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The curtains have been drawn on what has been an outstanding tournament. This year's World Cup served a buffet with the right proportions of upsets, beautiful goals, controversies and mouth-watering fixtures.
The final was a perfect summary of happenings in the 21st edition of the World Cup in Russia. We had goals - a lot of it, own goals, VAR controversies and a goalkeeping blunder. France were crowned world champions for the second time in their history. In the heat of the moment, most fans who were fixated and so deeply rooted in the matches might have missed the lighter side of the World Cup.
Here are five things that you might have missed during the 2018 World Cup.
#5 Argentinian TV sports channel held a minute's silence for Argentina's national team
Sampaoli and his Argentinian troops were optimistic heading into this year's World Cup and with an attacking weaponry consisting of Dybala, Higuain, Aguero, Di Maria and Messi, one would have expected them to go all the way.
After an underwhelming performance in their first match against Iceland, the whole of Argentina was left in a state of shock after their unexpected 3-0 loss to Croatia in their second match. The Argentinian team looked extremely pale on the night. A defeat that left La Albiceleste's chances of qualifying to the next round hanging in the balance.
The result against the Croats sent shock waves through Argentina as TYC Sports channel held a minute's silence for the national team. A presenter alongside 5 other pundits in the studios of TYC sports spent a minute in silence deliberating on live TV.
#4 Russia players sniffing ammonia
The Russians played with so much energy in this World Cup. They were accused of doping before matches. However, Eduard Bezuglov, the doctor of the Russian national team, asserted that the players only inhaled ammonia ahead of their round of 16 clash against Spain.
The Sbornaya again inhaled ammonia before their quarter-final tie against Croatia to help improve player performance, by improving the flow of oxygen in the blood. Eduard Bezuglov denied any allegations of ammonia being illegal by saying:
"It is not only used in sport but in people’s daily lives when someone loses consciousness or feels weak, simply because of the strong smell it gives off.You can go to any pharmacy and buy ammonia and cotton; this is not a case of doping."
These accusations were fueled by statistics released by FIFA which saw 5 Russian players in top 5 players who covered the most distance in the World Cup. This statistic was released after Russia's harsh exit from what was a good World Cup for them.
#3 Japanese players, the epitome of humility
The Japanese team came so close to reaching their first ever quarter-final in the World Cup. However, they blew a two-goal lead against the Red Devils and lost 3-2 on the night courtesy a last-minute strike by Chadli. Despite the heartbreak that came with their elimination from the 2018 World Cup, the players cleaned the dressing room to show their gratitude. The Blue Samurais left a note saying "спасибо" which means thank you in Russian.
The Japanese team and their fans were in sync as the latter also cleaned the stadium before they left. Try putting yourself in the shoes of these fans; after losing out with the last kick of the game how many of us would forego our sadness to clean a stadium?
#2 Michy Batshuayi cannot be Batman with this move
Usually, players love to smash the ball into the back of the net after their teammate scores. After Januzaj scored a belter against England, the ball fell to Batshuayi's feet and he tried to smash the ball into the back of the net. Unfortunately, Batshuayi's effort rebounded off the post onto his face. Fortunately for him, he did not sustain any injuries. He saw the lighter side of it and tweeted after the match, "Why am I so stupid bro" - along with a chain of emojis.
#1 Mexico earthquake after upsetting Germany
If you believed Mexico's victory against defending champions Germany in the just ended World Cup shook the world, then you were literally right! According to a "seismic monitoring network" controlled by the area's Institute of Geological and Atmospheric Research, when Lozano's strike hit the back of the net, about two sensors in Mexico City detected an earthquake.
However, it wasn't just any usual earthquake, and it wasn't coincidental. At least that's what SIMMSA stated on its Twitter handle, proposing that the earthquake was "artificially" created by "massive jumps" in Mexico City after Hirving Lozano's decisive goal went past Manuel Neuer.
