In the age of sophisticated computer models and immense libraries of statistical data, a variety of big banking firms and statistical aggregation companies tried their hand at predicting the winner for this year’s World Cup. Goldman Sachs, UBS, ING, Macquarie Bank and FiveThirtyEight, all known for their statistical prowess, crunched some numbers and spat out a champion.
If you thought Team Cavani vs. Team Neymar was one helluva little squabble, just wait until you see Juventus players standing over a free kick this season!
Every time the FIFA World Cup graces us with its presence we witness a barrage of commercials. Some of these commercials aim to lower that sad number in our bank accounts to Neymar’s level of professional integrity and some aim to elevate our spirit higher than the Brazilian flop machine’s level of acting. Here at The18, we’ve compiled a list of the best World Cup commercials 2018 has given to us and ranked them from worst to best.
How fast is Kylian Mbappe? That was the question preying on everyone’s mind after the 19-year-old French phenom tore away from three Argentina players before threatening to do the same to Marcos Rojo, causing the defender to take him down in the box for an early penalty to France. Mbappe is frighteningly quick. He eats distances in the blink of an eye with his flowing stride, and he’s as capable of tearing off on a thundering run in the 90th minute as he is in the first. He’s non-stop.
The story of why is Seven Nation Army a soccer chant began, as most great stories do: in a bar, before a soccer match. But what makes Seven Nation Army such a unique force in soccer culture is not its small-time origin story or even its catchy riff — it’s the ability for people around the world, regardless of language or background, to meld as one in a unique chorus.
Now that the group stage is over, everyone’s focus is beginning to shift toward the action of the Round of 16. But before that begins, let’s take a look at who performed the best for their countries in the group stages. Some put their nation on their backs, and others played key roles for their country without getting on the scoresheet or getting all the plaudits. Without further ado, here’s the group stage World Cup dream team of the 2018 World Cup! As always, a simple 4-4-2 formation is how we are going to form this team.
Jose Mourinho is world-renowned for his managerial prowess, but before the World Cup started, he had a go at predicting which teams would make it out of the group stages.
Truth be told, he threw up a number of surprises. But can we expect anything less than that from the Special One? First, let’s revisit his predictions in this video.
GROUP A: Uruguay (1st), Russia (2nd)
This World Cup featured the craziest group stage I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if it was the VAR, something in the Russian water or if Putin's cronies were up to something, but the 2018 edition of the world’s greatest sporting event will forever live on as one of the best.
The morning games on Wednesday at the World Cup provided all the excitement one could ask for as the defending champs crashed out with Cho Hyun-Woo stopping everything that came his way while winning over the hearts of Mexico as he helped them secure a spot in the knockout stage despite a rough outing versus Sweden.
When it comes to England and major tournaments, it's easy for headlines to go a lot of pressure-filled, negative places. The Three Lions have not won a World Cup since ’66. Golden generations in the early 2000s failed to perform. More recently, they suffered embarrassment in the Euros two years ago, crashing out of the tournament after a loss to minnows Iceland.