The national team beat Saudi Arabia.
Bright football holiday
“Everyone to Nikolskaya!” On June 14, 2018, the FIFA World Cup opened in Moscow. There were fans in kokoshniks with sausages, then “God’s leg” is a phrase that does not require explanation. Even the “mustache of hope” worked. Neymar made it to relegation. The Japanese were happy because they cleaned up in the changing rooms. I remember the cartoon “Javier” that friends used to bring to games because his wife wouldn’t let the real one into the tournament. It was a holiday, guests came from all over the world. The hospitality was not only enjoyed by the French team. Although the distances were tiring, in many cities the locals saw the great football. If not in stadiums, then in fan zones. And when Kroos scored against the Swedes in Sochi, and when they staged rehearsals for a crazy final in Qatar – 4:3 on penalties, the Russians were in the stands.
Performance of the national team
To be honest, I have a weak group. Egypt have not reached their peak form and Saudi Arabia five years ago were much weaker than in the recent championship. The first match started nervously. It’s good that Gazinsky quickly opened the scoring with goals. Better yet, Dziuba and Cheryshev came to replace. Denis has a double, and Artyom has entrenched himself at the base after Smolov’s failure. Salah did not interfere with winning a second victory, and the loss to Uruguay did not remove him from the playoffs. Spain’s move finally made Akinfeev a hero thanks to a penalty shoot-out and all the important players in the base. The second time the trick didn’t work, but Fernandez forced the Croatians to take a penalty. Cherchesov was left without a semifinal and medals, but it was his finest hour.
Surprises and sensations
Even if the local public would have had enough of the victories of the Russian team and the holiday itself, the tournament also had purely football merits. The Stars didn’t make the playoffs. Salah finished bottom of the group with Dziuba. Serbs with a decent team lost to the Swiss. The main sensation of the group stage is last-placed Germany, despite Kroos’ goal against the Swedes. South Korea proved decisive against Neuer, although Ochoa and Granqvist dropped out of the group. The Senegalese and the Poles lost to the Colombians and the Japanese. And the most interesting started in the playoffs. Portugal flew out of Uruguay and Russia flew through Spain. The Croatians beat the Danes, the hosts and then the English. An unexpected finalist against a worthy favorite as France beat Argentina and Belgium.
Marked finish
The Qatar final is one of the greatest matches in football history. But it has not yet been played in 2018. Against the backdrop of penalty shootouts and minimal victories in extra time, the six-goal match stood out favorably. Croatia failed to draw France the way they later drew their rivals in Qatar, but the main match of the tournament turned out to be brilliant. Too bad Mandzukic’s own goal was seen so quickly. If Perisic’s shot is the first effective one, then the favorite could get even more nervous. Deschamps had a rational squad, but the Croatians forced them to play productively, like against Argentina. Griezmann, Pogba and Mbappe will always remember that evening, as will the 78,011 spectators of Luzhniki.
Luxury superstar game
Hazard did not succeed in Real Madrid, but in the Belgian national team world Cup-2018 was good. Trippier has done a great job for England. He wasn’t the worst in the tournament than Messi. European champion Ronaldo scored four goals while Lukaku finished second in the Golden Boot standings behind Kane with six goals. Harry was eliminated by the Croatians, England did not beat the Belgians in the match for third place. The Red Devils had many stars. Courtois performed superbly against Brazil and De Bruyne was able to show off. Selesao looked good. Marcelo, Coutinho, Casemiro and Thiago Silva had good fights. Varan and Godin were celebrated. The main young player was Mbappe, who five years later is not such an unequivocal favorite of the public as on world Cup-2018. France won the main medals, but others were also praised. For example, Mandzhukich, Rakitic, Perisic and Rebic. The Golden Ball of the tournament went to Modric, the silver to Hazard and the bronze to Griezmann. Although these are not all heroes. Kante and Giroud have been important to the French team. Courtois collected the Yashin award and the best goal award went to Pavard for a magnificent goal against Argentina.
Dug out the one-sided kick
ON world Cup-2018 did not have any tactical revolutions. This is not the most productive tournament in history, although the trend for a large number of goals scored has been supported. They scored almost as much as in the cup in Brazil. But most importantly, cowardice was hidden behind the rationality of many teams, which has been eradicated over the past five years. High pressure will come into fashion a little later, but ahead world Cup-18 began the transition from the “bus” to a new tactic. In Qatar, only Costa Rica had the ball 30% of the time, but there they forced the composition of the group – the Germans and the Spaniards. In Russia, these two teams had insane ball possession without success. Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, England and even Denmark have figured out how not to play, so if the Croats’ successes are not repeated, then they will not fly away earlier than expected. Deschamps and Dalic didn’t rewrite the rules of football, but observing them gave the club’s mentors the right idea. In Qatar the performance didn’t drop, rationality was preserved, because there were enough penalties and minimal victories, but the emotions came, there was no rigidity that was felt in South Africa before moving to Brazil.
The world championship five years ago, many Russians will remember for a lifetime. We got a deserved champion in front of France, a great sensation from the Croatians. The Italians watched the cup on TV, got angry after glossing over the tournament, which helped them three years later at the Euro. Football doesn’t stop, it’s important to keep up with this train of sporting life. Remember your summer of 2018, because in this case we are talking about personal stories.
