Congratulations to England, but that second game was a stunner, goodness gracious me. As a neutral, it’s difficult to remember anything from the early match after what we’ve just witnessed in Sochi. That was everything: crackling, attacking, heart-palpitating goodness. I can’t even think straight. Russia’s out, but Russia really won me over with that one.
Russia’s unlikely run is finally over. The worst team in the 2018 World Cup was finally eliminated with a shootout loss for Russia vs Croatia in the quarterfinals on Saturday. After a 2-2 draw, Croatia edged the host country 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout.
In the early ’90s, pre-Wengerian Arsenal earned a reputation for playing a brand of football that was effective but far from entertaining, resulting in chants of “Boring, Boring Arsenal.” It was a refrain that easily could have been repeated throughout the Three Lions’ campaign in Russia, including at the England vs Sweden match on Saturday in Samara, Russia.
And so down goes Neymar. According to 2017 Ballon d’Or voting, Croatia’s Luka Modric is now the main draw of this event, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Will we see a first-time World Cup winner in 2018? The odds are now looking decidedly better.
Yerry Mina was a revelation during the 2018 World Cup. The 23-year-old center back scored three goals in as many matches, and Colombia conceded just once with him on the pitch. Mina's stoppage time header against England was a dramatic final act in his World Cup debut.
Neymar and his diving antics are going home. Belgium is through to the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Friday, ensuring the 2018 World Cup champion will be European. And the Brazil vs Belgium highlights will show just how much the Red Devils deserved to advance at the expense of the Seleção.
Neymar, perhaps the highest profile player in danger of missing the semifinals via yellow card suspension, was extremely fortunate to escape punishment for taking a dive in the box during Brazil’s quarterfinal against Belgium.
The forward’s hysterics have been a massive talking point from Russia, and he was given a booking during Brazil’s win over Costa Rica, putting him at risk of missing a potential trip to the semis if he were booked again.
Historians call the Swinging Sixties the decade that shook Britain. England and its commonwealth had only just begun a greater recovery period after a post-WWII world, the nation’s youth was a rejuvenated generation of a high-spirited character and British rock was redefining music in a way never before seen in history.
All the conditions were met for a recently Blitzkrieged nation to thrive once again — and the very same stars were aligned in the world of the beautiful game.
Antoine Griezmann is one of the most charismatic players at the 2018 World Cup. The France forward generally delights fans with his Fortnite-inspired celebrations after goals. But the Fernando Muslera howler that gifted Griezmann his third goal of the tournament was so bad the goal scorer didn’t even celebrate as his team took a 2-0 lead on the way to a victory by the same score line against Uruguay.