Picked Spain or France as 50/50 to win at the start of the tournament and that came to pass.
A serious team, maybe not full of glamorous out and out superstars like other teams (though feels inevitable Yamal will hit that level at least and Rodri has literally won it all as it stands so maybe I'm talking nonsense), but I digress, de la Fuente has a squad that plays as close to a club team as you'll probably see in international footballand he's played a big part in Spanish football from the ground up.
Cubarsi is class, seen bits of him with Barcelona and he's going to go on to have some career.
Spain deserved it, was worried the Argentinian's would hold out for pens and Spain's penalty record isn't great, believe they've only ever one 1 shootout (against Ireland in 2002 of course, still not over it).
Anyway, pretty fascinating tournament overall, 48 is a weird number but it was enjoyable and not sure what to do with my evenings again now that it's over.
At least 2034 will be a bit better for us timewise. _________________
Congrats to Spain! We've already talked in great detail about them, they were the best team of the tournament and won it fair and square. One thing that's worth adding is that their two most explosive attackers - Yamal and Nico - weren't fully fit, which affected their game plan and arguably makes their campaign even more impressive. Their attack was less fluid, less direct and ultimately more predictable compared to Euro 2024. Still, their ability to control games and dictate the tempo was so great that they nullified the opposition's threats and it was only a matter of time before they'd convert one of their chances.
Argentina were a massive letdown. A poor performance, followed by equally poor conduct after the final whistle. It has to be said, though, that reaching the final was already an overachievement for them and Messi's "last dance" was one for the ages, he will be greatly missed.
A fun fact regarding penalty shoot-outs: After Germany's loss against Paraguay, Argentina are statistically the most successful team in World Cup penalty shoot-outs - 6 wins and 1 loss. On the other hand, Spain and the Netherlands are at the bottom -excluding teams that have been in only 1 or 2 shoot-outs- of the list with 1 win and 4 losses each.
Edit: Oops, I forgot that Croatia have 4 wins in 4 shoot-outs, so it's debatable which of Croatia/Argentina is the most successful on that front - Argentina has more wins, Croatia has a perfect record. I guess I should wait for VAR to review my "fun facts" before sharing them. _________________ Bob Dylan Charles Mingus
I'm in my 30s and I never watched a minute of World Cup Soccer in my life...until 2026. What can I say? I'm an American who loves fast-moving high-scoring games. Give me football and hockey over soccer any day. Soccer, they run around an oversized field for nearly two hours, in what usually ends with a score of 1-0. Boring.
Of course, it's the most popular sport in the world so there's gotta be something to it. This year, I gave the World Cup some attention for a variety of reasons. For one, I have friends and colleagues who are big soccer fans and they held watch parties, and I wasn't gonna stubbornly skip those. Number two, USA was a host country at a time we were having our 250th birthday as a nation. Obviously FIFA granted the US hosting to coincide with such a monumental occasion, making supporting the World Cup feel a little patriotic. And I personally felt this World Cup was a great opportunity for America to earn some goodwill from the rest of world, at a time we could really use some. As a resident of Los Angeles, one of the cities hosting matches, I was witnessing a major inflow of out-of-town, out-of-country tourists. And boy, I could tell ya the tourists were having a great time here, and had nothing but positive things to say about their experiences in the US! They said everyone was treating them well, and they never felt unsafe. Even a colleague I know from Europe, who was reluctant about visiting the US in the current geopolitical climate, came for two weeks in June and had a blast! It felt good seeing people come together for soccer matches projected onto a giant screen on Venice Beach, and seeing our bars and restaurants actually crowded for once. Now, this came with a drawback on LA's infamous traffic. You've probably heard LA traffic sucks during normal times. Imagine tacking on the World Cup. Ugh, traffic was so horrible here in June. Roads and freeways were much more clogged than normal, and clearly some drivers were not from here and didn't quite understand local laws, didn't understand how LA traffic flows, or couldn't read English signs. I saw so many accidents and near-accidents in June, and I was even indirectly involved in one (my vehicle wasn't hit but I swerved to miss some nutcase, who collided with another car one lane to my left). Driving in LA was like Demolition Derby for a few weeks here. It drove me so crazy, I packed my car and went on a road trip to the Pacific Northwest from 6/25 to 7/8. And as it turned out, I was in the Seattle Area on the same weekend Team USA was about to face Belgium in the Round of 16, which was held in Seattle. Couldn't get away from the World Cup wherever I went.
What was I talking about before that side rant? Oh right, I was talking about World Cup soccer. Yes, I loved all the positive energy it brought to LA and the country at large. I actually watched some matches for the first time. I kind of understand soccer now (I think?). The beauty of the game isn't when the ball goes in the net, it's all the little skirmishes the players have with each other, trying to outmaneuver each other just to get a clean shot. It gets exciting watching it all unfold, just for that split second when a window opens up and a player takes a shot. More often than not, the shot goes wide, gets blocked by another player, or is saved by the goalkeeper. But still, that split second when the ball goes flying towards the net, everyone's heart stops. That's where it's at. I admit, I enjoyed watching a few matches. I saw the end of US vs. Belgium. Saw a good chunk of ENG-ARG and ENG-NOR. Saw the entirety of SPA-ARG. I learned every World Cup has been won by the same 8 countries, what's up with that? It's the most popular sport in the world, played in every region. You'd think there would be more parity. I was only rooting for teams who had never won before. First, USA. Then they lost and I rooted for Norway and Switzerland. Then they lost and there was nobody left except previous winners. I'm glad Spain beat Argentina. They seemed cleaner, more likable. And they were frankly way better. 20 shots to zero. Dominated possession. The only thing that kept Argentina alive was how great their goalkeeper was, making clutch save after clutch save, hoping they could hold out and force penalty kicks. It was kind of like Super Bowl this year. The Seahawks were completely outplaying the Patriots, but couldn't put them away because the Patriots' defense kept holding the Seahawks to field goals, making the game still within reach even late into the contest. Eventually the Seahawks put the game away, just like Spain did in the 106th minute. Sorry to all you football haters who just wanted me to gush about my new fondness for soccer. I'm not actually sorry, football still rules! Nevertheless, I kind of miss the World Cup now that it's over and everybody who visited here over the last two months has gone home. Looking forward to next one in four years!
Soccer is just a game of moments, but those moments are like nothing else.
All Ireland's great moments are still ingrained in my head from down the years, McAteer vs the Dutch, Robbie Keane against Germany in '02, Shane Long against Germany in '15, Robbie Brady against Italy and more recently Parrott against Hungary, hard to beat those feelings.
Spain deserving winners and delighted for them, definitely the most complete team at the World Cup no doubt, that semi-final performance was pure class.
Hurling is my go to though, now that's a proper fast moving sport. _________________
No third star for France—naturally disappointed by the semi-final loss to Spain, but happy about the victory of this excellent team against Argentina, avoiding a penalty shootout that would likely have favored the Argentines (a sore subject for France, having lost two finals in that manner).
No third star for France—naturally disappointed by the semi-final loss to Spain, but happy about the victory of this excellent team against Argentina, avoiding a penalty shootout that would likely have favored the Argentines (a sore subject for France, having lost two finals in that manner).
What a great game the 3rd / 4th playoff was.
As you say, Spain were justified winners. The way they went about the semi v France (who had been great through the tournament) was a masterclass in controlling a game.
European and World Champions at the same time. That doesn't happen that often
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