BEST GAME
Spain 3 Portugal 3
It came on only the second night of action, but Spain’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Portugal was undoubtedly the stand-out game from the group stage.
It had everything – dazzling goals, goalkeeping howlers, dramatic twists and turns, and a virtuoso display from Cristiano Ronaldo that culminated in a remarkable late equaliser direct from a free-kick. Fittingly, both teams remain in the competition.
BEST TEAM
Croatia
They have been the ‘nearly men’ of international football for a while now, but perhaps this will be the tournament when Croatia finally live up to their abundant potential.
It certainly looked that way as they topped Group D, with their dominant opening win over Nigeria paving the way for a sensational dismantling of Argentina.
With Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic pulling the strings, and Ivan Perisic forcing his way into the box, Croatia can claim to have the best midfield in the tournament. They’ll start as strong favourites against Denmark in the last 16.
BEST PLAYER
Cristiano Ronaldo
Is that too obvious? Probably. But while Lionel Messi only really flickered into life when Argentina were on the brink of elimination, Ronaldo was the heartbeat of the Portuguese team from the word go.
He was magnificent against Spain, and settled Portugal’s crucial second game against Morocco with a thumping early header.
Uruguay will provide a stern test in the last 16, but having been the pivotal player as a fairly-average Portugal side were crowned European champions two years ago, it would be a brave person to bet against Ronaldo doing the same thing again.
BEST GOAL
Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal vs Iran)
Nacho’s screamer in Spain’s draw with Portugal will live long in the memory, and Lionel Messi’s touch to set up his goal against Nigeria oozed class.
But Ricardo Quaresma’s outside-of-the-foot curler against Iran just gets the nod. Just as Portugal were starting to struggle, Quaresma produced a moment of magic to fire his side into the last 16. Seen from behind the goal, the bend on Quaresma’s strike was quite incredible.
MOST UNFORTUNATE LOSERS
Peru
A few teams fall into this category. Both Iran and Morocco looked pretty good in Group B, while Nigeria went out despite dismantling Iceland in their second game. South Korea beat Germany, but still went out of the competition.
Peru were probably the most unfortunate team in Russia though. They outplayed Denmark in their opening game, but couldn’t take their chances, then pushed France all the way as they suffered another 1-0 defeat. By the time they beat Australia in their final game, it was too little, too late.
Their supporters can also claim to be the best fans in Russia. More than 25,000 Peruvians have travelled for the tournament, and they haven’t half made a racket.
AN UNHERALDED GROUP STAGE XI
By the end of the World Cup, the ‘Team of the Tournament’ will be made up of the usual suspects who have sparkled in the final stages. So here’s an alternative ‘Best XI’ made up of less celebrated players who have impressed in the group games.
Cho Hyun-woo (South Korea); Kieran Trippier (England), Domagoj Vida (Croatia), Jalal Hosseini (Iran), Martin Caceres (Uruguay); Oghenekaro Etebo (Nigeria), Jordan Henderson (England), Hirving Lozano (Mexico); Nordin Amrabat (Morocco), Artem Dzyuba (Russia), Denis Cheryshev (Russia).
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (TEAM)
Germany
Who else could it be? The reigning champions were wretched from the word go, with only a late flurry against Sweden saving them from a complete meltdown.
Having relied too heavily on the players that helped lift the trophy four years ago, Joachim Low found himself saddled with a team that was slow, laboured and completely devoid of creativity. His decision not to select Leroy Sane looked strange at the time – it appears positively nonsensical now.
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT (PLAYER)
Timo Werner
It’s probably a bit cruel to turn to Germany in this section too, but it’s hard to overemphasise just how bad they have been.
Lionel Messi was heading for this award before he produced a mesmeric piece of control against Nigeria, so Timo Werner just pips Mesut Ozil from the German ranks. The striker was brilliant in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig last season, but looked like he had barely kicked a ball as he stumbled through Germany’s group games.
THE ‘HAVE THEY BEEN HERE’ AWARD
France
Be honest, can you remember anything France have done at the World Cup so far? They’ve been the invisible team, yet they topped Group C with seven points and will take on Argentina in the last 16 on Saturday afternoon.
A thoroughly forgettable opening-game win over Australia was followed by an equally nondescript win over Peru, before France contributed to the worst game so far by a distance as they played out a dreadful goalless draw with Denmark.
At some stage, France will have to spark into life. But it hasn’t happened yet.
BIGGEST TALKING POINT
VAR
Love it or hate it, this has been the tournament where VAR has dominated discussions on a daily basis. A host of decisions have been influenced by the video referees, with the on-field official regularly trotting over to the touchline to watch replays on a television screen.
The system hasn’t been perfect – goodness only knows how Iran got a penalty against Portugal – but it has overturned a few howlers, most notably when South Korea’s opening goal was awarded against Germany.
Personally, I think VAR has been a good thing, although I worry that referees feel compelled to give a penalty whenever they are called to the screen. Standing by their original decision is a sign of strength rather than weakness.
BEST PUNDIT
Gary Neville
Roy Keane has been his usual acerbic self, while Frank Lampard has provided some interesting insight about playing at a World Cup finals. Eni Aluko stood out for the depth of her research – an observation that highlights just how shoddy a job some of her contemporaries continue to do – and Alan Shearer has provided some forthright views, even if he can’t seem to make his mind up about VAR.
ITV’s decision to poach Gary Neville from Sky for the duration of the tournament has proved a masterstroke though. The former Manchester United defender continues to set the standard by which all other pundits should be judged.
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