Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Well, no upsets this round. France march on.

in the early stages of this comp I said that I thought the France defence was a bit suspect and always looked likely to concede goals, but when it matters they haven't conceded goals, even in matches where the other side dominated possession. In their 3 knockout matches they've conceded from 2 penalties, but nothing from open play. Even in attack they seem to be playing with an economy I wasn't expecting, scoring goals from relatively few chances.

Concede nothing, maximise opportunities. Will it work against Argentina? I don't know, in truth

If Morocco didnt have a clown up front, I think France were bang in trouble last night. Hassan Allah missed 2 glorious chances, and inexplicably failed to shoot from the penalty spot as he got an opening at one stage. Ziyech and Hakimi had Theo Hernandez on toast, and should have done far better with the positions they worked into..... if thats Messi continually getting in behind the defence, he aint missing the cross 10 times, or failing to slot home.

Mbappe's refusal to defend is a major concern on France's left side. Argentina have to get the full back up the pitch and create the 1-2 situations Morocco did, along with Amrabat, who drifted to the right from the central areas to further create the mismatch.

Mbappes having a weird tournament. Every game he's been 4/10 for 89 minutes, and then sudden flashes of brilliance that make the difference. Its scary that he looks in such poor form, yet is winning France a WC. What a talent he is.

Having said that, I cant think of two more fallible WC finalists in my lifetime. Argentina really havent been great, and France have been outplayed in 3 of their last 4 matches in so many ways.

Just takes a game where they are slightly less lethal in front of goal, or where their luck in their own penalty area dries out, and they could have lost against Morocco/England.

I have France to win it though, sadly. Id like to see Messi walk away with it

Golden Boot race

Messi 5
Mbappe 5
Alvarez 4
Giroud 4

Third place playoff

Croatia 2-1 Morocco

This could be a Tottenham style bottle job from Argentina!

What an exciting final!

Argentina 3-3 France, win 4-2 on penalties.

Mbappe gave everything, scored a hat trick, and the first penalty, but it was Messi day.

Messi scored a brace, and IMHO is player of the tournament.

Argentina held their nerve at the end, and scored every penalty.

Deserving winners!

What a game! Up there with the best ever given what was at stake and also how good extra time was.

well.......

for nearly 80 minutes, I thought this was the most one-sided final I'd ever had the misfortune of seeing

ended up being probably the most incredible world cup final ever.

Just a shame that France didn't put away that final chance, because they were never going to win on penalties. I'm not sure I've ever seen Lloris make a save in a penalty shoot out, whereas Martinez always targets one player and distracts him enough to miss by either kicking the ball away or throwing the ball away just before the kick is taken.... something that should be stopped, btw, because he did the same thing in the Holland game too and I'll bet he does this in every shoot out, so it can't have caught the ref by surprise.

Tough on France, but they were never good enough, in truth. Scaloni thrashed Deschamps in the tactical battle and Argentina were so dominant for the bulk of normal time, that if Mbappe hadn't suddenly turned the game on its head in the dying minutes, it would have been nothing short of a total humiliation for France

Been a pleasure to witness Lionel Messi's career. No one comes close to him.... It just feels right that he finally adds his name to the that trophy.

One of the better world cup tournaments, imo. Putting aside the appalling and corrupt decision making over where it was located and the human rights controversies surrounding the host nation and their suitability to host such a prestigious event (which is a big step to take), FIFA have stumbled across a winning formula.

A winter world cup where players are fresh and fit, rather than knackered and totally shagged out after a particularly long squawk long domestic seasons. None of the terrible scenes of drunken, disorderly fans trying to get into the stadium on final day because they'd heard a bent guard was opening firedoors. Fan zones and stadiums, unmarred by violence or drunken boorish behaviour (although the less said about the battle of Lusail, the better) where reports of festival vibes replaced the usual reports of intimidating, drunken, gang battle zones. Thrills, spills, shocks a plenty. Realistic times added on to the end of normal playing time. A comp where VAR didn't get in the way too much and certainly didn't stop play for minutes on end. A tournament almost devoid of dead rubbers.

Given that this success (imo) only happened because of the huge quantities of used notes in brown envelopes that found their way into the pockets of infuencers, expect the only thing not to change in the future are the used notes in brown envelopes..... and even they'll have to get never endingly bigger

Yeah , enjoyed that. Half time I was fearing the second period was going to be a poor excuse for keeping me from sleep...but it all came alight when France woke up : really expected them to nick it there at the end , and again in extra time. But overall Argentina were well deserved winners. Pity it was those wretched penalties deciding it but it is probably the "least worst" way of breaking the deadlock...

I don't truly love Argentina , I'm afraid. But cannot begrudge Messi a title to walk away with

My team of the World Cup.....

Goalkeeper - Dominik Livakovic (Croatia)

The Dinamo Zagreb man was linked to some PL clubs recently, and one has to assume he that will become a reality after his display in the tournament. Kept Croatia in the game vs Belgium with some important saves, then kept Brazil at bay for most of the game, before becoming the penalty hero. Looks a top drawer shot stopper.

Right Back - Achraf Hakimi (Morocco)

Zidane won the CL's for fun at Real Madrid, but his decision to sell Hakimi looks increasingly like one of those maddest decisions ever made by a manager. Hakimi was defensively solid in a system designed to play without the ball, but his real value was in surging forward and creating constant mismatches with Ziyech against left backs, which proved to be the heartbeat of Morocco's offensive game plan.

