As the 2022 World Cup draws to a close, with just Sunday's final to go, it is time to reflect on what we have seen over the past four weeks.
With that in mind, The Sportsman team have selected their favourite moments from the tournament.
Kris Voakes - The three minutes where both Spain and Germany were going home
For three wonderful minutes, Costa Rica and Japan were sending home both Spain and Germany. These weren't the finest Spanish or German teams of all time - far from it - but still it was expected to be a straight-forward Group E. So when Juan Pablo Vargas struck on matchday three to put Costa Rica 2-1 up against die Mannschaft and tee up both Los Ticos and Japan for progression, the football world absolutely lost its mind. In less than 20 minutes we'd gone from Spain and Germany going through to both of them heading out.
It only took three minutes for Kai Havertz to equalise and kill our buzz, but what a three minutes it was.
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Sam Penfold - Marcus Rashford’s free-kick against Wales
My favourite moment of this World Cup was Marcus Rashford's free-kick against Wales. It was sensational. It lived up to the anticipation you get whenever a player steps up for a free-kick just outside the area, and the fact it was against our local rivals made it all the sweeter. The tournament was a lovely comeback story for Rashford and Bukayo Saka after their unfortunate penalty misses in the Euros just 17 months prior. Fingers crossed it's the start of a new exciting time for both in England shirts.
Megan Fitzpatrick - Lionel Messi’s swansong
One man has been on the tip of every football fan's tongue during this World Cup and that man is Lionel Messi. This may be his last World Cup and he is savouring every moment. Messi's name has been on the scoresheet in all but one of Argentina's games, he has provided the joint most assists in this year's tournament and has collected four Man of the Match awards.
Argentina's talisman came to life against Mexico, scoring a peach from 20 yards out. But it is not just his goals that have captured the world's attention, it is his genius assists, one notably being the 'assist of the tournament' in the semi-finals when he weaved his way past Gvardiol, coming from the the halfway line to perfectly set up teammate Julian Alvarez in the box. Messi has been the star in Qatar and he will hope to shine once more in Sunday's final.
Joey Mills - Olivier Giroud’s World Cup vindication
Four years ago, Olivier Giroud won the World Cup without scoring a goal. The centre forward was never quite given the credit his efforts in Russia deserved. Despite the modern nuances of forward play, most people still reduce the sole role of the striker to that of goalscorer.
Perhaps Giroud was aware of this as he lined up to face Australia in France’s opening group game. Bookending his side’s dominant 4-1 victory with a brace, Giroud enjoyed vindication. His second was rapturously received by his teammates, who stuck by him even when those outside the camp criticised him.
To make the moment sweeter, his second strike equalled Thierry Henry’s record of 51 goals for France. As the tournament progressed, Giroud would surpass this milestone to stand alone as Les Bleus’ top scorer.
Conor Keane - Messi’s no-look assist against the Netherlands
It is a pass that will be watched countless times for years to come as the Argentine sorcerer Lionel Messi played the perfect pass through the legs of Nathan Ake, behind Virgil van Dijk and into the path of Nahuel Molina to get the quarter-final up and running.
Messi’s magic has been the talk of the tournament and while there have been goals and some beautiful twists and turns from the veteran, his highlight has been that pass in my eyes. It seems to get better each time I watch it back. If a pass was a piece of art, that was it.
