With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, it seems like a good time to look back at previous competitions to pick out some of the best and worst moments from them. In this post I look at the 2018 World Cup held in Russia. Was it a classic? Perhaps not, but it had its fair share of really good games, stunning goals and great performances, alongside some less savoury moments. I’ve picked four of the best and four of the worst – hope it will bring back some good, and perhaps some not-so-good memories.
The worst
Neymar’s play acting
In 2017 Brazilian superstar Neymar became the most expensive footballer in history when his €222m release clause from Barcelona was triggered by Paris Saint-Germain. A generational talent, he was expected to lead both his club and his country to trophies and tournament success. A particular focus for his country was the 2018 World Cup, where they were desperate to redeem themselves after their humiliating semi-final loss on home soil to Germany in 2014. Neymar had played well in 2014 before being fouled out in the quarter final – if he could remain injury-free in 2018 perhaps he could lead his team to better things.
The Brazilian was perhaps not at his best in Russia. He had damaged his foot in February playing for PSG and missed most of the World Cup build-up. He was, though, undroppable and was duly selected for all of Brazil’s matches in the competition. The bare facts are that he performed pretty well, finishing all five matches he started, scoring two goals and making two assists. He made more attempts on goal than any other player in the tournament, and covered more ground per game than either Messi or Ronaldo. Ultimately, though, his team disappointed, going out at the quarter-final stage, 1-2 to Belgium.
Sadly for Neymar, it is not his performances that stick in the mind from 2018. Instead it’s his play-acting and theatrics on the pitch. Yes, he was fouled a lot, more than any other player at the tournament, but his reaction to being fouled or tackled often suggested he had been shot or severely wounded. He spent an incredible 14 minutes on the ground in his first four matches, often writhing around in apparent agony before making a miraculous recovery to continue his game. His play-acting became a standing joke around the world – ads were made by KFC (using the line “make a meal of it” and the Portuguese 911 service (setting a picture of a seemingly near-death Neymar alongside the phrase “75.8% of calls to 112 are also not emergencies”) and spawning countless internet memes. His exaggerated rolling spawned 100s of videos, and even fun half-time competitions in Mexico. For a genuinely great player – he went on to become Brazil’s record goalscorer ahead of Pele – it’s a stain on his legacy that he will never be able to remove.
The third-place play-off
Is there any more game in football more miserable than the third placed play off? You’ve lost in the semi-final and all you want to do is go home and lick your wounds. Instead, you have to stay and play a meaningless match which neither side is really interested in, and that acts only as a very unappetising hors d’oeuvre for the main event. And, unlike the Olympics, if you win you don’t even get to take home a medal.
In 2018 the game was particularly painful for both England – who had led before subsiding to defeat to Croatia – and Belgium – who were much fancied before the tournament but could not convert possession into goals in their semi against France. The third-place playoff itself – who remembers? – ended in a 2-0 win for Belgium. The England players went through the motions, but never looked that up for it. The same was probably true for most of us who watched it on TV.
Spain 1-1 Russia (Russia win 4-3 on penalties)
Russia would almost certainly not have qualified for the 2018 World Cup had the tournament not been held in their home country. Ranked 70th in the world they were the lowest ranked side in the competition, but they rose to the occasion, qualifying from the Group stage with wins over Saudi Arabia and (a very poor) Egypt. Their ‘reward’ was a round-of-16 match against 2010 winners, Spain, a team ranked 60 places above them and with a line-up crammed with talent and experience.
Spain had, though, failed to catch fire so far in the tournament. In the Group stage they could only draw with Portugal and Morocco and they had beaten only lowly Iran. They were great at keeping possession but dismal at converting this into chances and goals. And so it proved against a doughty Russia. Spain went ahead 12 minutes when Sergei Ignashevich turned the ball into his own net, but then conceded an equaliser before half time when Gerald Pique gave away a penalty. Spain passed and passed and passed but to almost no effect. Round and back, side to side, it was painful if you were a Spanish fan, and tedious if you were a neutral.
Having failed to break down the Russian defence, the match came down to penalties, and two saves by Igor Akinfeev in the Russian goal were enough to decide it. The home crowd went understandably wild, the Spanish team and coaching staff were left dumbfounded. Perhaps their tiki-taka playing style had had its day. Normally the victory of the underdog is a cause for celebration – the celebration here was principally because the game had finished.
Staging the World Cup in Russia
In the light of subsequent events it seems incredible that the 2018 World Cup was awarded to Vladimir Putin’s Russia, but in truth, it did not require any hindsight to find this decision remarkable. Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics four years previously had been shrouded in controversy, with serious doubts raised about the bidding process and Russia’s human rights record. Concerns about the suitability of Russia as host for a major world sports event had intensified with Putin’s illegal invasion and occupation of the Crimea, and after the shocking drugs cover-up scandal from Sochi.
FIFA appeared to be about the only organisation in the world who could not care less. They did, to be fair, launch an investigation into whether Russia had attempted to bribe Executive Committee members when deciding who to award the 2018 World Cup to. And this investigation did largely exonerate Russia from such accusations, although there were big question marks over the ‘accidental’ destruction of computer equipment used in the bid, and lack of co-operation from several FIFA ExCo members. But even if the bid process was not corrupt, surely FIFA has some responsibility for ensuring that the world’s biggest sporting event is held in ‘decent’ countries. Perhaps, though, it’s simply too difficult in today’s world to decide what is decent, although most countries seem pretty well agreed in the case of Russia.
