon to follow. Perhaps demonstrating why it is generally thought of as unwise to sack your manager just days before the start of a major tournament, Spain looked pedestrian and short of ideas as they struggled to break down a Russian team who were up for a fight and tough as nails, much like their frankly terrifying manager.
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| Stoic, or psychopath? |
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| Japan, you are too pure for this world. |
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| Incidentally, this is my favourite picture from the entire World Cup. I want to have it framed so I can display it in my study. Divine. |
On to the semi-finals, which saw France finally find a way to blunt the rapier-like attack of Belgium to advance as 1-0 winners. Solid in defence and conservative in attack, it was a textbook semi-final performance. Croatia too deservedly won their semi-final (discussion to follow in a later England-centric post). France vs Croatia wasn't a final many would have predicted before the start of the tournament, but it went some way to demonstrating just what a wild ride it had been.
In many ways, the final itself was as bonkers as the preceding month of football. Please excuse the liberal usage of block caps in my highlights below, but it really was that sort of game:
1) The opening goal was an OG, the first ever scored in the World Cup final. Incidentally, the top scorers at the World Cup were:
3rd = Griezman, Lukaku, Cheryshev, Ronaldo, Mbappe (4 each)
2nd= Kane (6)
1st= Own Goals (12)
MENTAL.
2) Cool as liquid nitrogen infused cucumber, Perisic took a touch in the box before unleashing an absolute BANGER of an equaliser.
3) VAR was used to award the harshest of penalties. Whilst I personally think it's been a great resource in this tournament (see the Korea vs Germany game), I felt that this particular incidence was more of a case of ball to hand.
4) Hugo Lloris tried to dummy Mandzukic in a WORLD CUP FINAL, and got exactly what he deserved.
5) Goals! This final had as many goals as the previous four finals combined. As a neutral, this is just what I wanted (although probably not what the Croatians were looking for).
In many ways, the final itself was as bonkers as the preceding month of football. Please excuse the liberal usage of block caps in my highlights below, but it really was that sort of game:
1) The opening goal was an OG, the first ever scored in the World Cup final. Incidentally, the top scorers at the World Cup were:
3rd = Griezman, Lukaku, Cheryshev, Ronaldo, Mbappe (4 each)
2nd= Kane (6)
1st= Own Goals (12)
MENTAL.
2) Cool as liquid nitrogen infused cucumber, Perisic took a touch in the box before unleashing an absolute BANGER of an equaliser.
3) VAR was used to award the harshest of penalties. Whilst I personally think it's been a great resource in this tournament (see the Korea vs Germany game), I felt that this particular incidence was more of a case of ball to hand.
4) Hugo Lloris tried to dummy Mandzukic in a WORLD CUP FINAL, and got exactly what he deserved.
5) Goals! This final had as many goals as the previous four finals combined. As a neutral, this is just what I wanted (although probably not what the Croatians were looking for).
While it would have been nice to see the Croatian underdogs win the World Cup for the first time (especially as this could be the last WC for some of their more experienced players), France were the deserved winners and capped off what had been an absolutely extraordinary tournament.
See you in Qatar, lads?
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