FIFA World Cup 2018: Messi, Ronaldo Germans flop; French menu served hot!

FIFA World Cup 2018 kicked off to a glamorous start with an opening ceremony highlighted by Robbie Williams performance setting the tone for a highoctane World Cup in Russia Read on as we highlight the best and worst from the tournamentHosts kick off FIFA WC 18 in grand fashionRanked 70th in June 2018rsquos FIFA world rankings not much was expected from the host team Russia heading into the tournament But they surprised one and all by kickstarting the tournament with an absolute rout as they hammered Saudi Arabia 50 in the openerDenis Cheryshev celebrates his goalThe previous highest win by a home team at the FIFA World Cup opener was 3ndash0 by Sweden against Mexico in the 1958 World Cup These were early signs that Russia were not in the tournament just to fill up the numbers they had bigger ambitionsGerman engineering goes wrong in the Group StageAfter the opening day goalfest the first round of group matches resumed and who else to highlight the round but Cristiano Ronaldo The current Balon drsquoOr holder was at his absolute best by scoring a hattrick and singlehandedly stealing a point for Portugal against Spain There were also a few major upsets as Lionel Messirsquos Argentina were held to a draw by Iceland Switzerland managed a point against Neymarrsquos Brazil Colombia lost to Japan as well but the biggest jolt was defending champions Germanyrsquos shock 01 defeat to MexicoHeading into Matchday 2 of the group stage Cristiano Ronaldo was again on the mark for Portugal as they bagged three vital points against Morocco while Argentina suffered another setback with a 03 loss against Croatia Both Brazil and Belgium picked up wins while England displayed flair and attacking prowess to hand Panama a 61 drubbingNow it was all down to the final Matchday of the group stage with fates of a few hanging in the balance Group A saw Uruguay and Russia comfortably go through whereas Spain and Portugal waded off Iranrsquos challenge in Group B to scrape through to the Round of 16 France and Denmark qualified from Group C and Marcos Rojorsquos lastgasp winner over Nigeria saw Argentina sneak through behind Croatia in Group DBrazil and Switzerland finished on top in Group E but the biggest shock of the group stage came in Group F where Germany became the third defending champions in a row after Italy and Spain in the previous two editions to crash out in the group stage of the World CupA disappointed German team after exiting the 2018 World Cup against South KoreaPutting an end to the group stage Belgium and England eased through in Group G and while Colombia qualified on top in Group H there was a deadlock of points goals and goal difference for the second spot between Japan and Senegal However Japan went through by accumulating fewer yellow cards in their three matchesGoliaths fall to Davids Round of 16It was over to the knockouts now and already some big teams were pitted against each other in the Round of 16 First up two favorites for the trophy France and Argentina squared off with Lionel Messirsquos quest for World Cup glory still alive But the attacking force of France led by a 19year old Kylian Mbappe smashed four into the Argentine net Lionel Messi tried his best but could not keep Argentinarsquos hopes and his hope for the ultimate triumph aliveOn the same night Ronaldorsquos Portugal took on Uruguay for a place in the quarterfinal All eyes were on Cristiano Ronaldo but Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani stole the limelight by driving his team to a 21 win over Portugal in the Round of 16Thus ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messirsquos World Cup dream on the first night of the knockoutsNeymar starred for Brazil with a goal and an assist against Mexico to sail into the quarterfinal while Belgium pulled off an epic escape with three goals in the last 20 minutes to break Japanese hearts in the Round of 16Russia carried out an upset against Spain in penalty shootouts to continue a dream run at their home World Cup Croatiarsquos goalkeeper Danijel Subasic turned hero for the night to pull his team through to the top 8Summing up the Round of 16 Sweden edged past Switzerland 10 to move into the quarterfinal and England for the first time won a penalty shootout in a World Cup to down Colombia and move into the next roundBattle of the big guns QuarterfinalsAs the battle for the throne was heating up a few big guns were going up against each other in the quarterfinals An Edinson Cavaniless Uruguay took on a highflying France for a topfour spot but it was evident from the beginning that Uruguay lacked the finishing touch of Edinson Cavani as they slumped to a 20 defeat to Les BleusNext up it was time for the biggest match of the World Cup with the two favourites Brazil and Belgium going headon against one another Belgium took a twogoal lead in the first half to setback Brazil but Brazil got back in the game with Renato Agustorsquos 76thminute goal Even after launching attack after attack in the final minutes Brazil failed to convert as they crashed out of the FIFA World Cup 2018Neymar goes down to the ground in pain after a tackleRussia and Croatia bothhad scraped through to the quarterfinals with penaltyshootout thrillers in the Round of 16 so it was anybodyrsquos game as the quarterfinal between Russia and Croatia went into penalties Croatiarsquos cool head Danijel Subasic once again came up trumps in goal to take the European underdogs into the top 4England became serious contenders for the trophy when they entered the semifinal after beating Sweden in the quarterfinals and back home English fansrsquo lsquoItrsquos coming homersquo chants grew louder and louderOne step closer the top 4 SemifinalsPerhaps the two most consistent teams of the tournament France and Belgium went headtohead in the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup 2018 In a tightly fought game where both defences had the upperhand it took a defender for France to break the deadlock as Samuel Umtiti leapt high and mighty above Fellaini to end Belgiumrsquos World Cup hopes France beat Belgium 10Harry Kane and Luka Modric vie for the ball during their clashEngland was favourites to make it through to the final as they took on a tired Croatia in the second semifinal Everything went according to plan for England as Kieran