Three Takes from The First Four Days of the World Cup

It has been a whirlwind four days in the 2018 Russia World Cup and it has been beyond exciting.

Here are my three takes so far:

Take #1: The unexpected is taking centerstage.
Sure, Russia is the host nation and thus, expected to have some kind of homefield advantage but a 5-0 result against a normally solid Saudi Arabian squad? And it was a relatively easy 5-0 win too, as the Russians threatened all game long. And then there was the Mexico's famous victory over Gemany, Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick for Portugal, and Lionel Messi's missed penalty kick to drop Argentina to a draw against Iceland, all of which are sentences we never thought were going to be said in this lifetime.




Take #2: The World Cup is the great equalizer.
Aside from Russia's 5-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia and Belgium's 3-0 win over Panama, all the other games have been close, hotly contested, and exciting. Look at Argentina's draw with Iceland, Brazil's draw with Switzerland, or the narrow wins by Iran (over Morocco on an own goal), Uruguay (over Egypt, on a goal that came on the 89th minute), and even France (2-1 winners over Australia, with Pogba scoring an 89th minute game winner).  There doesn't seem to be a clear cut favorites anymore, with every team on the same level with regards to their skills and tactics. That translates to better games and more exciting matches.

Take #3 Football, as a whole, is rising to a whole new level.
The skill levels, tactics and overall gameplay of all the teams are on an entirely different level in this World Cup. I have never seen so many beautiful plays, well executed through balls and crosses, mindboggling dribbling and ball wizardry, and electrifying shots on goal as these first few games have given us. If ever we Filipinos ever needed proof that football is indeed "The Beautiful Game", then this World Cup is providing it in full.

Now, excuse me while I try to recover from England's 2-1 win over Tunisia, in time to cheer for Japan's Blue Samurais.