The FIFA World Cup one of the biggest sporting events in the world, only second to the Olympics. Nearly 700 million people around the world watched at least some of the tournament. The World Cup was full of surprises, while some shocked the world with their brilliant performances, others disappointed and were sent home far earlier than they would have expected. Let’s take a closer look at those who can be proud of their efforts and examine exactly how they achieved it.
Belgium
Belgium were impressive in this World Cup as they managed to knock out Brazil in the quarter final. Some bookmakers had Brazil as the favourites to win the World Cup, emphasising the quality of the victory by the Belgians. Belgium entered the tournament on the back of 19 undefeated matches. And the facts and figures suggested that this was their time to shine. Their 3-4-3/3-5-2 formation was proving to be particularly successful. However, they decided to change up their pattern for the match against Brazil. This gave Kevin De Bruyne a more starring role upon which he delivered. Linking up plays with other members of his team, De Bruyne completed 100% of his take-ons keeping possession of the ball. The Belgian goalkeeper, Thibault Courtois, was also instrumental in his game between the posts thwarting several attacks by the Brazilians. While the team didn’t fare so well in the match with neighbouring France, they still finished in a respectable 3rd place which is their best finish in the history of their national football team. Their win over England let them rightfully take the 3rd spot, with Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard on the scoresheet.
England
With a fourth place finish, this young English team can be proud of what they achieved in Russia. After defeating Sweden, the team moved on to the semi-finals. The last time England did this was in 1990 by defeating Cameroon, so getting this far is rare for an English team. In the beginning of the match with Sweden, England did have to work hard and the first thirty minutes of the game were rather gut-wrenching for the team until they managed to score their first goal. This seemed to be the turning point of the game as the team settled in and demonstrated complete composure and confidence which helped propel them to the win. Some say this was England’s best performance in the World Cup. Despite their success, critics say improvements could still be made especially in the second half of the match where they could have scored more goals. Overall, the team has made significant improvements.
Russia
A surprise to the world and perhaps themselves, Russia were of course included in the World Cup because they were the host nation. When the field of 16 teams was set, Russia has the lowest ranking of any of them with some bookmakers given them a 5% chance of winning the World Cup. FIFA had the team ranked at a lowly 70th before the tournament. However, the team did pull off one of the biggest upsets of the summer with their elimination of Spain. With their tight defence, they went on to a 1-1 draw and came out on top with a 4-3 win on penalties. This was Russia’s first ever World Cup penalty shootout but was enough to send them through to the last eight. In the quarter finals, Russia had a difficult opponent in Croatia. This time the penalties didn’t work in Russia’s favour, as the game also ended in a draw, but this time Russia came out second best.
Croatia
The Croatian National Team is fairly a new team. After all, Croatia didn’t become a nation until 1991 when they gained their independence. Since that time, the team has qualified for the World Cup a total of five times. Coming in third when they first appeared in the competition in 1998, the years since have been rather dismal. Given the fact that the team was this year’s runner-up, it is safe to say they have significantly improved this time round. Croatia demonstrated their strength and resiliency winning most of their matches in extra time including the semi-final game against England. In that game, the team was a goal down but managed to come back. Striker, Mario Mandzukic, even with an injured knee, was able to fire his team to the final with a 2-1 victory. In the final game against France, Croatia put in a solid performance but ultimately came up short, falling to a 4-2 defeat.