The 21st FIFA World Cup is behind us, and it will be remembered by some spectacular matches and goals. In the end, France lifted the trophy for the second time in history by beating Croatia in the final game on Luzhniki stadium in Moscow. It was a thrilling encounter between the two best teams of the tournament, with the end score being 4-2.
Although most people will remember just the final match, there were a lot of other good teams that made this tournament exciting to watch.
England’s national team restored the faith of the whole nation after reaching the semi-finals for the first time after 1990. Not too many UK betting sites have predicted it, but English football is on the rise again. You can get the latest info on the Premier League’s news from Soccer Souls website. Tottenham’s star Harry Kane was the top scorer of the tournament (6).
Belgium scored most goals (16), and the highlight of their World Cup campaign was the turnaround against Japan in the best of 16 when they went from being 0-2 down at the half to win 3-2 at the end. Belgium’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had most saves at the event (27).
Russia had high expectations as well since they were hosting the tournament for the first time. The team came close to being in the top four, but it was knocked out by Croatia in a penalty shootout.
Brazil is always among the favorites to win the trophy, but they were stunned by Belgium in the quarter-finals. Neymar, its greatest star, had the most attempts in the Cup (27), but only scored twice.
Not too many people saw Croatia going all the way to the last match, but this Balkan country became only the second smallest nation to play in the World Cup final (first being Uruguay). They ended the tournament with most attacks (352), and were also the best defensive team, having 301 successful tackles, saves, and clearances.
However, there could only be one champion, and France played best when it mattered. Their top star Kylian Mbappe became the first teenager to score three goals at the World Cup after Pele in 1958. He also scored the last goal for his team in the final and became a hero of the nation.
If you want some more numbers and stats from the World Cup 2018, check out the great infographic below.
