2018 World Cup
Russia
14 June to 15 July
The
2018 World Cup was a true celebration of football and Betway,
for all your football betting needs, looks back on a great tournament which ended with France lifting the trophy for the second time after they beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow.
‘The Blazers’ may have boasted the tournament’s Golden Ball winner in the shape of midfielder Luka Modric, but ‘Les Bleus’, inspired by the power of Paul Pogba and the thrilling speed of teenage attacker Kylian Mbappe, were simply too strong for the first-time finalists.
The triumph for France saw manager Didier Deschamps become just the third man to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, joining legends of the game in Franz Beckenbauer and Mario Zagallo.
Yet this World Cup will be remembered as much for its thrills, spills, upsets and controversies – not the least of which was the introduction of VAR, which climaxed in a highly-debatable penalty awarded to France in the final – as it will for the victory of Deschamps’ team and the resilient stamina of Croatia.
Gareth Southgate’s England also played a major role in the tournament, reaching the final four for the first time since 1990 and producing the tournament’s leading goal scorer (with six strikes) in Harry Kane, while the showing of Roberto Martinez’s Belgium was also a highlight.
The ‘Red Devils’ produced arguably the best performance of any team at Russia 2018 with their win over Brazil in the quarterfinals and the excellence of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Golden Glove-winning goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will live long in the memory.
The tournament also featured a surprisingly strong showing from host nation Russia, the stunning early exit of defending champions Germany, and – from an African perspective – the disappointment of seeing all five CAF representatives fail to progress into the knockout rounds.
The 2018 World Cup is sadly over, but you can still bet on 1000s of fixtures with the best odds at Betway Uganda
The FIFA World Cup in Numbers
64 – the number of matches played at the 2018 World Cup in Russia
5910 – the total number of minutes played (excluding stoppage time) at the tournament with five knockout round matches going to extra-time
169 – the number of goals scored in Russia, just two short of the all-time high
2.64 – average number of goals per game, less than the 2.67 registered in Brazil
20 – Croatia’s world ranking (the lowest-ranked side ever to reach the final)
16 – goals scored by Belgium, the competitions top scorers
12 – the number of own-goals scored (a World Cup record)
9 – the number of goals scored in stoppage time
6 – goals scored by Golden Boot winner Harry Kane (three of which came from the penalty spot)
69 – the record number of goals which came from set-pieces
2 – World Cup titles now achieved by France
1 – goalless games at this year’s World Cup. Astonishing.
0 – African teams in the knockout rounds – a unwanted first since 1982
29 – the number of penalties awarded (another World Cup record – 10 of which were a result of a VAR review)
22 – of those spot-kicks were converted
72 – distance in km’s covered by Croatia’s Ivan Perisic
219 – number of yellow cards dished out
49,651 – total passes completed in the entire tournament
19.64 million – people in Britain who tuned in to watch England’s quarter-final against Sweden
19 years 6 months and 25 days – Kylian Mbappe’s age. The youngest player to appear and score in a World Cup final since Pele in 1958.
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