Hello my good people… Wow wow wow, what a way to end the World Cup. Absolutely unbelievable!
Before I get into it, I have to say I’m not into mysticism, but the week before the final I dreamt twice that the final ended 2-2, but (in my dream) I didn’t get a chance to put money on it.
Goalless at the end of the first 15 minutes of extra time ❌
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) December 18, 2022
We're now 15 minutes away from a penalty shootout 👀
📺 Stream #FIFAWorldCup live: https://t.co/Tg69y0DH5d https://t.co/N9D9afSxCT
Now I don’t encourage gambling, but I had to have a flutter and hit it at 17/1! Wooooohoooo, there’s the meat sorted for the 25th!
But of course my pathetic little story has got nothing to do with what was arguably not just one of the greatest World Cup finals, but one of the most exciting games of all time. And that after 80 minutes of what could be described as the most one-sided boring finals of all time!
France just weren’t in it, but as we all know one moment against the run of play can turn everything on its head and boy did it do that!
Kylian Mbappe hardly touched the ball but ended out with a hattrick.
Imagine that, scoring three goals in a World Cup final and going home with a losers medal alongside the Golden Boot which will mean little given the drama, the emotion, the rollercoaster of losing the final like that.
Absolutely spellbinding stuff…I guess Ronaldo was whinging at the site of his nemesis Lionel Messi central to the success of Argentina’s campaign.
Does this finally give us a definite winner to the old debate? Who is the best player in the world?
I think it does, especially given CR7’s recent antics. The lil’ fella from Rosario, Sante Fe (barring a little uncharacteristic moaning last week) has always remained humble.
Skill for skill can be debated all day, but winning the World Cup has popped a cherry on top of his illustrious career. On the balance of it all (for me) Argentina were the better side, they and Messi deserved it!
🏆 1978
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) December 18, 2022
🏆 1986
🏆 2022
Argentina are 𝐓![CDATA[]]>𝐇![CDATA[]]>𝐑![CDATA[]]>𝐄![CDATA[]]>𝐄-𝐓![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐌![CDATA[]]>𝐄 #FIFAWorldCup 𝐂![CDATA[]]>𝐇![CDATA[]]>𝐀![CDATA[]]>𝐌![CDATA[]]>𝐏![CDATA[]]>𝐈![CDATA[]]>𝐎![CDATA[]]>𝐍![CDATA[]]>𝐒 pic.twitter.com/2l77KFsemb
Sooooo, that’s it then, incredible that a month has flown by so quickly.
From all the cynicism and politics before it started, right or wrong, this tournament has to be considered (from a football perspective) one of the best of all time.
Getting back to Premier League business and the conversation has centred around what the opening games will look like (kicking off on Boxing Day). While Qatar 2022 has of course been the focus, Premier League sides (in varying degrees) have been active. Some gave players an extended break, some travelled to warm climates for training and all have been playing friendlies.
The higher up the table we go the more players were on duty at the World Cup. You’d imagine those in the latter stages will probably be phased in over a couple of weeks?
It is gonna be weird suddenly back into the middle of the season and we’re likely to see a few surprising results given that most teams away from the top end have been had full or almost full squads training together which has to be an advantage.
It will also be interesting to see how busy the transfer market gets in a couple of weeks, with much going on behind the scenes.
Not least the imminent announcements of David Datro Fofana and Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea. Both set to join the club in July 2023. Dunno about you but the last month has revitalised my football spirit! Chat next week, bye byeee.