If the leading players are ready, the World Cup group stage can be as long or as short as FIFA desires.
There were some unlikely heroes in the first round of 72 games, but to be honest, it was the standout names that made this match so compelling. If Lionel Messi does vintage Lionel Messi stuff, he can do it in any format.
It was fitting that Messi came off the bench to score his sixth goal of the tournament in the final act of the group stage. He shined the first two and a half weeks of this tournament.
But so did Cape Verde and its indefatigable players.
The bottom line is that the identities of most of the 16 teams returning home after group practice will come as no surprise to most observers. That could include Scotland.
But Cape Verde’s solo trip – attracting the might of Spain and Uruguay to secure a place in the last 32 against Argentina – all but justified FIFA’s decision to expand the tournament to 48 teams.
Cape Verde international Kevin Pina’s goal to draw Marcelo Bielsa’s hapless side 2-2 was one of the highlights of the group stage. The tying goal between Curcao and Germany was a great moment, even though we lost 7-1.
But do moments like that make the 48-team World Cup format more interesting? Now that the group stage is over and dusted, that’s probably not the case.
Cape Verde was the story of the World Cup group stage (Image: (Photo by Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images))
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And the fact that eight of the 12 third-place teams advanced to the final round meant that the schedule of games in the final round was necessarily unfair.
Teams playing at that stage of the game were clearly at a huge disadvantage. The teams that played after that knew what they had to do.
However, no country can point to any obvious collusion that would lead to the sudden death stage. Basically, the group stage is similar to the group stage of any other World Cup, only with more matches.
And hydration was also interrupted. Yes, your hydration will be cut off.
It’s no exaggeration to say they left an unsightly stain on what has always been a frenzied tournament that blended fan participation and football excellence.
England fans routinely boo the scheduled ‘hydration break’
Scotland weren’t very good on the pitch and Steve Clarke’s resignation after the match was inevitable, but the Tartans owned American cities, especially Boston.
Norwegian fans celebrating the Viking boat in Times Square was a great sight.
And then there were the box-office hitters who reminded the world just how good they were.
Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane. And let’s not leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of that frame. His two-goal response to being widely criticized and told he was “done” after his performance in Portugal’s opening match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo epitomized his greatness.
The soccer was entertaining throughout, leading up to the six-goal tie between Algeria and Austria. But I’m sure there isn’t a soccer fan in the world who would think such a forced hydration break is a good idea.
There is no doubt that you like commercial income. But there are no football lovers. The national associations should have protested, but they like FIFA’s money too much.
Therefore, we are sticking to them. The group phase football and storyline were enough to make the farce less frustrating…let’s hope it stays the same all the way to the final kick of the tournament.
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