FIFA Men's World Cup

We all love new technology and want to know when flying cars and robot servants will arrive like in the Jetsons. But it’s easy to overlook the incremental changes in technology happening right in front of us, right now. The recent Budweiser World Cup campaign gave soccer fans a glimpse into a future where the packaging of everyday objects — beer in this case — could revolutionize how we interact with brands, the world around us and each other.

The World Cup TV ratings are in for the entire tournament, including the incredible World Cup final on Sunday — and they don’t look good for Fox.

The World Cup final in which France beat Croatia 4-2 averaged 17.2 million viewers across FOX and Telemundo, including streaming numbers — a massive drop from the 26.5 million (TV alone) who watched Germany beat Argentina four years prior.

Heimir Hallgrímsson has announced he will be leaving his position as Iceland manager after seven historic years. Hallgrímsson, a trained dentist, helped the national team achieve goals that were perhaps at one point just fantasies for such a tiny nation. 

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Anytime there’s a new champion on the block, people like to spout off about how the team won and who could follow in its footsteps. After France’s 2018 World Cup championship, it’s nearly impossible to predict who could replicate France’s success as the 2022 World Cup champion, but we'll try anyway. 

The Guillermo Ochoa Silver Glove award is a deserved recognition to one the most underrated goalkeepers in the planet.

The former Club América star made 25 saves in four World Cup matches, averaging 6.25 per game, more than any other goalkeeper in Russia.

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Croatia President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is now one of the most famous people on the planet because she likes football, hugging people and is able to gleefully stand under heavy rain. Naturally, Grabar-Kitarović is also a prominent and capable politician, but it was her warmth and personal charisma that made her an instant global celebrity at the 2018 World Cup Final.

Pussy Riot, the notorious Russian punk rock activist group, staged a show of defiance during the World Cup final between France and Croatia on Sunday. Four of the group’s members, one man and three women disguised in police uniform, ran onto the pitch during the 52nd minute of the second half before being chased and dragged out by security.  

Croatia players and manager Zlatko Dalic were gracious in defeat yesterday, admitting that France deserved the victory following second half goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe. However, the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic still left traces of disgust and defiance in their words when discussing the final’s turning points, particularly the VAR-assisted handball call against Ivan Perisic that sent Antoine Griezmann to the spot in the 38th minute. 

That was a really ridiculous World Cup final. After getting extra time and a total of four goals at the last three World Cup finals, the 2018 event was a bit of magic theater. (“Not for everybody.”)