#France Takes World Cup Home After 20 Years..

Its been a month since the Soccer fever had begun. Tonight the fever has come to an end with France winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup is a much-awaited sport by almost everyone all around the world. This year the tournament began, on June 14th, at Moscow and 32 teams were qualified to play the tournament.  The World Cup began in 1930 and it is held every four years. The tournament was not held in 1942-1946 due to the second world war. 21 tournaments have been held so far, and the cup was won by eight national teams. Brazil won the cup five times, Germany and Italy won it four times. Argentina, France, and Uruguay won the cup twice. England and Spain won the cup once. In 1930 Uruguay hosted the first world cup and won the first world cup.

This year when the tournament began it took me back to the late 80’s. I still do remember seeing the matches at night with my mother and brother. Those days, everyone was excited and waited for the match to start as they were no big screens like nowadays. Nowadays malls, restaurants, clubs, beaches, parks, etc put up big screens and people gather to watch the matches. But in our school days, very few people had Televisions. So all the young folk used to flock to houses where there was a Television and where they could enjoy the game without any hindrance. My brother was a great fan of soccer so he and his friends used to watch the game at our house. I was a die-hard fan of the Germans and my brother a die-hard fan of Argentina. I still remember how we used to pray for our teams to win. But in 1986 Maradona steered Argentina to the finals and they won the world cup. Maradona became a hero, his performance was incredible. In 1990 the Germans horses beat Argentina in the finals but it was one of the ugliest world cup finals. In 1994 Brazil won the cup for the fourth time.

This year, the FIFA world cup was much awaited, as many had hopes in the big teams and players.  As the tournament proceeded it was a surprise to see the top heroes Lionel Andre’s Messe of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal fail to prove their mettle and they couldn’t work their magic for their teams. The big teams had to exit before the semifinals. It was sad to see the German horses, the reigning champions, exit, as they couldn’t advance past the first round. It was a surprise to see Belgium, France, England, and Croatia make it to the semifinals. When France beat Belgium everyone expected England to make a comeback after 28 years. But Croatia played a beautiful game and made it to the finals. The French had won the World Cup in 1998 and the Croatians were entering the finals for the first time this year.

As everyone was excited to see the repeat game of France play Croatia after 20 years.

#The important question was would France retain its victory they had in 1998 ? or would Croatia play a game and win the cup for the first time ever?

France won the 21st FIFA World Cup 4-2, they lifted their title for the second time as Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and a self-goal by Mandzuick made them the World Champions of 2018. France won the much deserved World Cup, but  Croatia, the young team, and the underdogs won the hearts of everyone.

The first female President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has become an internet sensation. She has won hearts of all football lovers for her presence and passionate support she had been giving her team. She and her team will always be remembered in the history of the World Cup.

Luka Modric won the Golden Ball 2018 as the best player. He was the heart and soul of the team.

Kylian Mbappe the 19-year-old got the Young Player Award, as he struck at the 65th minute in the finals. It was his fourth goal in the tournament. He is being compared to the king Pele as both of them scored in the finals as teenagers.

Harry Kane got the Golden Boot Award as he netted six goals and was the top scorer of the tournament.

Thibaut Courtois was declared as the best Goalkeeper. He was given the Golden Glove Award.

FIFA 2018 had its ups and downs and has ended with so many unforgettable moments, 169 goals were scored during the whole month. The Soccer fans will live with their memories and wait for the teams to gear up for 2022 in Qatar, the first time ever in the Arab World.