Takeaways from the First Two Weeks of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

The group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup had their share of excitement, surprises, and shocks. Close victories and late goals stood out in the group stages, and with nearly every slot in the round of 16 already filled out, let’s take a look back at some of the big happenings in Russia.

The GOAT Debate Continues

The World Cup conversations wouldn’t be complete without talking about the two best, if not the greatest, football players on the planet. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is the sport’s premier rivalry, and the two superstars are currently leading their respective squads in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With every World Cup, the debate over who is the GOAT continues.

Heading to this World Cup, Messi had 15 caps, 5 goals, and 3 assists for Argentina in his World Cup career. On the other hand, Ronaldo’s statline was an equally-impressive 13 caps, 3 goals, and 2 assists for Portugal. Ronaldo’s best finish was 4^th in 2006, while Messi led Argentina to the title match in 2014.

Four years ago, Messi took the advantage with both his personal and team success in Brazil. Messi topped Ronaldo four goals to one and was named as the best player of the 2014 World Cup. His country, Argentina, went all the way to the big dance before losing to Germany in the finals.

But this is 2018, and it is another edition of the World Cup. This time around, it is Cristiano Ronaldo who has stolen the show. Ronaldo had three goals in Portugal’s 3-3 tie against rivals Spain, becoming the oldest player in World Cup history to record a hat-trick. Ronaldo scored the only goal in Portugal’s 1-0 win over Morocco.

Meanwhile, after going 0-11 and missing a penalty kick against Mexico, Lionel Messi only has one goal in this World Cup. While Ronaldo’s Portugal is advancing to the knockout stages, Messi’s Argentina is on the verge of being eliminated in the group stages for the first time since 1962.

Home Field Advantage Probably Exists

The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the 21^st edition of the quadrennial spectacle. In the first 20 World Cups, the host team has hoisted the trophy a total of six times. 6/20 isn’t really an indicator that home field advantage exists in the World Cup, but if you look closely at the past results, you will notice that the hosts often finish well and even better than expectations.

Brazil finished second when they hosted the World Cup in 1950. Four years later, host Switzerland eliminated Italy in the group stage playoffs, producing one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Host nation Sweden finished second to Brazil in 1958 in the Swedes’ only World Cup finals appearance to date. Chile was third in 1962, while England won on its home turf in 1966.

Mexico was a late replacement to Colombia as host in 1986, and they reached the quarterfinals that year. In 1990, Italy reached the semifinals as the host country. When Japan and South Korea co-hosted the World Cup in 2002, Japan reached the round of 16, while South Korea made a run to the semifinals. Host Germany finished in the top 4 in 2006, while Brazil made it to the final 4 in the last edition of the World Cup.

This year’s host, Russia, wasn’t expected to make it out of the group stages. They entered the tournament as the lowest-ranked team (#70) in the group of 32 and were a mere +5000 underdog to win it all. But after the first round, Russia finished second in Group A with six points on a 2-1-0 record.

Sure, they got blanked by an obviously better Uruguay squad in their last group stage match, but by then, they had already secured a spot in the knockout stages as one of the top 2 teams in their group. Regardless of what happens next in the round of 16, Russia has already assured itself its best finish in the World Cup in the post-Soviet Union era.

The David and Goliath Story Is Real

You must’ve heard about the biblical story of the young shepherd boy named David who slayed a giant Philistine warrior named Goliath. If you don’t believe that story, we don’t blame you. But if you watched the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, you should be a believer by now.

Iceland held Argentina to a 1-1 draw on June 16, and although they didn’t get the win, it was one of the biggest victories in the current World Cup. Iceland was the ultimate underdog. Not only are they the smallest nation to ever play in the World Cup, but they were making their World Cup debut against a team led by the widely-acknowledged GOAT – Lionel Messi. But Messi went 0-11 against Hannes Halldorsson as Iceland claimed a historic debut at the World Cup.

When Japan stunned Columbia 2-1 in their opener on June 19th, it was the first ever World Cup victory by an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) team over a South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) squad in 18 total meetings between the two confederations.

Switzerland also held tournament favorites Brazil to a 1-1 draw on June 17^th, while Tunisia almost held England to a 1-1, only to be beaten by a Harry Kane goal at the very end of the match. Senegal also became the first African team in World Cup history to defeat a European team when they beat Poland 2-1.

But the most stunning upset so far in the 2018 FIFA World Cup was produced by Mexico, who beat defending champions Germany 2-1 to become the first Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) team to beat Germany in the World Cup. It was also Germany’s first opening-match loss at the World Cup in 36 years. The last time they lost was in 1982, when Germany was still divided by a wall.

The Margin for Error Is Shrinking

Heading to the World Cup, there were the favorites – according to the oddsmakers and the fans – to win the tournament. On top of the list were Brazil, Germany, and even Spain. Aside from the three, you could probably also make a case for France, Argentina, Portugal, and maybe even Belgium.

Let us not forget that in the last two editions of the World Cup and in three of the last four, the defending champions have been eliminated in the group stages, with Spain, France, and Italy falling victims to the so-called curse of champions. Germany may have avoided that, but repeating as World Cup champions has become more difficult than ever.

As of June 24^th, only Belgium and France haven’t been drawn or beaten so far, and France barely survived Australia in their opening match. Brazil and Germany are going to advance to the knockout stage, but both now know that there is no such thing as an underdog in the game of football. Argentina? They are fighting for dear life, and we’re still in the group stages.

The margin for error is shrinking by the day. Upsets are a common theme in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and because of that, no favorite is safe from the Davids of the 2018 FIFA World Cup competition. The favorites are likely to make it to the knockout stages, but even there, anything can happen. This is still anybody’s tournament to win.