2018 FIFA World Cup

[Sneak]

Finally.
FINALLY.

This was a match I liked.
Croatia won in match with Russia in penalty series, but this time, I don't hate my team or curse opposing team. I say great thanks to both teams for good football and fair result!
Hope it won't be end of good football!

[The Chronicler]

Both of my picks for today's matches were correct, so it looks like I got 3 out of 4 right for the Quarterfinals.

Sweden vs England 0 - 2
Both teams played very well, but it was England that was able to score goals from corner kicks. And although both teams had good defense, England was able to back theirs up with a goalkeeper that made some very good saves. With this win, England has now made it to the semifinals for only the third time ever (first was in 1966 when they won the championship, and the second was in 1990, so it's been 28 years since the last time this team made it this far).

Russia vs Croatia 2 - 2 (penalty kicks: 3 - 4)
Russia sure had a rather solid defense formation, but both teams ended up in a stalemate, with one goal each in regular time, and then each scoring another goal in overtime, so it went on to penalty kicks once again for both of these teams. It was Croatia that ultimately won, and thus they become only the second team to ever win back-to-back matches on penalty kicks (the first was Argentina in 1990).

(I've heard that thanks to Russia's better than expected results in this World Cup, there's a good chance it will lead to more interest in this sport throughout that country, much like what happened here in the United States when we hosted the World Cup back in 1994.)

With these results, we know which teams will be playing in one of the Semifinal matches:
Croatia vs England

All Quarterfinal matches are now done. All that's left to go are the two Semifinal matches, followed by the Third-Place match and finally the Final.

Here's a quick recap of my current picks for the remaining matches...

Semifinals:
France vs Belgium (France)
Croatia vs England (England)

Third-Place:
Belgium vs Croatia (Belgium)

Final:
France vs England (England)

So those are my picks at this time, which means I'll be cheering for England. Which teams do you guys think will win the last few matches?

[The Chronicler]

Onto the semifinals, which means only one match per day from this point onward.

France vs Belgium 1 - 0
Both of these teams were very good on all fronts, offense, defense, and goalkeeping. There was a good chance this match could have gone to a scoreless draw the whole time, but all it took was a corner kick early in the second half for France to get the only goal today. France is going to the final for the third time ever (previously done in 1998 and 2006, winning the final only in 1998), while Belgium will get a second chance to win in the third-place match (the only time they made it that far was in 1986, which they lost to France, so there's still a chance Belgium can get their best finish ever in this World Cup).

My pick for this match was correct, so my predictions currently remain unchanged. I'll definitely be looking forward to the other semifinal match tomorrow.

[Nick22]

 I agree with your pick for tomorrow and the championship. i Have england beating france 2-1 with the winning goal scored in the final 10 minutes.

[Nick22]

France beats Belgium 1-0 to reach the WC final for the second time. Belgium now awauis the Croatia-England loser in the 3rd place game.

[rhombus]

It looks like it will be France versus Croatia for the title, and England versus Belgium for the third-place game.

[The Chronicler]

Well, there goes my pick to win this year's World Cup (again).

Croatia vs England 2 - 1 (overtime)
England got off to a great start after scoring a goal from a corner kick just five minutes in. Croatia was able to equalize in the second half, and both teams held on to send this match into overtime. With just ten minutes left to go, all it took was a brief lack of attention from England's defense that allowed Croatia to score the winning goal. Croatia will be going to the finals for the first time ever (also becoming the first team to ever win three World Cup matches in a row that went into extra time), while England will face off against Belgium in the third-place match for a chance to surpass their 1990 finish. (Looks like that Group stage rematch I was hoping wouldn't occur will actually happen, but I suppose it's better in the third-place match than the final.)

Well, one more time, I must give new picks for the remaining matches...
Third-Place; Belgium vs England (These teams weren't even trying in their group stage match, since they were already going to advance, so this second time should be more exciting, and unlike the first time, I think England will win this one.)
Final; France vs Croatia (This World Cup has had tons of surprises and upsets, so to follow that trend, my pick here will be for the one that has never won a World Cup, and that would be Croatia.)

The third-place match will be on Saturday, followed by the final on Sunday, both of which I will definitely be watching.

[The Chronicler]

Well, so much for hoping for a different result from a rematch.

Belgium vs England 2 - 0
Once again, it didn't take long for me to realize just who was likely going to win. Belgium scored their first goal very early in the first half, then got the second goal late in the second half. England missed a lot of excellent chances to score, so much so that it wouldn't be hard to imagine the score could have easily ended up tied at the end of regular time. With this match over, Belgium has officially had its best World Cup ever, while England ends up tied with its second best run back in 1990.

(I quickly looked up past World Cup results, and it seems that rematches between the same two teams in the same World Cup, although rare, have occurred before, nearly half a dozen times in total.)

Now all that's left in this World Cup is the final match tomorrow. Let's see if my final pick will turn out correct. Who do you guys think will win?

[brekclub85]

Congratulations to France!

[DiddyKF1]

France put on a great show, and they greatly deserve that World Cup! Many congratulations to them, particularly to 19-year-old sensation Kylian Mbappe!

[The Chronicler]

It may not have been the pick I made, but I'm still proud of the winner, nonetheless.

France vs Croatia 4 - 2
I had expected not much to happen like in the more recent World Cup finals, but this one completely blew away that assumption and turned out to be very exciting, with lots of incredible moments worthy of the record books. The first goal, which went for France, was the very first own goal ever scored in a World Cup final, which also makes this year's World Cup have the most own goals of any World Cup with a final total of twelve. After Croatia equalized, the referee had to use the VAR (another first for a World Cup final) to determine that a handball had occurred, giving France a penalty kick that put them ahead again. With that score of 2-1 at halftime, it was already the most goals scored in a World Cup final since 1998, but things didn't stop there by a long shot. Some crazy people ran out onto the pitch at one point in the second half, so that sure added to a match full of notable events. Later, just a few minutes apart, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe each scored a goal for France, with the latter making him only the second teenager to ever score a goal in a World Cup final (the first being Pele in 1958). That was soon followed by Croatia taking advantage of an error by the French goalkeeper, but were unable to get any further goals. Even so, the final score means this World Cup final match had the most goals scored in any final match since 1958. And there was even the threat of a thunderstorm possibly delaying the match (which has never happened before to a World Cup final), but thankfully the downpour didn't start until after the match was finished, though that left the French team to celebrate in the rain. In addition, the manager of the French team is also now only the third person to have ever won a World Cup first as a player and then won it for the same team again as a manager (the first was for Brazil and the second was for Germany). Croatia may have lost, but this was still their best finish ever in a World Cup.

Now that was a really thrilling end to a World Cup that was full of surprises!

Next year will be the Women's World Cup, which will be hosted in France.