Sir: the event that seemed to have captured the world’s attention for over a month finally came to an end at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The FIFA World Cup of 2018 lived up to its reputation and gave fans a final that won’t be forgotten any time soon. The two teams facing off against one another were Croatia and France, and while the latter have won the tournament once, in 1998, this was the first trip to the final for the former, whose highest placed finish before this was third place twenty years ago.
Before the tournament began, football had been outshone by political factors, with the Russian government’s various activities dominating the news cycle at the time. There were even calls for boycotting the tournament altogether, however, thankfully, saner heads prevailed and the competition proceeded as planned.
Within a few weeks, many were hailing the 2018 version as the best World Cup in recent history, as it brought with it some fabulous goals, incredible surprises and the introduction of the VAR or Video Assistant Referees. While the latter has been controversial at times, it was also instrumental in determining the outcome of quite a few games, and has generally been lauded by the football fraternity.
One great thing about this World Cup was the unbelievable amount of upsets that took place. Perennial favourites like Italy and the Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament altogether, while traditional powerhouses like Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain were kicked out, with the latter two even failing to make it past the group stages.
Emerging teams like Sweden and Iceland proved that a good work ethic, team chemistry and love for the game can do wonders in affecting team morale and, in turn, the final results. However, the great revelation of the competition was undeniably Croatia.
Led by the creative genius of their captain Luka Modric (Real Madrid) and supported by a great caste of players, including Ivan Rakitic (FC Barcelona), Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan) and Danijel Subasic (AS Monaco), Croatia were the better side during their final game against eventual champions France.
The score line of four goals to two did not justice to their brilliant game, and it was only through a mixture of good luck and lax defending that France managed to win the game so emphatically. However, it is important to remember that this is no way undermines the great achievement made by the young French team, who did not buckle under their tag of “favourites” and persevered to lift the famous gold trophy in the end.
In the end, as a fan of the game, it was a treat to watch this World Cup unfold. Only one game ended with no goals, with the final being the first ever to witness both, an own goal, and penalty decision taken on the basis of VAR. Teenage French sensation Kylian Mbappé became only the third teenager to appear in a World Cup final match, and the second, since Pele back in 1958, to score a goal in this vital game. It was also the first time since 1982 that a goal was scored from outside the penalty box, and French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man ever to have won a World Cup as a player and as a coach.
Now that it is over, the long wait till the next edition begins. Four years is a very long time, and there will be plenty of football to keep us fans busy till then. But nothing can really compare to the World Cup and I can’t wait for the next edition. Hopefully Qatar manages to surprise everyone as well.
MASHAL KHANZADA
Karachi
Published in Daily Times, July 17th 2018.