Best moments of the World Cup so far

Read time 3 minutes 

Wow. What an unbelievable World Cup we have been treated to so far. Only one 0-0 result throughout the whole group stages, ultimate shocks with former champions being knocked out early doors and the added excitement of VAR. All this added together has produced one of the most unpredictable World Cups in years. Oh, and how could I forget, football’s coming home!

The Hosts 

The lowest ranked country in the competition at 70, viewed as having no chance, to begin with. However, from the first game of the tournament, Russia steamrolled Saudi Arabia 5-0 and since then have not looked back. Russia took on European heavyweights Spain in the second round taking them all the way to penalties where goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev showed shades of the great Lev Yashin and saved two penalties to continue their fairytale journey.

VAR

Love it, hate it, you can’t disagree that it hasn’t added a touch of excitement to proceedings. When used correctly and gets the perfect outcome, it is hailed as the greatest idea since sliced bread. Instances like awarding the penalty for France vs Australia does get the right decision. On the other hand, the farcical scenes that unfolded during Portugal vs Iran game where Iran being awarded a penalty for a ‘handball’ in the dying minutes denying Portugal top stop. This was the wrong use of the technology. Although, it did leave all the neutrals gripped.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Spain

Cristiano Ronaldo put on a splendid show in what was the most entertaining game of the World Cup so far, and one of the best games ever. The capper was Ronaldo’s hat trick, in which the third goal came on a laser of a free kick that went into the top right corner of the goal and tied the score at 3-3. I must say this may be one of the greatest individual performances I have ever seen and to do it on such a global event as the World Cup made it even more special. Regardless of Portugal’s disappointing exit to Uruguay in the Second Round, this performance will be remembered forever.

What an Insane player 😍#Ronaldo #CristianoRonaldo #ronaldooooo #CR7
What a way to start the campaign 1st game Hatrick
Absolute Legend ⚽️🥇#FifaWorldCup2018 #POR #PORESP #SPAIN VS PORTUGAL #spapor
We are in for some Summer ahead #FifaWorldCup2018 #Russia2018 pic.twitter.com/uwLiuPckir

— Amol (@amolkul19) June 15, 2018

Shocks Galore

Nobody is safe in this year’s tournament. We should have speculated that all was not well when the ever consistent, reigning champions Germany exited in the first round for the first time since 1938 and first ever in the group stage. It did not stop there either. Second round exits to Spain, followed by the greatest players in the world Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exiting with their own respected teams. Thus leading to the draw opening up massively with teams like  Sweden, Croatia, and Russia all being potential finalists.

England

Okay, I must admit, like the rest of the nation, it might actually be coming home. But who can blame us?! Everything does seem to be coming together very nicely. Whisper it quietly, but Gareth Southgate seems to have the boys playing some good football. Harry Kane is in magnificent form scoring goals left, right and centre. Could this pave the way for a first final in 52 years? We hope so.

Honourable mentions…..

Here is Belgium’s Michy Batshuayi with one of the greatest moments in the history of the World Cup. pic.twitter.com/JlFuN7vI1k

— Birmingham Updates (@BhamUpdates) June 28, 2018

•that lad from Iran needing a last minute goal and doing this instead of a throw in pic.twitter.com/7XiUxr6YS3

— Adam Edwards (@AdamEdwardsNEA) July 1, 2018

At Playfinder, we are just as excited as you. We have some great content coming up. We hope that it will help to guide you through the latest news and videos during the World Cup. So why not follow our Twitter account, @mylocalpitch or check out our Facebook page Playfinder.