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Tournament Player
Emmet Malone – Golo Kante and Luka Modric must be among the contenders but for me that is Kylian Mbappé. The 19-year-old took a little time to make his presence known but there were clues as to what he could do against Peru and then moments of magic against Argentina and Belgium. It was a pleasure to see him in action.
Ken Early – 1 Luka Modric, 2 Kylian Mbappe, 3 Kevin Bruyne
Keith Duggan – Luka Modric. The nervous ascension of Croatia will give hope to smaller countries, but that would not have been possible without the cunning and influence of the 32-year-old man. Ridiculously light and often surrounded by physically imposing opponents in midfield, Modric recovered from the missed penalty against Denmark to score in the shootout and was the key influencer of Croatia's historic race . Harry Kane's three MOTM awards were for Tunisia, Panama and Colombia. The three of Modric were for Nigeria, Argentina and Russia.
Best match?
EM – Probably the first that I saw between Spain and Portugal. It was a way to start a World Cup and although everyone knew that it had potential, it was a great contest with great goals, an outstanding individual performance by Ronaldo and enough of the best of the world. 39, Spain to suggest that they could go far in the tournament which, of course, they did not do. Honorable mentions go to Brazil against Belgium and France against Argentina
KE – Argentina 2-1 Nigeria. Objectively it was not a great match, but with a brilliant Messi goal helping Argentina to switch in the next round covered in blood and tears, with Maradona in hysterics in the stands, c & 39; was the football of the World Cup at its best. 19659003] KD – The opening meeting Friday night of Spain and Portugal (3-3) set the tone for the tournament; Switzerland-Serbia (2-1) was fascinating; France-Argentina (4-3) had everything for the adrenaline and novelty value, Japan-Belgium (3-2) and the 94th-minute winner by Nacer Chadli gets the vote.
Best Goal?
EM – Belgium is in the last moments against Japan. Their speed of pbadage and movement was great with De Bruyne picking up the Courtois ball and then taking off. Most teams would have sabotaged him but he ran 50 yards then played a perfect ball for Vertonghen. Lukaku crosses the low cross and Nacer Chadli dismounts. Remarkable
KE – Messi c Nigeria. Because of the whole movement – Banega's pbad, the perfect first contact, the perfect second touch, the perfect finish – and all the background of the tortured psychodrama of Argentina. De Bruyne v Brazil, Chadli v Japan, Cavani (1) v Portugal, and Kroos v Sweden were also big goals.
KD – 2018 Russia was an extended nightmare for Argentina and Lionel Messi but he offered a glimpse of the celestial with his goal against Nigeria. The moment of the race; the two-button control against his thigh and his boot and the inevitable cleanliness of the finish. This was the only opportunity he had to free himself and he was enjoying it.
The biggest surprise?
EM – The Germans are coming out, I suppose. It became clear that there were some problems in the camp but, given the talent and other teams in this group, they clearly had to go further than them. In fact, seeing them lose to South Korea was, in its own way, another highlight of the tournament for me
KE – Croatia coming to the final.
KD – We quickly forgot how Russia arrived in the semi-finals, where she would not have been intimidated by England. For a team ranked 70th and even rejected by his own supporters, his performances were outstanding and helped to generate local enthusiasm for the tournament.
The biggest disappointment?
EM – Germany, Spain, Brazil, including Neymar all seemed to be letting down one way or the other. I've only seen the Brazilians in the flesh once, against Belgium, and it was actually a cracking game. I was not terribly sorry to see the team go out but the fans were missed. The South Americans were great. The Europeans seemed much more reluctant to come to Russia and the tournament was suffering
KE – Trying to tell Spain, but in a way it was more disappointing than Edinson Cavani injured just after scoring his second against Portugal. Losing it ruined Uruguay's chances against France and was a terrible chance for a small country.
KD – Germany. There was something disconcerting about seeing the dysfunction of World Cup Reliables so dramatically. Maybe cruising through qualifying can be a curse. A first elimination of group stages since 1938; a 1-0 defeat against Mexico; 2-0 in South Korea; they were reduced to a mess by their last minutes. Their implosion has not yet been sufficiently explained.
Tournament team?
EM – (4-2-3-1) Courtois (Belgium); Vrsaljko (Croatia), Varane (France), Godin (Uruguay), Vertonghen (Belgium); Kante (France), Pogba (France); De Bruyne (Belgium), Modric (Croatia), Hazard (Belgium); Mbappé (France).
KE – (4-1-2-3) Courtois (Belgium); Trippier (England), Mina (Colombia), Varane (France), Marcelo (Brazil); Kante (France); De Bruyne (Belgium), Modric (Croatia); Mbappé (France), Mandzukic (Croatia), Hazard (Belgium).
KD – (4-3-3) Courtois (Belgium); Trippier (England), Godin (Uruguay), Varane (France), Hernandez (France); Pogba (France), Modric (Croatia), De Bruyne (Belgium); Griezmann (France), Mbappé (France), Hazard (Belgium)
Did the VAR work?
EM – I thought it worked generally well, to be honest. There were problems, and I did not agree with the penalty decision that he had usually made in the final, which would have more impact on my thinking if I did not think that France would have won anyway. But, the intention is one of those questions that is not entirely black and even though, I think that overall, she has corrected more bad decisions than it is. ; reverse. There are clearly still problems, and there are clearly still mistakes, but it was a start that was worth doing and its implementation will improve with time.
KE – Yes. It did not waste much time and was much less controversial than some of the mistakes that it would have corrected if they had not been corrected. Without VAR, South Korea's first goal against Germany would have been judged offside, and with so much play time, Germany could have scored and finished at the top of the group instead of ## 147 ## 39, be eliminated in the last place. But, as shown by the penalty decision in the final, the referees will always make mistakes even if they benefit from replays
KD – This was not perfect and for the first week, he threatened to overshadow the tournament – VAR was virtually the man of the match for Portugal-Iran. The cases in which it was applied seemed random at times. He clarified the key moments in the play pbadages when it was used and it will take a long time to settle in a game where the discretion of the referee is woven into the game.
Favorite memory of Russia?
EM – Sunburn and vodka watching a match with people from other countries that I had just met during a day of rest in Sochi. For a little while, I've had a reminder of how fans live these things.
KE – Too many things to mention.
KD – Leaving the Lenin Mausoleum after queuing In the morning, only two hours, to hear a Scotsman, member of a friendly and deeply hangover group that had just landed in Moscow, exclaimed, astonished: "It was not Stalin."
The favorite memory of Russia? ] EM – Sharing a hotel room with 50 mosquitoes in St. Petersburg
KE – woke up several mornings at 4am by what appeared to be the midday sun blazing through the window. Russians should either adjust their time zones or put on curtains.
KD – Do not have a bad memory of the place. But it would be interesting to return to the same cities in normal times to see how the atmosphere compares to the few weeks of the World Cup.
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