5 reasons why this is the best World Cup ever

#3 Unpredictability

Hosts Russia sent Spain packing in the knockout stage

Coming into the World Cup; Germany, France, Brazil and Spain were the favourites to win the tournament. Teams like Portugal, Argentina, Belgium and England also had an outside chance.

However, the World Cup has packed surprise after surprise for the fans.

Germany were knocked out in the group stage after losing to Sweden and South Korea. They became the fourth successive European team to win the World Cup and get knocked out in the group stage of the subsequent World Cup.

Spain’s World Cup drama started a day before the tournament kicked-off when they sacked their manager Julen Lopetegui. The 2010 Champions struggled their way out of the group before getting knocked out by hosts Russia in the first knockout stage. This was the 9th time Spain lost to a host nation at a major international tournament.

France and Brazil were given a couple of scares and tough matches, but they have made it to the quarterfinals.

Portugal had the chance to top their group but were held by Iran in their final group stage game and as a result, got knocked out by Uruguay in the Round of 16.

Argentina were left embarrassed in the group stage after being held to a draw by Iceland before they were humbled by Croatia. They scraped their way into the knockout stage only to be dismantled by a strong France side.

Belgium topped their group and played Japan in the knockout stage and were on the verge of getting knocked out after Japan took a shocking 2-0 lead. However, they clawed their way back to win 3-2.

The World Cup proved to be unpredictable beyond imagination but the biggest shock was when England won on penalties against Colombia. The three Lions never won a penalty shootout in their World Cup history but this young side kept their nerves and made history.