10 Things we learned from FIFA World Cup 2018

Is the World Cup still the pinnacle of the game? Probably not. The very best Champions League games still outstrip it.

But in terms of sheer size, scale, scope and drama, its ability to unite nations and bridge worlds, its ability to make hearts flutter and focus billions on one event, the World Cup is still without equal.

There were a lot of important things going on in the World Cup but we picked the best 10 things we learned from the FIFA World cup 2018.

VAR doesn’t ruin football

But it doesn’t improve it much, either. Cancelling a Neymar penalty showed its value, but the snagging list was long: delays, missed calls and wrong calls, all of it encouraging dissent. One of the system’s suspect moments – Russia’s Ilya Kutepov being cleared of fouling Sergio Ramos in the box – earned meme status. Among the VAR verdicts: “It’s not fit for purpose” (Gary Neville); “It’s bullshit” (Nordin Amrabat); and “It’s extremely satisfying” (Fifa).

England can hold it together

In the end, it didn’t take much to change England’s penalty psychosis: just a new mental approach based on inflatable unicorns, rubber chickens, trust exercises, Oscar Wilde quotes on the walls, “re-framing emotions” and some solid management speak. “We spoke a lot about owning the process,” Gareth Southgate said before the last 16. Colombia had no chance.

LATIN AMERICANS MAKE THE WORLD CUP

The incredible atmosphere in Russia was down to Latin Americans, who travelled in remarkable numbers when Europeans were shunning a World Cup on their own doorstep. Argentina’s fans are always outstanding, Peru came en masse, Panama partied their way to the happiest of group-stage exits, Brazil and Colombia filled the streets with canary yellow and Uruguay went further than the rest of them.

EUROPE’S DOMINANCE IS NO LONGER A BLIP

All four semi-finalists; a fourth consecutive European winner; a combined record of 21 wins and eight defeats against non-European sides: as the game’s centre of gravity shifts ever more inexorably towards its birthplace, Europe’s dominance is becoming a big problem.

It’s not that the rest of the world isn’t improving; it’s just that the European sides are improving so much faster, with their industrial talent production lines, their greater resources, their concentration of coaching expertise and sports science, the best players coming up against the best players every fortnight. And yet when the World Cup increases to 48 teams, Europe’s representation by percentage will drop further.

The more things change the more they stay the same

Always a big part of any tournament: Fifa taking the edge off its own “zero tolerance on discrimination” message. This year: fining Russia €8,500 for a neo-Nazi banner, Mexico €8,500 for homophobic chanting, Sweden €60,000 for “unauthorised sock branding”, and Croatia €60,000 for allowing players to consume non-official-sponsor beverages on camera.

Official bus slogans are a bad idea

Hyundai, Fifa’s official bus slogan sponsor, unveiled Germany’s bus branding in May when the mood was upbeat: “This slogan really captures the unity and cohesion of this German team.” It meant Germany had to travel back to the airport early in a team bus branded: “Zusammen. Geschichte schreiben/Let’s write history together.”

ARGENTINA FACE THE UNKNOWN WITHOUT MESSI

Who knows what now for Argentina. There’s a chance that, shorn of the need to feature Messi, they could become a better team in the mould of a post-Zlatan Sweden. There’s also a chance their utterly inept federation and broken youth system would see a drying up of talent presided over by sub-standard coaches and devoid of organisation or planning.

NEYMAR’S ENIGMA REMAINS

Watching Neymar play for Brazil, he looks like a man trapped on an emotional rollercoaster. But it is a rollercoaster he has built for himself. It is not enough for him for Brazil to win, he must be the man to win the game himself. Hence him breaking down in tears after the 2-0 win over Costa Rica – the indignity of seeing Philippe Coutinho opened the scoring and his own added-time goal meaning nothing to the broader context. It speaks of a similar attitude to leaving Barcelona two years after winning the Champions League to join a PSG side who have never come close.

WE LIVE IN THE ERA OF THE BIG NO 9

You weren’t anybody at this World Cup unless you had one. Olivier Giroud, Mario Mandzukic, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Artem Dzyuba and Edinson Cavani all made their mark on the tournament in various ways and proved they are worth not simply in weight of goals but in their defensive work and the space they created for team-mates.

There’s no team as decent as Japan

A 3-2 defeat in the 94th-minute of their last-16 game left Japan’s players in tears. They then went back to their changing room, showered and changed, tied up, removed the rubbish and left a note for ground staff reading “thank you” in Russian. The fans did the same to their stand.