Left Back - Jordi Alba (Spain)

Spain flattered to live up to their top billing in the tournament, but that had nothing to do with Alba. For a man now at pension age for an elite level full back, he put others to shame with his work rate, buzzing like a wasp in defence, and constantly offering an option going forward with his intelligent, defence busting runs from deep. If only Spain had other players to unlock the havoc Alba created, they'd have not gone home as early.

Centre back - Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)

Out of all the top teams to make the latter rounds, Croatia's Borna Sosa at left back looked the player most of his depth - It speaks volumes of Gvardiol that, given a walking disaster on his side, he looked so solid. Built like a tank, but silky in his movements and on the ball, its no wonder why every single club in the world wants a crack at signing the 20 year.... the first high profile steps of a no doubt gliterring career. No doubt we will see him in a Real Madrid or Man City shirt sometime soon.

Centre back - Roman Saiss (Switzerland)

After Wolves flogged him off to Besiktas after turning 32 this year, one would be forgiven in thinking that Saiss was all but done at the top level of football - how wrong! Saiss was a warrior at the back for Morocco, putting in tackles everywhere and breaking up player, and offering no hint of aerial goals being given up. Took a knock early v France, and it says a lot that without him at full fitness France got the goal, before he had to go off.

Central Midfield - Jude Bellingham (England)

Never has an English prospect been so exciting in my lifetime. In recent times, Jude has added elite defensive steel to his mind blowing array of skills. Was about 5 tackles past the next best player when England got knocked out, testament to his transformation as a heat sinking missile off the ball, and when the ball was in his possession, his passing and vision was on display. Absolutely bossed the game v Senegal, and won the midfield battle with France. In 4 years time, he will be going to the tournament as one of its poster boys.... whisper it softly, very softly.... but this kid could be the next Zidane.

Central Midfield - Luka Modric (Croatia)

If you were to invent a drinking game where you downed a shot every time Luka Modric lost the ball or misplaced a pass, you would end the night sober enough to drive home at the end of the night. Against Brazil, they threw everything at him with the press, but each time he took a touch and found his man. And his ability on the ball is only part of the game, for an ageing man he still has an impeccable motor to counter press the opposition. While Croatia's defence found their level vs Messi, Modric was brilliant throughout - and back to back 3rd and 2nd place is testament to the difference he can make to a rather average Croatia side in places.

Attacking Midfield central - Antoine Griezmann

Its fair to say that before this tournament, Grezza had proved over and over again that he can only thrive with space to work with. In Madrid, he played as the focal point of an ultra defensive counter attacking team, but when confronted with deep set defences and having nothing to exploit, he was terrible... quite brutally. And he has never rediscovered this form of his earlier years as his career begins to fizzle out. Enter Deschamps, who switched him between the lines more centrally, and transformed Grezza into a total baller. Dropping into the hole between the two banks of defence and midfield, his touch in tight spaces drew defenders in and made space for others, and his passing was exceptional. One particular pass v Morocco was mind blowing, threaded through the eye of a needle. Has Grezza found a new lease of life as an advanced playmaker/10?

Wide Forward Left - Kylian Mbappe (France)

It speaks volumes of this young man's talent that, in a tournament where I thought for 90% of the time he was nowhere near his best and invisible for large stretches of some game, the net effect was he scored goals for fun, and in every single match made some contribution to France's success. One moment sticks out personally - late in the England game he took a touch and made Kyle Walker, one of the quickest players in the PL and a world class defensive right back, look like a statute..... if you can make such a player look like an amateur, then you aint that bad. The kid has fearsome strength, is unbelievably rapid, lethal in front of goal, and has a touch given to him by god himself. The footballing world is at this lads feet, and he seems a reasonably mature, good natured professional.... has everything to join the pantheon of all time greats, assuming of course at 23, he isn't already...

Wide Forward right - Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Player of the Tournament

When Messi was at his apparent peak, Argentina had the type of squad where picking who to play with him up the top of the field was a difficult task, and many a manager couldn't help but stack a fine array of talent all over the pitch with no care as to what system they would play. Weirdly, this time around Argentina had very little standout talent, but a system in place with proper assigned role.... oh, and Lionel Messi. Against Saudi Arabia, Argentina were woeful, but after that Lionel took the tournament by the scruff of the neck and the rest is history. By the knockouts, he was everywhere, turning up deep to collect the ball and spraying passes around on a dime, strolling past defenders, and most importantly, putting the ball in the net in every single match of the knockouts. If Messi is anywhere near top form, you can say goodnight to winning..... in the end, he dragged a pretty average Argentina side to a trophy win.

Centre Forward - Richarlison (Brazil)

The hardest spot to pick, because several played well, but no one really quite grabbed it. Giroud was subbed in the first half in the final he was so redundant, Kane fired the ball to Mars in his moment to stand up, and Alvarez's success had a lot to do with Lionel Messi prizing out space for him. So I went for Richie Rich

Brazil's champagne football met a wall in Croatia (and its goal keeper), but Richie left the game with no shame, having tee'd up Neymar for most the game only to watch him keep blasting it at the keeper. When it went well, it was sublime - two ridiculous goals that compete for the best in the tournament, and the link up play with others was brilliant too. Richie didn't really put a foot wrong

do me a favour, though, SP and find a space on the bench for Saka and Mac Allister will you.

Who does make up the bench?

Gakpo?
Bono?
outrageous wild card.... Souttar?

Durhamfootman wrote:Souttar?

I thought Jackson Irvine was the best of the Aussie lads.

Durhamfootman wrote:Who does make up the bench?

Honourable mentions go to....

Szczesny in Goal
Kounde, Upemanco, Aguerd, Estipuian in Defence
MacAllister, Amrabat, Bernado Silva in CM
Saka, Dembele, Neymar on the wings
Kane, Giroud, Alvarez up top