As it happens, Russia was again a host (in St Petersburg) for the 2020 Euros. But that was to be their last appearance at a major international football event. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 they’ve been banned from international competition so they missed Qatar and will miss 2026. While Putin remains in charge, they may have to wait.
The Best
Germany’s exit at the group stage
If it seems a little unfair to pick on Germany (see also 2022), don’t feel too sorry for them. They’re the second most successful nation in the World Cup with four wins, and we all know how much of a thorn in the side they’ve been to England over the years.
In 2018 they were defending champions and clear favourites to proceed from a relatively easy group containing Sweden, Mexico and South Korea. They got off, though, to a bad start with defeat to Mexico in a game they dominated, so faced Sweden in their second game needing a win. Their World Cup hopes looked dead and buried when they were locked at 1-1 in the added time, but a wonder-goal from Toni Kroos in the 95th minute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDMuhgabjbo rescued an unlikely win.
With momentum now, and a final group game against the pointless South Koreans to come, they would surely go through. They didn’t. Unable to score in normal time, they conceded a scrappy, contested goal in the 92nd minute then, comically, another in the 96th with keeper Neuer stranded in South Korea’s half. They were out and most of England smiled.
A cracking final – France 4-2 Croatia
France arrived at the 2018 World Cup as the bookies’ favourites, boasting a strong all-round squad that included their not-so-secret weapon, the second most expensive player in the world, 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe. They qualified from their group stage without looking particularly convincing, before their tournament came alive with an epic 4-3 victory against Argentina in the round of 16. Wins against Uruguay and Belgium followed which took them into the final.
The team they faced in the final were somewhat unexpected. Croatia had won all three of their group games – including a 3-0 thrashing of Argentina – but had then squeezed past Denmark and Russia in the knockout stages only on penalties. In the semis they had been perhaps a touch lucky to beat England, but throughout they had shown themselves to be tough to break down, and skilful and competitive in midfield.
The final started with Croatia on top but they went behind in the 18th minute when centre forward Mandzukic, back defending a free kick, glanced the ball into his own goal. They equalised through the excellent Perisic, but then experiencing more misfortune in the 38th minute. A corner was accidentally handled by Perisic and, after a long review, the referee awarded a penalty. Griezmann converted and France went into the break 2-1 up despite having only one shot on goal and only 34% of the possession.
Croatia again started well again in the second half, but the French pulled away with goals from Pogba and Mbappe, a powerful shot from outside the box making him the first teenager to score in the World Cup final. When Mandzukic atoned for his earlier error, converting after a terrible error from French goalkeeper Giroud in the 69th minute, the game briefly looked back in the balance, but France were able to see it out. 4-2 was the most goals in a final since 1966 and the first final to finish in normal time since 2002.
Pavard’s goal – France 4-3 Argentina, round of 16
So many great goals are scored in major competitions these days that picking out the best is a near-impossible task. 2018 had more than its fair share, with Ronaldo’s free kick against Spain and Quaresma’s outside-of-the-foot curler against Iran particular favourites. The goal that was voted goal of the tournament was a truly extraordinary strike. It came in probably the best match of the tournament, at a crucial point in the game and from an unlikely source.
France were trailing 2-1 to Argentina when Matuidi found full back Hernandez overlapping down the left. Hernandez got to the byline and put in a low cross that somehow evaded attack and defence alike, before arriving at the edge of the box to the feet of fellow defender Benjamin Pavard. Pavard saw something that no-one else did, and attempted a first-time volley with his right foot. He caught it perfectly, sending an unstoppable bending shot just inside the far post. It was an incredible goal that changed the momentum of the game, and may have been the key moment of whole tournament for the eventual winners.
England finally win on penalties – England 1-1 Colombia (England win 4-3 on penalties) round of 16
England’s record in penalty shoot outs in major competitions prior to 2018 was poor to say the least. In the World Cup they had lost all three that they had contested – 1990 (agonisingly) to Germany, 1998 to Argentina and 2006 to Portugal. It was not much better in the Euros, with only one win – against Spain in 1996 (remember Stuart Pearce’s celebration) – in three attempts.
In 2018 they finally got it right, although not without causing palpitations across the country. They had drawn 1-1 with Colombia in the round of 16 in normal time, conceding a very late goal from Yerry Mina (on his way to Everton), before a nervy extra time finished with scores still all square. Three Colombian penalties and two from England were despatched but then Jordan Henderson’s effort was saved brilliantly by David Ospina. ‘Here we go again’ we all thought, but salvation came when Andres Uribe’s effort rebounded from the post. After Trippier brought the scores level, Jordan Pickford saved superbly from Carlos Bacca meaning a goal from England would see us through. Up stepped an unlikely hero, centre half Eric Dier, a man who had never taken a penalty in his professional career. Ospina went the right way but could not stop it. England had finally and gloriously won a World Cup knock-out match on penalties.