We’re weeks past what was arguably the most exciting World Cup to date. It was complete with stunning goals, stoppage time winners, cinderella runs, and more upsets than I can remember ever happening in a single tournament. There were 169 total goals scored in this World Cup, second most all time (171 in 1998 and 2014), 10 hat tricks, 29 penalty kicks (7 of which were saved or missed), and 12 own goals.
England seemed to be the fan favorite with more and more people chanting the mantra “It’s Coming Home”… until it wasn’t. The videos of England fans going absolutely ballistic after each goal made it hard to not root for them. The young talent that England boasted was unfathomable, and can only give their fans and country hope for the next World Cup in 2022. Croatia slid unjustifiably under the radar, but their golden era of players weren’t enough to put their final stamp on the tournament when it came to France. Mind the fact that Croatia’s two previous matches before the championship game went into extra time and penalties, adding to the already insurmountable excitement.
But the real story of the tournament: the upsets. Germany’s failure to make it past the group stage, Argentina’s disastrous management, Portugal’s early exit in the round of 16… we were constantly putting our hands on our heads wondering what in god’s name is going on.
I sincerely hope that this wasn’t the most exciting World Cup in my lifetime, but it certainly might stay at the top of the list for a while.

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