Russia's Impressive Hosting Of The 2018 World Cup

When the heavens opened and torrential rains lashed out at the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with France lifting the trophy, it became clear that four weeks had just passed and the most watched sporting event had come to an end. What an amazing World Cup it was! Russia 2018 certainly produced some early upsets, great goals, wonderful saves and delightful moments. In fact this World Cup is one of the best football tournaments in recent memory. It proved to soccer enthusiasts that football has moved beyond the traditional superpower footballing nations. Croatia almost did what no one had expected at the start of the tournament. Uruguay, Nigeria, Belgium, Japan and Russia are the other nations were impressive in the tournament. The best part of this World Cup was its unpredictability. Who would have thought that the defending champion Germany would be knocked out in the group stages? That Spain and Argentina would be knocked out in the Round of 16? That England would reach the semi-final, and Harry Kane would win the Golden Boot award? Then, as in every World Cup, the emergence of young talents in the tournament has given the fans something to look forward to beyond Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The most impressive of them was Kylian Mbappe from France, who also won the Best Young Player Award. His breathtaking run against Argentina will remain in our memories for a long time. The use of technology was also at the forefront in this tournament. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was controversial and yet hugely successful which made the game even more interesting. There were more penalties in this World Cup than any previous tournament, and VAR was the reason for that. It is however fair to say that the referees might become too dependent on this technology and keep referring to it for ‘subjective’ incidents.

Russia will now have nothing but memories. But what are the memories? Is it the five opening goals against Saudi Arabia; the superstar Cristiano Ronaldo turning up in provincial Saransk; the colourful Iranian, Peruvian, Colombian supporters or the Senegalese warm-up dance or the Japanese fans picking up their litter? The World Cup has become the first Russia good-news story since Perestroika. It cast Russians as everyday people, with normal aspirations, hopes and fears. It has enabled Russians to also see foreigners in a less suspicious light. In a televised message, President Vladimir Putin said Russia could be proud of its hosting of the football World Cup, judging it a success in every respect after Sunday's final. The world sincerely saw a different Russia from the one often presented to them by sluggish publications. This new Russia is more open, friendly, chaotic, and confident. Whether it remains so long after the world cup is another matter. The overall management of the tournament was fantastic, and one has to commend Russia for successfully hosting the mega event. If Qatar 2022 can produce an event anything close to this one, then we will be in for a lot of fun.

BY: BENJAMIN WILLIE GRAHAM, A SPORTS ANALYST.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Need For Ghanaians To Support The 2021 Budget

Showing compassion to the less privileged

One Year Of Coronavirus In Ghana