Nick Lanier: Soccer Writer

They may have reached the semi finals, equalling their second best ever performance at a World Cup, but England were frankly shocking. With the squad depth and talent they have, they should have breezed passed a Colombia side without James Rodriguez. They should have also put twice as many goals passed Sweden, and should have run Croatia, who had essentially played a game more than them, into the ground. The semi final between England and Croatia was very entertaining, but should have been over at halftime. Croatia didn’t show up until the second half, and with only a one goal lead, found it easy enough to get the equalizer needed to force extra time. At this point, England should again have killed the game. Croatia were fatigued, and were dropping like flies as the lactic acid caught up with them. In the end, Mario Mandzukic poked in a goal that would take Croatia to their first ever final, and send England to the third place playoff match, which they also lost. I do not want to

The South American side reached the final four years ago, narrowly losing to Germany 1-0. Seemingly always having a competitive team, Argentina have are one of just eight nations to win the World Cup, and right now have one of the best players in the world: Lionel Messi. In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Argentina were poor. Very poor. Coach Jorge Sampaoli looked as if each game was the first time he had coached this group of players, and it quickly became up to veterans like Messi to drag the team through to the knockout round. Coming off the back of an embarrassing 1-1 draw with Iceland, and a whopping 3-0 loss against Croatia, Argentina had to beat Nigeria, and hope the Croat’s did them a favor, to reach the next stage of the competition. All the chips fell into place, largely thanks to Messi, and Argentina would face France in the Round of 16. They would need to step up significantly to avoid defeat to the French. The match ended in a 4-3 loss, which doesn’t sound too bad, particul

The World Cup has made a habit in recent time of creating problems for the reigning champions. In 2002, France were eliminated in the group stage, just four years after winning the most prestigious title in the world. In 2010, Italy had an abysmal performance in South Africa, looking a shadow of the team from 2006. In 2014, defending champions Spain were poor, and this time around in Russia, winners from 2014 Germany continued this trend. In a group with Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea, Germany were huge favorites to top the pile, or at the very least, finish second. On Matchday One, they took on El Tri in what was thought of as being the decider of who would finish in first place. Mexico were dominant, and took all three points in the tie. Next up for Die Mannschaft was Sweden, who bested South Korea in their opener. Germany looked much better than they did against Mexico, but still conceded first, and needed a come-from-behind win, with Toni Kroos scoring the winner with the last ki

France bested Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final in Russia. Looking powerful throughout the tournament, France went into the game as huge favorites, particularly given the form of winger Kylian Mbappe and forward Antoine Griezmann. Croatia’s main striker Mario Mandzukic would divert a cross into his own net to give Les Bleus the lead, but Ivan Perisic would equalize with a stunning volley. The Inter Milan man would later handle the ball in the area, and after consulting VAR, France would be awarded a penalty, which Griezmann converted. As Croatia pressured to try and score another equalizer, Mbappe’s pace would become too much to handle on the counter, with the teenager squaring for Griezmann who unselfishly passed to Paul Pogba who gave the French a two goal cushion. Mbappe then scored himself to all but seal the tie. Mandzukic would pull one back after an error from French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, but Croatia’s legs finally caught up with them, with all three of their previo

In the first semi final in Russia, France took on Belgium, in another highly anticipated match. France beat Uruguay in the quarter final stage 2-0, and have looked immense all tournament long. Belgium needed to beat Brazil in the last round, and did so in style, with a 2-1 win. Belgium too, have played well, and this matchup between neighbors had the potential to be one of the games of the tournament. Proceedings began rather slowly, with each side trying to feel out the other. It would be the French who would take the lead through a Samuel Umtiti glancing header. France continued to look threatening on the break, but their forwards seemed a tad off in the final third, with Olivier Giroud a particular culprit. Belgium arguably dominated the game, and did force some good saves from Hugo Lloris, but France seemed comfortable with allowing shots from distance. Kevin De Bruyne returned to his poor form that was only briefly lifted against Brazil, and Belgium’s only real producer of chances

France took on Uruguay in game one of the quarter finals in Russia. France dominated Argentina in the previous round, and young star Kylian Mbappe remains on course to be the young player of the tournament. For Uruguay, it took two Edinson Cavani goals to eliminate Portugal, and the PSG man would play no part in this game through a calf injury. France looked strong in the first half, but would not score until the 40th minute when Raphael Varane would power a header past Fernando Muslera from a free kick. France would double their lead on the hour mark when Antoine Griezmann hit a powerful shot that moved in the air, catching out the goalkeeper. Uruguay pressured throughout the second half, and Luis Suarez and others had chances, with Hugo Lloris forced into numerous saves. Despite the pressure, France were victorious, and Uruguay will head home. Les Bleus continue to look strong and dangerous all over the field, and are probably the favorites to win the trophy, based on performances i

France took on Argentina in the first match of the knockout stage in Russia. France played very well during pool play, beating Peru and Australia, and drawing with Denmark. Argentina were perhaps the polar opposite, losing to Croatia, narrowly avoiding defeat to Iceland, with that match ending in a tie, and beating Nigeria to squeeze through the group. Argentina have looked very poor for arguably the past three years, and France seeked to take advantage of this early on, with Antoine Griezmann hitting the bar on a free kick. Youngster Kylian Mbappe went on a mazy run, ending in a foul in the box committed by Marcos Rojo. Griezmann dispatched the penalty kick, giving Les Bleus the lead. Argentina pressured for the rest of the first half, and actually found an equalizer against the run of play. The French center backs failed to step up fast enough, and Angel Di Maria scored a screamer from 25 yards out. The South American’s took the lead just after halftime, when Lionel Messi’s strike we