2018: Best or not, gamechanger for certain
NEW DIRECTION With nearly half the goals in World Cup coming directly or indirectly from set pieces, the way football is played could change if that pattern persists MOSCOW:
Sometime around France’s virtuoso victory against Argentina and Belgium’s breathtaking comeback against Japan, the planet seemed to come to a decision. Russia 2018, it was universally decided, had not just been a good World Cup, and not just a great World Cup. It had, in fact, been the best World Cup.
That assessment may not last, of course once we have all had a chance to reflect. But regardless of its exact place in the hierarchy, the effusive discussion itself will be of considerable relief to Fifa. When international soccer is being outflanked in so many ways by the club game, these five weeks needed to be a success.
This has been not just an enjoyable tournament, but a significant one, one whose broader consequences may echo for a few years yet. In more ways than one, Russia 2018 really was a gamechanger.
CHANGE OF GUARD
If there is little doubt this has been an outstanding tournament, it seems fair to say there has been no outstanding team. Nor has it been a World Cup dominated by individuals.
The teams that have had the most success here of course have done so because they have the best of both worlds: players of remarkable talent who are prepared to place it entirely at the service of their team. Too many others seemed to arrive in Russia expecting the opposite to happen. Those days are over.
On the afternoon of June 30, France sent home Messi, who had looked so haunted, so stressed, during Argentina’s chaotic time in Russia. That evening, Uruguay’s defence shut down Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal. In the space of six hours, the two finest players of their generation exited the World Cup stage. The question that now lingers is whether it is for the last time.
It was impossible to escape the sense that this tournament marked the end of one thing, and the beginning of another. A new generation is rising, led by the tournament’s breakout star, if that is not a strange tag to give to someone who is already the second-most expensive player in the world: Kylian Mbappe.
He has a long way to go if he is to emulate either Messi or Ronaldo, of course; on the evidence of this World Cup, he is unlikely to have a peer and a rival capable of pushing him as hard as the Argentine and the Portuguese have for so many years. Throughout Russia 2018, though, it became increasingly clear that this is Mbappé’s time.
CONSEQUENCES
In the 1920s, football authorities were worried that the game was becoming boring because too few goals were being scored. To try to rectify the situation, the off-side rule was amended.
But teams did not take long to adapt, changing their defensive structures to account for the new rules. Soon, the number of goals was plummeting again.
In the 1980s, crowds were dwindling. This time the game’s authorities changed the rewards: three points would be awarded for a win, rather than two. The aim was to incentivise teams to push for victory. Instead, a study by Luis Garicano and Ignacio Palacios-Huerta found, those teams that took a lead became more inclined to sit back. If anything, games became defensive.
Major changes thus do not always have the intended effect. If this World Cup is anything to go by, the same may soon be said of video assistant referees (VAR).
VAR has been a success. Though the group stages were marked by some confusion about when it should and should not be used, the rather fluid definition of what constitutes a “clear and obvious” mistake has allowed it to do its job. Referees have awarded penalties they had initially missed, or struck off decisions that were incorrect. VAR has passed the test.
Just as significant, though, it has changed the game in ways that had not been foreseen. England, in particular, seemed to be seeking the illegal embrace of defenders from corner-kicks through the tournament, rather than trying to score goals. And Roberto Martinez, the Belgium manager, confirmed that the presence of VAR had changed the way his team handled both defensive and offensive set-pieces.
The ramifications could be significant. This has been a World Cup decided by the dead ball: nearly half the goals have come, directly or indirectly, from set pieces. If that pattern is maintained, the way football is played itself could change: it places a premium on winning free-kicks and corners, and having players capable of delivering them well, defending them well, and either scoring from them or using them as a route to win penalties. Football has always obeyed the law of unintended consequences. VAR may be no different.
