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With every passing day, this World Cup gets better. We haven’t even had three weeks of the tournament, but Germany, Spain and Argentina are already out, and we have seen some quite superb games.
The group stage got off to a slow start, and there were worries that VAR would have a negative effect on the game. But the football soon took over, and up to this point, we have seen one of the best World Cups in history.
Cristiano Ronaldo got things going with a sensational hat-trick against Spain as the pair played out a thrilling 3-3 draw. Germany were the shock casualties of the group stage, with the holders suffering a shock exit after defeats to Mexico and South Korea. That meant that for the third tournament in a row, we had seen the back of the world champions by the end of the group stage.
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Argentina snuck through from the groups, meaning that apart from Germany, all the usual suspects had made it through to the knock out rounds. But things really got going in the round of 16.
Kylian Mbappe starred for France as they beat Argentina, while Edinson Cavani scored twice as Uruguay knocked out Portugal. Spain were the next to suffer a shock elimination, after being knocked out by hosts Russia on penalties.
Belgium and Japan produced another thrilling game, as Belgium came from two goals down to beat Japan with a brilliant comeback, Nacer Chadli netting a winner with almost the last kick of the game.
We have seen some outstanding individual performances as well, but there have been a number of players who haven’t reached the level that was expected of them.
#1 Mesut Ozil (Germany)
There has regularly been debate over whether Ozil is capable of performing in the big games, and whether his work ethic is good enough for a top team. There has been no need for debate over this in Russia though, he simply hasn’t been good enough. He will have been expected to be a major part of this Germany side, especially given some of the younger players around him. He was playing in his third World Cup, and he will have been tasked with leading the way for the younger players.
He had a shocking tournament though. He had little to no impact against Mexico, and was rightly left out of the side that beat Sweden. It was a surprise to see him come back into the side for the final match against South Korea, because very few expected to see Joachim Low change a winning team. It was proved the wrong decision, with Ozil yet again failing to make his mark. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this was his last major tournament, because he was nowhere near good enough at this one.
#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina)
At 31, this seemed certain to be Messi’s last chance of success on football’s biggest stage. Sadly, he and his side just couldn’t do enough. The Barcelona man had a good game against Nigeria to help send Argentina into the round of 16, but apart from that, he wasn’t his usual self.
It would be wrong to blame Argentina’s failure entirely on Messi. This is the worst Argentinian team for a long time, and on paper, they wouldn’t be considered one of the top sides at the tournament. They will have hoped for a little bit more from Messi however.
He missed a penalty to potentially win the game against Iceland, and then was virtually anonymous in his side’s 3-0 defeat to Croatia. He retired from international football a couple of years ago before returning to the squad, but there is a feeling that we have seen the last of him on the international stage. If it is the case, it is a sad way for one of football’s greatest ever players to finish at the World Cup.
#3 David Silva (Spain)
You would think that David Silva would be the perfect player to come to the World Cup and lead the way for Spain after a brilliant Premier League season for Manchester City. He has been, and still is, a key player for this Spanish side. He has made well over 100 appearances for his national side, and would have expected to thrive in a midfield that includes Andres Iniesta, playing a similar style of football to what he plays at City.
But he never seemed to find a role in the Spanish squad. At City, he plays with Kevin de Bruyne, and the two are very different footballers. However with Spain, he plays similarly to Isco and Iniesta, and he just couldn’t have an effect. He was dragged off after just over an hour against Russia, and it wasn’t really a surprise. It is clear that he is a brilliant footballer, but it didn’t work out for him at the World Cup.
#4 Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
There is no doubt that Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in world football at the moment. In his four seasons with Bayern Munich, he has played 126 Bundesliga matches, and scored an incredible 106 goals. His record with Poland is similarly impressive. Before the World Cup, he had scored 55 goals in just 95 caps. In Russia though, he looked like a completely different player.
Much like Messi, this was slightly dependant on the teammates he has around him, and with Poland, the talent is nowhere near as good as it is at Bayern. But the 29-year-old just didn’t look sharp. He wasn’t making the sort of runs you usually see from him, he wasn’t getting into goal scoring positions, and he was often isolated on his own up top.
#5 Thomas Muller (Germany)
Muller is the second German player on this list, but in fairness, there could have been any number of them. Not many players have a record at the World Cup which compares to that of Muller. In his first two tournaments, he scored 10 goals, including picking up the Golden Boot in South Africa in 2010. Of all Germany’s players in Russia though, he was probably the most disappointing.
Unlike Ozil, he kept his place for the Sweden game despite a poor showing against Mexico, but was just a substitute for the final and decisive match with South Korea. He didn’t have a great season with Bayern, and scored just eight league goals, but he normally turns it on at the big tournaments. He kept up his poor club form though, and looked a shadow of his normal self. He was slow, laboured, and just seemed a little bit lost out there on the pitch sometimes.
