Kevin Whitcher
Tuesday 17th July 10.30am
I had a brief exchange on Twitter yesterday with sometime Gooner contributor (more often found on Arseblog these days) Tim Stillman. He had tweeted, Suddenly remembering the tinge of melancholy with which I watch all World Cup Finals, but always somehow forget in the ensuing years. It's nearly over.... It's not just the four year intervals that mark the passage of time, it's the month itself. That opening ceremony feels like another lifetime. That Spain v Portugal game, watching Mexico beat Germany on a mate's phone in a craft beer pub in Tallinn. Lifetimes seem to have passed..
I responded, There have been 14 in my lifetime, 12 of which I was aware of, seven of which I have attended matches at. The odds are I might only be alive for another 4, going on average life expectancy. Hoping to beat the odds and enjoy a few more than that!
It’s interesting that, since returning to the UK after spending the first week of the tournament in Russia, when presenters, pundits and fans talk about the tournaments they remember on the radio, how many are not old enough to remember watching England play Germany in 1990. There goes half a lifetime. If you halved my age now, that was in the first half of my life. Wow. Whilst writing this, I actually looked up the average life expectancy for a male in the UK, and it seems I was being a little pessimistic. In reality the odds are I will only enjoy six more World Cup tournaments before shuffling off this mortal coil. I first became involved with The Gooner approx 28 years ago. Thinking what I have experienced in that time, there is plenty of opportunity for a lot of joy and experience before I am scheduled to cop it.
But World Cups, more than birthdays, are really significant temporal landmarks in one’s existence, assuming you have any interest in football. Many in this country will recall them based upon England’s fate, although for me, the final match itself is generally the standout memory. If for no other reason than that historically, a tournament is defined by two things – its location and its winners. Which brings us to France v Croatia on Sunday. France were the favourites based upon the teams they had beaten on the way to the final and the reality that in effect they had played 90 minutes less football than Croatia, including an extra day’s rest after the semi-final.
Croatia had been outstanding in their group game against Argentina, but in the knockout rounds, struggled to overcome the combined might of Denmark, Russia and England, failing to beat any of them in 90 minutes, and needing penalties to put them through twice. They were the great survivors from a half of the draw that most believed Spain would progress from.
France, underwhelming in the group matches, had only really shown their true capability in a cracking last 16 tie against Argentina. After that, they played intelligent, if generally unexciting football to eliminate Uruguay and Belgium. The latter were arguably the second best team in the finals, and it was generally felt (at least by those not caught up too much in the national fervour about Gareth Southgate’s side) that the winner of their semi-final would win the trophy.
And so it proved. Croatia made a fist of it, but ultimately, key decisions went the way of the French and the mountain to climb proved too great. Griezmann was cunning to win the free kick that led to France’s opening goal, but in fairness, the Croats are hardly saints when it comes to gamesmanship. Croatia’s equaliser was a top drawer effort from Perisic, but then VAR made its mark on this final. I can see why the penalty was given. Perisic did, in the movement of his arm, seem to lower it as if to bat away the ball. Probably an accident, probably no intent. Certainly too much of a risk to take if he thought he would get away with it. However, it was Croatia’s misfortune that he gave the referee just enough to believe there might have been intent. Should it have been given? One for debate. I’d say benefit of the doubt to the defending team. On such small margins are football matches decided. But France were the better team, and in the second half, given the space to demonstrate it by the opposition’s need to take chances, they came up with two excellent goals.
So poor luck, certainly. A rare moment once the heavens opened as a Spurs captain lifted a trophy, even if TV viewers missed the big moment due to some security goons. Strange to think about the amount of Spurs influence in the last four, with players on all four sides having connections with the club (I am counting Luca Modric and Corluka on the Croat side). Football certainly is a strange game.
As for the third place playoff game, I chose to attend Arsenal v Borehamwood on Saturday. Attempted to watch the game in full later on Saturday evening, but the body wasn’t having it. I was awake to catch the opening goal, although I can’t even recall it now. By 25 minutes, I was in dreamland, with the other half nudging me to tell me to go to bed. Saturday was a hot old day, and the energy levels were very much on the low side. It was all meaningless anyway, although Belgium ran out 2-0 winners by the end, that much I know from checking my phone during the Arsenal game.
So, a tournament that will have two major legacies. VAR is one. It’s here to stay and will cut out a certain amount of gamesmanship. However, to be really effective, players need to be punished retrospectively for things that are not to do with goals, penalties and offsides. A one game ban for diving might be a start. The other one is the use of Fan ID cards, some 32 years after Margaret Thatcher tried to bring them in back in England. Of course, these also doubled up as visas to get into Russia (saving a serious amount of money), but it ultimately proved possible to access stadiums with black market tickets bought bearing another user’s name, even though the technology was in place to prevent this. In the end, the organisers preferred fuller stadiums as opposed to foiling the black market.
For Russia, it was a very successful PR exercise, as it generally proves for host countries. A lot of England fans were reluctant to travel, but there were no major issues. Things could get a bit expensive, but that is generally the way at these tournaments unless you are organised and do things in advance. It’s a huge country, and even though the venues were concentrated in the west of Russia, travelling times were often very long if you were not able to fly. That trains were free to match ticket holders meant many used this mode of transport. The people were generally hospitable, moreso outside the major cities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
As for the football, some cracking games. And let’s face it, six goals in a World Cup final is the stuff of… well, 1966. Since then, we have had five on occasion (1970, 1986), and a couple of fours (1978 and 1982), but since 1990, pickings have generally been slim (one, none, three, two, two, one, one). Ten goals in seven games. So to get six is something of a feast compared to the normal famine. The tournament provided some shocks, plenty of drama and discussion points and a lot of feelgood factor in several countries, not least Russia and England. I’ve enjoyed it. I think the game has become a bit more open as a consequence of VAR, as rulebreaking is more likely to be punished. It’s not perfect, but ultimately it has added to the entertainment.
God alone knows what the Qatar tournament will be like in November and December 2022. At this stage I do not know if I plan to attend (I have managed at least three games per tournament since my last non-attendance in 1994). Four and a half years is a long time, and who knows what life will bring in that time (or if I will even be around to attend!). It will certainly feel odd with the finals not being held during the English summer, very odd indeed. By that time, the Euros will have been played with Wembley staging the semi-finals and final, and Gareth Southgate’s team two years further down the line. Cue Baddiel and Skinner….
