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The biggest sporting event on earth, FIFA World Cup 2018 drew to close in a fitting finale. France was amongst one of the favorites to take the prize home, they were certainly not the clear choices with Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Argentina in the fray.
Every single moment of the World Cup was played with great passion and dedication by all the teams. Amazing goals, easy misses, penalties, cards, fights, drama, VAR etc. made it a treat to watch for the fans and the viewers alike. Not to forget, the referees did have a tough time officiating the matches.
The month-long tournament produced a lot of unbelievable moments on the field, in the form of individual brilliance or bloopers, or in the form of wins and losses. The ones that were expected to go a lot ahead could not even clear the initial hurdles, while the ones who were not rated highly enough ended up playing the finals. Here’s a take on the possible top five.
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5 - Russia reaches the quarter-finals
Russia was undeniably the surprise package of the tournament. The character they displayed in every single match was a treat to watch. They went past every opponent in a convincing fashion and finally bowed down to Croatia in the quarter-finals.
They started off their campaign with a crushing 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia and came second behind Uruguay to advance into the Round of 16, where they ousted World Cup contenders Spain 4-3 on penalties. They finally lost to 3-4 to Croatia in the quarter-finals but not without taking the match again to the penalties. The team surely gave their fans a lot to cheer about.
4 - Croatia storms into the finals
One of the most unbelievable moments in the FIFA World Cup history has to be Croatia’s dream run in the tournament this year. Luka Modric, the 32-year old captain, and the midfielder was highly instrumental in carrying the team on his shoulders to within a touching distance to that coveted trophy.
By no means, they had a smooth run in the completion. They got past Denmark on penalties, the same way against Russia and defeated England 2-1. Croatia finally went down to France 4-2 in what can be considered to be one of the best FIFA finals ever.
3 - France's fairytale journey
France pulled off one of their best tournament forms ever to enter the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 and then win it against the relative underdogs Croatia. Surpassing teams like Argentina, Uruguay, and Belgium, they proved they were by no means the team to be taken lightly.
Kylian Mbappe, the 19-year striker from France, won the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament, thanks to his sensational goal-scoring abilities. He first announced himself in the Round of 16 matches against Argentina where he netted two brilliant goals.
Top clubs are now vying for his signature and the deal is likely to happen soon, going by the transfer rumors at the moment. Antoine Griezmann had also saved his best for the Cup and scored three goals including a penalty in the final.
2 - Belgium's attractive style of play
One who has followed the entire World Cup would hardly be able to deny the fact that Belgium played one of the best team football amongst every participant.
Belgium fought their way back from two goals down and make it a 3-2 win over Japan in the Round of 16. The intensity of the match came to the fore in the last 10 seconds when Romelu Lukaku bluffed and let go of the ball to Nacer Chadli who netted in the winner for Belgium.
It was undoubtedly the best counter-attack of the tournament. The loss dashed Japan’s hope of being the only Asian team this year to make it the quarter-finals.
1 - Defending champions Germany bow out
After holding their own in the tournament, courtesy a last-minute Toni Kroos swirling goal from a corner against Sweden, Germany was finally knocked out by South Korea after suffering a 2-0 blow.
To make matters worse, they finished last in their group behind South Korea. With just a win and two losses to their name, Germany failed to make it to the Round of 16. They never looked composed in their attack and defense, and started off their run with a loss against Mexico, which pretty much summed up their entire campaign.
