The World Cup Group Stages Review: The Winners, the Losers, the Sublime and the Ridiculous.
Welcome to the 2018 World Cup Review, a tournament that has been full of goals, controversy and irritating advertising. The hosts, Russia, have provided some truly outstanding stadiums, stunning scenery and it appears that fans who have traveled from across the globe have enjoyed themselves. So far, the country’s much maligned reputation for violence and racism have been kept at bay.
Fair to say that on the hosting front things have run smoothly and let’s hope they continue to do so. On the football front the opposite has been true. VAR has opened a can of worms not seen since the 1950 World Cup that held two group stages and no knock out matches. Confusion reigns with more penalties awarded so far than the entire tournament in Brazil four years ago.
When the draw for the Group Stages was released many believed that it would be a by the numbers first round. Very few groups looked tricky and all the favorites were expected to qualify with ease. Needless to say, the shocks have come thick and fast and the fans have been treated to some scintillating football and high stakes drama. So without any further ado, let’s get into it!
The Winners
Japan:
The weakest side to have progressed from the groups and by some margin. Most would say the entertaining and swashbuckling Senegal side deserve to take the Asian island’s place in the knockout phase but due to the new rule taking into account Fair Play, Sadio Mane’s side have been sent home with their higher yellow card count.
Japan looked to be playing a training match with the knowledge that both Columbia and Senegal would finish behind them on Fair Play regardless of their result. I understand the need for another route to separate teams on equal points but this is not it.
England:
Bear with me on this one, I know the Three Lions lost their final game to Belgium but the result has put them in the much easier side of the draw with traditional powerhouses Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal all only playable should they reach the final. The young English side will fancy their chances of making it through to the semis where potentially a clash Spain awaits.
Argentina:
In all my years, I have never seen an Argentina side torn apart the way Luka Modric and co swatted them aside in their 3-0 trounce. A brittle defense and labored midfield mean that despite having one of the most formidable front lines in the tournament, the Argentines were vulnerable from the get go. Iceland made them look ordinary and Nigeria will consider themselves very unlucky not to have, at the very least, gotten a point from their encounter. The fact that Messi still has a chance to put his international demons to bed makes them a Winner.
Russia:
The hosts started the tournaments as rank outsiders. I believed that they would join South Africa as the only hosts to have ever not qualified for the group stages. However, a weak group and two strong performances against Egypt and Saudi Arabia saw them comfortably qualify for the knockout rounds although their final match against Uraguay exposed their flaws. Denis Cheryshev will need to continue scoring if they are to progress against Spain.
The Losers:
Africa:
Not a single team from Africa progressed from the group stages for the first time since Spain 1982. Senegal were robbed but they cannot profess to not knowing how the tournament works and regardless of their style and excitement were dumped out on yellow cards. Nigeria will also feel aggrieved with Rojo’s 80th minute stunner condemning them to third in the group after a very promising few games. Egypt were poor, stripped of their captain Mo Salah they were never in any real shape to pose a threat.
Morocco played with heart in a tough group and earned a famous draw with Spain, which should have been a victory only to be denied by Iago Aspas’s flick in stoppage time. Tunisia played bravely but in vain against England and Belgium whose superior quality told in the end. A win against Panama in the final game offering solace to an otherwise average campaign.
Portugal:
Despite having comfortably qualified for the next round, Cristiano Ronaldo’s side face a mountain to climb if they are to repeat the success of the Euro’s. Uruguay await and they will undoubtedly be eyeing up Portugal’s aging defense. Should they proceed to the quarters a potential rematch against defeated Euro finalists France could produce the grudge match of the tournament. Only the most ardent of fan would bet on the Portuguese to progress any further.
Speechless 😶 Germany are out of the #WorldCup. #DieMannschaft #ZSMMN #KORGER 2-0 pic.twitter.com/FhN2QtNZmp
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 27, 2018
Germany:
Who else? The former champions seemed to define the term “Loser” in Russia. Not a single football fan could believe their eyes as Mexico ran riot against a hapless German side. Sure, the final score was only 1-0 but anyone watching the game will tell you it should have been at least 3-0. Following that loss, Joachim Low rang the changes but to no avail. A disciplined Swedish performance warranted a draw only for the brilliance of a Toni Kroos free kick to deny them. A glimmer of hope maybe for the World Champions? No. Not even a little bit as a stubborn South Korea side with nothing to play for delivered the hammer blow with two goals in stoppage time to send the Germans home bottom of the group. A curse has arisen on the holders as each of the last three winners have fallen at the group stage.
The Sublime:
Luka Modric:
One of the best midfielders in the world right now and my, how he proved it against Argentina. Quick feet and an even quicker brain saw him and normally bitter rival Ivan Rakitic run the game as they showed the world that the Croatians are a force to be reckoned with. Capped off the performance with a pearler, curling home from 25 yards out.
Cristiano Ronaldo:
The last goal of his hattrick, a sumptuous free kick from well outside the area will live long in the memory not just because of how good it was but because of who it was against and how it changed the result. Portugal had, up until that point, benefitted from a dodgy VAR call and a nasty deflection to keep them in the game but this was sheer brilliance. I won’t mention the fact that Ronaldo has previously taken forty free kicks for his country without actually scoring, oops.
Philippe Coutinho:
Who needs Neymar when you’ve got this lad on form? A strong end of the season with Barcelona has put the Brazilian on a hot streak that has carried straight into the World Cup. A magnificent strike to open the scoring against Switzerland was then added to against Costa Rica to put his side on their way to next round.
The Ridiculous:
VAR:
When one looks at Video technology being used in various sports around the world one thing stands out notably compared to it’s use in football. It is only used to make clear decisions. A line call in tennis, a forward pass in rugby, an edge in cricket. All of these calls are governed by clear and concise laws whereas in the game of football too much is still left open to interpretation.
Pique’s two footed challenge against Iran was a horrible tackle but was ignored. Ronaldo throwing his elbow in someone’s face was for some unknown reason given as just a yellow card when reds have been handed out for far less. Perhaps the technology should be used for offsides and nothing else, at least with that nothing can be left to chance and the game can flow.
Michy Batshuayi:
Rarely does one see a celebration go so horribly and comically wrong. The Belgian decided to celebrate his side’s goal by hoofing the ball into the roof of the net only for it to ricochet of the post and smack him square in the face. At least the Chelsea man had the good grace to take the mickey out of himself too.
Que Deus nos abençoe e nos proteja 🙏🏽⚽️🇧🇷
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📷Ricardo Nogueira pic.twitter.com/yeWHobF7Z4— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) June 22, 2018
Neymar’s hair:
Just no. When the great Eric Cantona decides to take time out of his day to take the piss out of you then it’s time to head back to the barber. Or the noodle factory.
The Cheating:
The great Bobby Moore must be turning in his grave. What must Franz Beckenbauer, who famously played with a dislocated shoulder in the 1970 semi final, must be thinking when he watches these overpaid, molly coddled, cheats writhe around on the floor clutching the wrong leg after someone briefly touched them on the shoulder during a tackle. Paul Ince played on in 1997 when his own blood had dyed his white kit red. How then, in just twenty years have we come to this? The great pity is that FIFA are too busy trying to rid themselves of money launderers and frauds to try and tackle the problem. Excuse the pun.