Winners and Losers of the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals
· Yahoo Sports
After one of the most exciting tournaments in recent memory, things have gotten a bit more predictable over the last week or so. With the top four FIFA World Cup Ranking teams now all advanced to the semifinals, only the best of the best remain. Based on these results, there are a few clear winners and losers of the round.
Winners
FIFAThere is a reason that FIFA introduced a new rule that allocated the top four ranked teams into opposite corners of the World Cup knockout stage. Those four teams were France, Argentina, Spain and England. The tournament has clearly gone well for them as the big teams remain in the tournament until the last moment possible.
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It is no surprise why they introduced this than new rule — to sell tickets. And ticket prices are certainly reflecting the prestigious team statuses. While most fans would have loved to see Norway advance, England advancing undoubtedly gives FIFA more profit. Congrats Infantino!
Jude BellinghamBellingham has emerged as one of the great tournament players with his performance this tournament and the past European Championships. The English superstar rose to the occasion once again with a brilliant performance that saw England comeback to win against Erling Haaland and Norway.
The Beatles won’t complain about playtime over a certain song in their catalogue either.
Lionel MessiEvery game that the Argentina legend wins, is another piece of the legacy we are seeing built in real time. Despite Argentinas mediocre performance in the knockouts, Messi once again sees himself in the business end of the tournament, with a chance to win a second coveted World Cup title. Cristiano Ronaldo certainly won’t be pleased watching at home.
Losers
The Underdog StoryAs great as it is to see the best teams play each other on the biggest stage, this tournament is now sorrily missing an underdog story. Norway and Switzerland proved to be the fan favorites in the quarterfinals but were both eliminated after some questionable officiating.
Water cooler chats across the globe at the office on Monday carried an almost unanimous sadness to see Norway and Switzerland pack their bags and return home.
VARThis one is a tough subject. VAR was introduced to correct false decisions that resulted in controversial outcomes of games where teams were robbed of major calls which decided games.
However, this iteration of VAR has only increased controversy and seemingly allows the officials the opportunity to revoke certain calls or twist the outcome further in the favour of a particular team. The missed call where a ball hit a television wire and allowed England to counter and score a goal sounds comical, but actually happened.
If this continues, how can we not rule out foul play by FIFA?
Breel EmboloUnfortunately for the striker, an embellished dive cost him a second yellow, and costed Switzerland its tournament hopes. It was a silly decision by Embolo and one that will surely haunt him and his nation for years to come.
While Embolo’s red did prove costly for the Swiss, one can argue that dives like Embolo’s happen multiple times a game without any repercussion. Was it the correct decision to book Embolo? Yes, but it is due time for the officials to start punishing dives on a grand scale to erase it from today’s game.
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