The Destruction Of The Old World Order

Sir Alex Ferguson - 'Football. Bloody hell!!!'

After so many years of following this game it can still leave you gobsmacked. Given how you set up and the chain of events any team can beat ANY team. The margins between success and failure are wafer thin - as thin as in any discipline in life.

Make no mistake about it. Brazil were not a bad team. In fact they were easily better than some of the teams left. However this is football.

The first goal was key. Brazil began to chase the game a bit mindlessly and it allowed Belgium to slice and dice them. If Brazil had scored the first goal we would have had a different game. Such fine margins.

Key events - First goal. Everything turned depending on who scored it first. Second goal - this was Brazil's biggest mistake i.e. chasing the game too fast almost mindlessly. Third - Brazil deserved at least one penalty I think but it was not given.

A few minutes after the second goal and especially in the second half Brazil played well. Really nice how they opened up a team who could comfortably sit back. However they missed some crucial chances and time was short.

I think Brazil's forwards were a bit lethargic in tracking back quickly and they were also a bit mindless going gung ho attacking to try to equalize very quickly. Poor game management.

A crash course worth starting - how to chase an opponent's one goal lead without losing your mind.

If Brazil and Belgium play each other ten times its very unlikely Belgium will win more than five times. In a one off game ANYTHING can happen.

Very reminiscent of WC 2010 quarter final - a sort of a shock defeat for Brazil against a powerful team who were still fancied less than them. Same score : 1-2.

This is almost the same Belgium that two years back in a Euro 2016 quarter final was beaten by Wales and they have now beaten pentacampeo Brazil. Incredible!!!

Knock out competition is very enjoyable and a must have. The flip side is that the winner may sometimes not be the best team. In UCL also it can happen but money power limits the competition. International football is the most unpredictable.

Maybe I/we overrated Brazil. They have not won the world cup since 2002 and international football is becoming so even. They had one clear weakness that their midfield was not elite. However of all teams they perhaps had the best individual match winners considering both quality and quantity and that may have been a vital factor as to why they were top favorites before even a ball had been kicked.

In 1998 the world said Brazil. In 2002 after the group stage was over many picked Brazil including myself. We were right for the last time. In 2006 Brazil were the overwhelming favorites including mine. In 2010 I picked Brazil even though Spain were the best team. In 2014 I said Argentina meeting Brazil in the final and just beating them. In 2018 I again picked Brazil. Enough is enough. The aura is so gone. Few will pick Brazil next time.

World Cup 2018 has now beaten the 2002 edition for the most unpredictable and open world cup in a long time. Whats more is that it has done so without diluting the competition all that much.

Savor this. All multiple world cup winners out. The four traditional football giants of Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina as well as the original double champions Uruguay are not in the running. The last four champions are out which adds Spain to the mix. Only two former winners remain - France and England.

Italy did not qualify. Germany went out in the group stage. Argentina followed in the round of sixteen. Now Brazil have been knocked out in the quarter finals. There has only ever been one world cup in which none of these four traditional soccer giants were not in the final and there had never been one in which they were not even in the semi finals. 2018 has ripped history to shreds.

Belgium vs Croatia would be the emblematic final of this world cup. Two teams that do not lack quality but lack pedigree. This world cup has already largely made a mockery of pedigree. When only two traditional teams remain and they are France and England you can say that this world cup has been monumental in destroying the old world order.

The checkered pedigree is all gone. We have two one time world champions remaining. With the exception of Sweden in 1958 none of the remaining countries have even ever experienced a world cup final.

I was initially skeptical about this world cup. 2006 was the one I enjoyed the most even though it was the most traditional of all. 2010 was mainly a sentimental favorite for me. I feared this could become boring like 2002 but 2018 has set new standards. At this point maybe the only thing I do not like is the royal road carved out for England.

Other than France and Russia, none of the remaining teams have ever won a Euro. France clearly are the most traditional team left.

An Indian astrologer had predicted that the champion would be Argentina or France. Now only France remain. This world cup has defied logic so much that maybe only astrologers can predict it. Or maybe we should ask an octopus. Today in ESPN FC they spent five minutes trying to get dogs to predict the results of world cup matches instead of discussing them.

This world cup has made many pundits and experts seem akin to the experts who built the Titanic. Maybe a few amateurs managed to build the Ark instead.