FIFA, dump the charade and put them in the pot
The World Cup should be thrilling from start to finish.
Instead, too many of the final group games were a total bore.
Senegal against Colombia, Japan versus Poland and England’s game with Belgium were awful to watch.
And I blame the way the tournament is mapped out in advance.
Teams should not be going into their last group game knowing they need to lose to secure an easier passage to the Final. That’s what happened to England, and the result was a stinker of a game against Belgium. It’s a scenario that shouldn’t be happening. So why aren’t we talking about changing the way the World Cup works after the group stages?
Why shouldn’t we have a completely-fresh draw once the qualifying teams are decided? Dump the group-stage charade, stick them all in a pot and pull them out at random, just like the Scottish Cup or the FA Cup. Imagine the drama!
To be fair to the teams in Russia, we haven’t done too badly on the excitement front.
I reckon VAR has been a great thing to chuck into the mix.
On the whole, it has been used well and has given us plenty of talking points.
Given pundits’ fears over how it might strip controversy out of the game, I think we can now say there’s no danger of that.
We’ve talked as much about VAR decisions – if not more – than we did before about standard refereeing calls.
It’s just a shame the tournament has been let down by a few duff games last week.
If there’s a chance of changing that, it should be taken.
I’ve always been an advocate of straight-up knock-out games in big tournaments. Back in 1967, when Celtic won the European Cup, it was knock-out stuff from the first round.
That made every single game meaningful. It doesn’t happen any more because there’s more money to be made for UEFA – and the clubs involved – by going through a group stage first.
But I just think it’s always more exciting when two teams are pulled out of the hat and go toe-to-toe.
Now we’re into the last 16 in Russia, that’s what we should be getting every time.
Maybe part of the reason FIFA haven’t changed the format is to do with logistics for teams and fans.
I suppose there’s added difficulty on the planning side if you don’t know where you’re going to be playing your next game.
But it wouldn’t be impossible, so I reckon they should just go for it.
As it stands, there are some cracking ties to come over the next few days.
Spain and Croatia are both in action today, and I’d say they’re among the favourites to go all the way.
Brazil and Belgium both look like they’ve got a fairly clear path into the quarter-finals. But on Tuesday, England against Colombia and Sweden versus Switzerland are both really difficult to call.
As far as England are concerned, I’ve got a sneaky feeling they’ll be in the next round.
I even suspect – or maybe fear is a better word – that they’ll make it to the semis!
But with Spain lurking in their side of the draw, I reckon that will be their limit.
However, getting there would be a success for Gareth Southgate and his side.
Whatever happens, the next fortnight is going to be thrilling.
It’s just a shame it can’t be like that all the way from the start.
I’ve always been an advocate of straight-up knock-out games in big tournaments