France Rewrites History in FIFA World Cup

The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, an international football tournament contested by the men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA once every four years. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018. Being the most formidable among 32 teams, France won the World Cup for the second time.

First time finalist Croatia had a good shot at the ultimate glory in football. But the World Cup, at least for now is meant to be shared by the elite club of eight countries who won it previously. There were a number of records in this World Cup. Record of goals from penalty, record of own goals, record of goals from set pieces and much more!

Records:

1. This was the first World Cup to be held in Eastern Europe
2. The 11th time that it had been held in Europe.
3. For the first time, the tournament took place on two continents – Europe and Asia
4. All but two of the stadium venues are in European Russia.
5. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it is the most expensive World Cup ever.
6. It was also the first World Cup to use the video assistant referee (VAR) system.
7. The finals involved 32 teams of which 31 came through qualifying competitions, while the host nation qualified automatically And 7 Muslim countries have took place for this time. 
8. Iceland and Panama made their first appearances at a FIFA World Cup.
9. Total of 64 matches was played in 12 venues across 11 cities.
10. The final took place on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, with France and Croatia competing for the World Cup. France won the match 4–2 to claim their second World Cup title.
11. Name of the ball of world cup 2018 Telstar 18.
12. Theme songs FIFA world cup 2018 Live it up (Singer: Nicky Jam)
13. France’s Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score in the World Cup final since Pele did so in 1958.
14. France and Denmark delivered a boring 0-0 draw in the group stage, 35 games had been played with at least one goal scored, breaking a world Cup record that had stood for 64 years.
15. The 12 own goals included the first ever in a World Cup final.
16. Mario Mandzukic became the first ever player to score an own goal in a World Cup final.
17. Didier Deschamps is the third man who won World Cup as both a player and a coach after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.
18. Goalkeeper Essam El Hadary became the oldest player ever start in a World Cup game when he lined up in Egypt’s last match against Saudi Arabia aged 45.
19. There was not a single red card for violent conduct, and just four ejections in total. It’s the lowest number at the World Cup for 40 years.
20. Renaldo’s 88th minute free kick against Spain also saw him achieve his second record of the tournament, the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup at the age of 33 years 130 days.
21. Iceland, with a population of 337,669 people is now smallest country to play in the FIFA World Cup.

At a glance:

1. Host country- Russia
2. Dates- 14 June – 15 July
3. Teams- 32 (from 5 confederations)
4. Venue(s) – 12 (in 11 host cities)
5. Champions- France (2nd title)
6. Runners-up- Croatia
7. Third place- Belgium
8. Fourth place- England
9. Fair play award- Spain
10. Highest attracts- Croatia (352)
11. Highest defences- Croatia (301)
12. Top scorer’s Team- Belgium (16)
13. Highest passes (team) – England (3336)
14. Man of the final- Antoine Griezmann
15. Golden Ball (Best Player) – Luka Modrić
16. Silver Ball (second) – Eden Hazard
17. Bronze Ball (Third) – Antoine Griezmann
18. Golden Boot (Best Scorer) – Harry Kane (6 goals)
19. Best young player- Kylian Mbappe
20. Golden Gloves (Best Goalkeeper) – Thibaut Courtois (27 saved!)
21. Most attempts- Neymar (27 times)
22. Most pass completed- Sergio Ramos (485)
23. Top goals- Belgium-Tunisia (7), Argentina-France (7)
24. Total passes- 49651
25. Goals scored- 169 (2.64 per match)
26. Total penalty- 21
27. Goals from penalty- 16
28. Own goals- 12
29. Yellow cards- 219
30. Red cards- 4
31. Attendance- 3,031,768 (47,371 per match)
32. Matches played- 64

N.B:

1. FIFA World Cup 2022 will held in Qatar.
2. FIFA World Cup 2026 will held in Canada Mexico United States.

• By: Editorial Desk