AP's Russia 2018 report

AP's Russia 2018 Report

The 2018 World Cup has reached the end of its journey and what a tournament it has been from start to finish. 

Congratulations to France who won their second World cup in 20 years, they truly deserve it.  

Before the tournament began, people were wondering if we were still going to have an exciting World Cup and they got their reward as most of the matches were entertaining, particularly the 3-3 draw between Portugal and Spain where Cristiano Ronaldo produced a magical free-kick in the 88th minute to rescue a point for his country. 

Coming back to France, Kylian Mbappe has been an absolute star and is now up there with the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. If you have watched all of France's games including the final, his pace caused nightmares for the opponent’s defence. He has been the talisman of France's success and deserves the Fifa Ballon d'Or. 

However, you must feel a bit of sympathy to Croatia as they had fought incredibly hard to reach the final, especially having won two penalty shootouts against Denmark in the round of 16 and Russia in the quarter-finals. They also played an extra 30 minutes against England in the semis, so you could clearly see that the final was one step fo far for them as France had spent less time on the pitch than Croatia did and that may have had an impact on the outcome of Sunday's final as they could not cope with the speed of France's style of play.         

Let's talk about England. Despite the loss to the Croatians in the semis, Southgate and his boys have a lot of positives to take from their first World Cup. Yes, you could say that they were helped a little by finishing second in their group, which made the draw slightly easier for them, but what stood out for me was their character, especially in the game against Columbia in the round of 16 where England won a penalty shootout for the first time ever. 

Jordan Pickford was sensational in that game as well as the quarter final against Sweden. Those saves he made in both of those matches kept our World Cup hopes alive. Therefore, I am a little surprised that Thibuat Courtois was awarded the 'Golden Glove' as I thought Pickford was the busier of the two and made more saves which were ultimately game changers especially against Sweden and Columbia. Courtois is still a world- class keeper make no mistake about that, but I thought it was a bit harsh to not give to Pickford as it was his first ever tournament. Perhaps if England had been in the final or won the third-place play-off match, he may have got it ahead of Courtois.   

I also like the way Southgate was brave enough to change the style of the way England played which was to have three at the back. if I was to be extra critical, I thought he could have used players such as he Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jamie Vardy a lot more than he did but on the other hand the team he picked through much of the tournament were a success so why change a winning team? I don't like the fact the he was a bit too reliant on Raheem Sterling who has not really performed to his potential in ant of the last three tournaments in which England were in, that's why I think he is overrated. He may go on to have a really good season for Manchester City, but that does not change my opinion about him.      

As for Belgium, for me they were the team of the tournament. it's such a shame that they had to play France in the semis rather than the final, it would have been a great way to end the World Cup as both team are packed with class and talent on and off the pitch, especially the Belgians who had Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard this would have been a cracker of a final. 

It would be interesting to see what happens in Euro 2020, will France make it a double World Cup and European title? Will it be Belgium's year? Will England ever overcome the ghost of '66?