Somehow after all the thrills that preceded it, the round of 32 delivered its best moment at the death. Cabo Verde's battling, brilliant defeat at the hands of the reigning champions was one of those rare games where you feel the hand of history in the moment. You know that this has to end in noble defeat because that is how these great tales end, and how noble a defeat this was. The Blue Sharks demanded everything from Lionel Messi and his teammates while delivering moments of unforgettable quality themselves.
This tournament began amid the chorus of skepticism that greets every World Cup: the prices were too high, the format was too cumbersome, the players were too tired. All of that might well be true just as every World Cup comes with its own set of moral, political and footballing circles that can or cannot be squared. And every time football finds a way. This time, it really could be the best yet. So rather than the usual deep dive on matches, let's take a swift look at the tournament so far and what is yet to come and answer just one question.
Could this go down as the greatest ever World Cup?
Imagine your ideal World Cup. What would happen along the way? Underdogs would somehow find their way to upsetting the biggest names in the tournament. Well we're good on that. A few of the names would fall early on. Germany, the Netherlands and Uruguay ought to be thanked for their services. England, appreciate that you try. You would like to see the host nations engaged by teams who take them on a nice deep run. The USA, Canada and Mexico are all living up to their side of the bargain.
Come the round of 16 it would be great if the hosts and the superteams were rounded out with the dark horses (Norway, Colombia) and, if there's room, a Cinderella story or two. This World Cup has the lot, from Paraguay trying to give France a bloody nose to all three of its hosts taking on opponents who they have a very realistic chance of upsetting. Mexico vs. England in the Estadio Azteca might be the most febrile and thrilling game of the competition so far. The roar at Lumen Field when the USA take the field against Belgium might match it.
And if this is the end of the upsets and the bookmakers have it right from here on out then the quarterfinals would be France vs. Morocco, Spain vs. Belgium, Brazil vs. England and Argentina vs. Colombia. Those are the legitimate heavyweight matchups that you want at the last eight stage, though one of the hosts extending its stay a little while longer wouldn't go amiss. The USMNT certainly have a strong chance of doing that.
All this while the best individuals on the planet deliver. Lionel Messi might still be the best of the best. Kylian Mbappe is determined to beat his scoring record as soon as possible while Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Vinicius Junior are all stepping up in the biggest moments. Even Cristiano Ronaldo is providing us with voluminous, if not necessarily fresh, discourse.
The expansion to 48 brought its problems in the group stages -- though one wonders how many of them might be addressed if FIFA returned to goal difference as the primary tiebreaker, keeping more teams alive in the competition for longer -- but no one can doubt the depth of quality in the field. Africa might have dropped from nine in the round of 32 to two in the last 16 but their representatives have almost uniformly proven that they can hang with the big boys. It does not seem implausible that within the next few tournament cycles Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast will be considered among them.
And so this World Cup ticks most if not all of the boxes it could have so far to be considered one of the great tournaments on the field. Ideally one of the more punchy, high quality underdogs -- Norway, the USA or Mexico -- might give us a bit of variety for the last eight. Otherwise, an irresistible path to the best of the best slogging it out in the semifinals seems best. Brazil or England against Argentina in one semifinal, France and Spain in the other. Your mileage might vary, but at some point a great World Cup pits the best against the best.
Semifinals like those, a final between some of the biggest stars from the best teams: surely that would make for the greatest World Cup ever? Well, no. At least not for most of you reading. It is a truth universally acknowledged that the greatest World Cup is the first you really remember, probably around eight to 12 years of age, but I will make allowances if you came to the sport later. Whatever Messi, Mbappe and the rest do over the next fortnight it can't beat the Zinedine Zidane final, Dennis Bergkamp's wonder goal, everything about England vs. Argentina [replace with your World Cup as required]. Goodness though, you'd like to see them try.
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