Despite there always being a few teams that manage to go that little bit further than they should, the last couple of World Cups before Russia 2018 were business as usual. From Spain dominating in 2010 to Germany practically walking it in 2014, the teams they had to face to get there were all of a decent standard, with all of the minnows well gone by at least the quarters. Russia was definitely a different story however, and the ‘shoe-ins’ certainly didn’t keep up their previous records.
From defenders Germany crashing out spectacularly in the group stages to Spain sacking their manager literally the night before the tournament was due to start, nearly all of the favourites underperformed to an extent. Spain were gone by the last 16, Argentina almost didn’t make it to the knockouts, and Brazil looked very lethargic in almost every game, eventually going out at the hands of eventual 3rd place finishers Belgium. Even France, who lifted the trophy, underperformed in their opening games, before turning on the heat when it mattered.
This lack of explosive football from the ‘favourites’ created a bit of a vacuum for less historically-successful nations to pick up the reigns. The improvements seen by some nations at 2018 have provided a whole new dynamic to international football and the gap is certainly looking like it’s beginning to close between them and the ‘big teams’. The following sides are all great examples of nations who defied the odds and went way further than they should have on paper, and living proof that literally anything can happen in football.
Russia
Despite being hosts, pundits and bookies labelled the Russians as the ‘worst team at the tournament’ thanks to their lack of form at international level and distinct lack of international superstars. When the match winning penalty went in against Spain in their last 16 match, bookies must have been looking on in horror as one of the favourites went home a definite outsider went on to face Croatia. Realistically, Russia aren’t a great team, but the effect of hosting a World cup may have been a key factor in their successful run.
Croatia
Croatia have always been fancied at World Cups thanks to the exceptional individual talents that are always available for selection at every major tournament, but the last 3 tournaments before 2018 have been full of disappointment, with group stage exits brought about by poor cohesion amongst brilliant individuals. 2018 was such an incredible improvement, with the Croatians managing their best performance since a 4th place finish in 1998.
After seeing off England in the semis, Croatia faced a very strong France and were eventually put to the sword in a 4-2 defeat full of VAR and refereeing controversy. Individual performances from Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic just showed how much depth and choice Croatia have, and may have even won the tournament on a different day.
England
The less said about England’s track record at the World Cup, the better. Despite being one of the world’s footballing nations, England always seem to mess it up on the big stage. 2018 was the year where they managed to regain some respect. After navigating pretty easily through the group stages, England worked hard to reach their first semi-final since 1990, a massive over-performance and an achievement that absolutely no one saw coming. England were a generous 14/1 before a ball had been kicked, and were at one stage 4/1 before their game against Croatia in the semis. Gareth Southgate went from joke to hero, England’s interesting tactics caused major problems, and striker Harry Kane took home the golden boot. For a side that didn’t win a single game at Brazil 2014, we’d say that’s pretty good going!
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