EXPANDING THE FIELD
Between them, Africa, Asia and the Concacaf region sent 13 teams to Russia. They combined to win 10 games. Mexico and Japan were the only representatives from those regions to make it out of the group stage, and both fell in the round of 16. It fits the pattern: in the five World Cups this century, there have been 40 slots available in the quarter-finals. Teams outside Europe and South America have claimed only five, and three of those (Mexico, Senegal and South Korea) came in the same year, 2002.
Privately, at least one coach here confided that it is all but impossible for African and Asian teams to compete with Europe. Partly, of course, that is a legacy of political, economic and social exploitation such as the depredations of colonialism but it does not necessarily explain why large, rich Asian nations make so little impression. If any match from the World Cup that aptly captures the coming of age of youngsters, it has to be the last-16 clash between France and Argentina. While Lionel Messi cut a lone figure, standing forlornly with hands on his hips at the end of the match,
Kylian Mbappe was celebrating with his teammates after the young
French sensation had itched his name in
World Cup folklore. It hasn’t been a World Cup dominated by individuals. In a sport increasingly in thrall to stars, almost all of those teams that had been constructed in the service of the great and the good failed to ignite.
Mohamed Salah and Robert Lewandowski went home in the group stage, and Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta soon after. There have been many arguments for and against the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but the technology has had a positive impact, aside from of course adding an extra dosage of drama to the game.
An example of incorrect decisions was seen in Portugal’s group game against Morocco when Ronaldo got away with only a yellow card despite elbowing Morteza Pouraliganji. VAR also awarded Iran a dubious penalty in injury time. Besides Mbappe, his teammate Benjamin Pavard (22), Mexico’s Hirving Lonzano (22), Croatia’s Ante Rebic (24), Russia’s Aleksandr Golovin (left, 22), Colombia’s Yerry Mina (23), Uruguay’s Lucas Torreira (22) were among the youngsters who impressed. Instead, it has been a tournament for collectives: for Uruguay’s resilient, defiant defence; for England’s ingenious, coordinated set-pieces and for Belgium’s lethal, perfectly orchestrated counter-attacks. Russia’s work rate brought the host country within a penalty shootout of the semi-finals; Japan and Mexico, with their brave, breakneck style, made the quarter-finals. But aside from wrongdoings, VAR did get some of it right. Neymar’s penalty claim against Costa Rica was rightfully waved off, Mohamed Salah was awarded a penalty instead of a free-kick against Russia and Iran’s equaliser against Spain was correctly ruled offside.
But perhaps everyone needs to be on the same wavelength, starting from video referees to the main referee and his assistants. There could also be a system to take into account player’s reviews. One will never know whether it was a PR exercise or not but Russia 2018 turned out to be a pleasant experience for all. Even Russian president Vladimir Putin acknowledged this fact when he said playing host had “helped break many stereotypes about Russia. This is a friendly country.”
Gianni Infantino seconded him: “This World Cup is changing the perception of Russia, particularly from us in the West. Even the police are smiling! I feel like a child in a toy shop.”
As the World Cup has progressed, the fans’ perception about the country has changed and the early cautions have turned into a free-flowing party. Neymar (below) may have made it to the quarter-finals, played his heart out for the Samba Boys but won few friends along the way. His addiction to making a mountain out of a mole hill led to him being criticised for taking play-acting to another level. His melodrama led to thousands of memes as well. Cristiano Ronaldo (above) got the ball rolling on this one. After twice having put Portugal ahead against Spain, he got his third from an 88th-minute free-kick to help his team secure a 3-3 draw in their opening game. From here on, the late goals just kept coming.
Germany were celebrating at Sweden’s expense after Toni Kroos’ sublime strike in the 95th minute handed their World Cup a fresh lease of life — only to see South Korea scoring twice in stoppage time to knock the defending champions out. This World Cup boasts of the most goals scored from set-pieces in history of the tournament — 68 from 63 matches.
Of the 32 teams, 15 scored at least 50 per cent of their goals from set-pieces. England made the most of such situations, scoring nine goals. A huge contributing factor to this could be that a lot more fouls have been spotted and awarded this time around. Also, it seems teams worked on such situations in the buildup phase and thus were better prepared.