Bengaluru, July 16: The FIFA World Cup 2018 concluded in Russia with France emerging champions with a 4-2 victory over Croatia in Moscow on Sunday (July 15).
Here MyKhel delves deep into pick some moments that made this World Cup a unique experience.
We’re blessed to be able to witness this greatness #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/pj8det644T
— Ollie Taylor (@OZTaylored) June 26, 2018
1 Diego Maradona
You can't take the 57-year-old Argentine legend away from spotlight. In his playing years, Maradona stunned us with his ability and after his playing days, he keeps himself in news through several avenues. He flashed an obscene gesture from the VIP box after Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1 to enter pre-quarterfinals. Later FIFA rebuked Maradona for commenting against officials after England beat Colombia.
— Luis Melchor (@ElGuero_Melchor) July 2, 2018
2 Neymar - the Fall (en) Hero
Neymar has plenty of talent - footballing and acting. He showed both the kind in this World Cup. The Brazil striker clutched his ankle and rolled around the ground in agony as a Mexican player tried to grab the ball from between his ankle. It was acting of the highest order but it happened right in front of the officials and Neymar was fortunate not to get booked for such a cheap act. It also gave a jolly good time for troll masters in social media. Seconds later, Neymar sped down the field to set up a goal for Roberto Firmino.
3 The Double Eagle
It's no secret that football often gets mixed up with regional and international political sentiments and the players are not exactly immune to such thoughts even while competing. One such moment came in the Group G match between Switzerland and Serbia. A politically-charged group match between Switzerland and Serbia saw Swiss pair Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka fined by FIFA for celebrating their goals by making a pro-Kosovan 'double eagle' gesture which represents the Albanian flag.
Arsenal midfielder Xhaka and Liverpool's Shaqiri trace their roots to Kosovo, a former province of Serbia where thousands were killed and tens of thousands more chased from their homes during a 1998-1999 conflict between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian guerillas.
4 The Mbappe moment
The FIFA World Cup 2018 emphatically underlined the fact that France's Kylian Mbappe, all of 19, is the next big thing in football. His virtuoso effort against Argentina in the pre-quarterfinals - two goals and earned a penalty - showed his talent in full measure. He also scored a sublime goal against Croatia in the final too. But the cheeky side of Mbappe surfaced in the semifinals against Belgium when he engaged himself in time wasting tactics with only a few minutes left in the game. It earned him some boos and a yellow card. Utterly unnecessary!
5 Bizarre trophy presentation
The FIFA World Cup 2018 was a well-organised, incident free event capped with a thrilling, goal-filled final. But giving away the ultimate prize in football was mired in shoddiness. The trophy took a good 20 minutes to enter the field and the presence of plethora of suit-clad men around the area was an eye sore. They even hindered the view of France captain Hugo Lloris lifting the trophy. When the skies opened up midway through the presentation ceremony Russian president Vladimir Putin immediately got the aid of umbrella. But Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and France President Emmanuel Macron stood in the rain drenching themselves.