Trippier pulled off a David Beckham with a scorching freekick into the top corner to take the lead in the 5th minuteIvan Perisic hit back for Croatia with an equalizer and the inevitable happened for Luka Modricrsquos men when the match went into extra time Although penalty shootouts were not needed this time as Mario Mandzukic scored the winner and took off for wild celebrations in the 109th minuteClaim to the throne FinalAfter overthrowing 30 teams playing 63 matches and scoring goals by the dozen only two challengers remained in contention for the ultimate throne France and Croatia The world was watching and millions of emotions were on display as France took the lead with an unfortunate own goal by Mario MandzukicIvan Perisic got Croatia back into the game with an equalizer but it took only a few minutes for Ivan Perisic to go from hero to zero as a handball from him gave France a penalty Antoine Griezmann converted the penalty and France closed the door on Croatia Paul Pogba then bent the ball into the net with his left foot to extend Francersquos lead FIFA World Cup 2018rsquos most talked about player Kylian Mbappe put the final nail in Croatiarsquos coffin with a low rightfooter into the net Croatia got a second goal from a Hugo Lloris howler but it was too little too late as France won the game 42 to lift the 2018 FIFA World Cup and their second titleFrance football team lift the trophyWhen VAR took the SpotlightFIFA World Cup 2018 introduced the VAR Virtual Assistant Referee for the first time at footballrsquos biggest stage and boy did it make an impact We take a look at a few instances where VAR changed the course of the gameFrance 21 Australia Group CFrance were the first beneficiaries of the VAR in a World Cup when it was used to award France a penalty which was earlier turned down by the onfield referee Antoine Griezmann converted from the spot and France went on to win the match 21Brazil 20 Costa Rica Group EVAR came into play in the game between Brazil and Costa Rica when Neymar went to ground inside the Costa Rican box and was awarded a penalty After VARrsquos intervention onfield referee Bjorn Kuipers watched the replays and reversed his decision leaving Neymar redfaced Brazil however went on to win the game 20Iran 11 Portugal Group BVAR enabled the referee to award a penalty to Portugal after initially waving play on when Ronaldo was brought down in the Iranian box Ronaldo however failed to score from the penalty kick The VAR came into play one more time in the same match when it was used to award Iran a penalty in extra time to level the scoreSpain 22 Morocco Group BThe VAR came to Spainrsquos rescue when Iago Aspasrsquos equalizer was ruled out by the offside flag but replays convinced the onfield referee to overturn the offside and award the goal to Spain helping them finish on top of Group BFrance 42 Croatia World Cup finalVAR played an important role in turning the course of the final in Moscow Amidst appeals by the France players for a handball Ivan Perisic looked to have cleared the ball from the Croatian box off a French corner Although replays revealed that the ball clearly hit Ivan Perisicrsquos outstretched arms VAR brought the same to the onfield refereersquos attention and after having a closer look the referee awarded a penalty to France There was no way back from there on for Les Bleus as Antoine Griezmann scored the penalty to give them a 21 leadRecords set at the FIFA World Cup 2018Most FIFA World Cup tournaments scored in by a player In Portugalrsquos opening game versus Spain Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the record jointly held by Uwe Seller Pele and Miroslav Klose of scoring in four FIFA World Cups The Portuguese legend who scored a hattrick against Spain thus scored in each of the World Cups 2006 2010 2014 and 2018Oldest player to score a hattrick in the FIFA World Cup Cristiano Ronaldo broke another record in the game versus Spain the forward at 33 years and 130 days became lsquo Oldest player to score a hattrick in the FIFA World Cuprsquo Smallest country by population to play in the FIFA World CupIceland claimed the record with 337669 people residing in the countryOldest player to score on FIFA World Cup debut Panamarsquos Felipe Baloy broke the record at 37 years and 120 days when he scored the lone goal for Panama in his teamrsquos 16 defeat to England in a Group G fixtureMost own goals scored during a FIFA World Cup overallThis yearrsquos World Cup saw 12 own goals doubling the record of six Countries that scored own goals included both finalists Croatia and FranceFirst own goal scored in a FIFA World Cup final Croatian supporters were rooting for Mario Mandzukic to score for Croatia in the World Cup final which he did but what they did not know was that Mario Mandzukic will also score the first own goal ever in a World Cup finalMost goals scored in the FIFA World Cup as captainEnglandrsquos captain Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo have written their names alongside the great Diego Maradona with six goals as captain in the World Cup Though Diego Maradona had scored six goals as captain between 19861994 Harry Kane has equalled the record in just one World Cup while Ronaldo took 3 to achieve the featOldest player in a FIFA World CupEgyptrsquos goalkeeper Essam ElHadary took a record home from Russia at 45 years 161 days he became the oldest player in a FIFA World Cup beating the previous record by more than two yearsMost penalty shootout saves in the FIFA World CupCroatia goalkeeper and World Cup hero with the gloves Danijel Subasicrsquos saves in shootouts against Denmark and Russia during his teams run to the final meant he finished the World Cup with four saves matching the achievements of West Germanys Harald Schumacher from 1982 and 1986 and Argentine Sergio Goycochea in 1990 Apart from penaltyshootouts he also put on an allround performance for Croatia throughout the 2018 FIFA World Cup with crucial savesMost FIFA World Cup finals goals by a teamNeymarrsquos Brazil may have left the World Cup without a medal but they did not leave emptyhanded Brazilrsquos alltime goals record now stand at 229 goals between 19342018 topping Germany who ended FIFA World Cup 2018 with 226 goalsOver to Qatar now who will host the next edition of FIFA World Cup in 2022 the Gulf nation will have to up their game to match Russias standards