The Good, The Bad And The Disappointing: Things We Learnt From The World Cup Group Stages

As some of the more observant of you may have noticed, there’s a World Cup going on, and even with some of the biggest teams failing to impress, Malta’s been just as possessed by it all as ever.

With the group stage over, we’re finally getting a better understanding of how the tournament is developing. Because we’re super excited about the ongoing round of 16 and in case you missed anything so far, here’s a quick round up of some of the winners, losers and takeaways of the group stages.

The Winners

1. Croatia

This team has consistently been impressive.

Rallying up seven goals, three wins, and nine points while only conceding one goal in the tournament so far, Croatia definitely deserve to go all the way. In a group with Argentina, Iceland and of course winners of ‘Kit of the century’ Nigeria, Croatia’s performance has been outstanding.

And if yesterday’s match against Denmark is anything to go by, these guys will fight till the very last minute… with an equally impressive Subašić in the goalpost to defend his home country’s last efforts.

2. Ronaldo

If there was a player you’d bet on to perform Ronaldo, would certainly be that guy.

Announcing himself in a 3-3 draw against arguably one of the best teams on paper by scoring a hat rick and going on to score another against Morocco, Ronaldo quickly became one of the top scorers of the tournament in a way only he can do.

Love him or hate him, Ronaldo is a champion athlete whose obsession with winning can only be respected. It’s a shame that Portugal did not survive their Round of 16 match against Uruguay last Saturday, but Ronaldo’s performance during the group stages was close to flawless.

Now, he’ll just have to join Messi on a disappointingly early exit from the World Cup.

3. England

It started off slow with a late goal verses Tunisa. But then, it all started happening.

To all the Maltese Italian supporters’ disappointment, England managed a classy performance, putting six past Panama to secure their place in the round of 16.

Sure, they lost to Belgium in the last game, but arguably it may be a blessing in disguise as the route to the final on paper seems easier (they might’ve even lost on purpose).

It’s never too early to believe, but for all English fans on the island, it just might finally be coming home.

4. VAR

Boy oh boy.

Controversial… check.
Time wasting… double check.
A good addition to the game? We’ll let you decide this one.

It’s been quite interesting watching referees running all over the place while we wait frantically for a decision to be made. It’s certainly helped with a lot of close decisions, and helped make the game a lot fairer, and easier on the referee.

All in all we think VAR has made a case for itself, but it’ll never stop being hilarious watching a referee trace a rectangle in the air and running off to the side to watch the same action a couple of times over while the whole world waits.

5. Iceland

Yes, they didn’t make it out of the group stages.

And yes, they actually finished at the bottom of their group.

But with original favourites Argentina and current favourites Croatia both battling out in the same group, Iceland’s hopes of making it out alive from Group D was always a far-fetched dream.

Nevertheless, they impressed with their first ever World Cup match by holding the Argentinian giants, even going so far as to saving a Messi penalty. And that makes the tiny island enough of a winner in millions of people’s hearts.

And of course, that brings back that age-old question; if Iceland can do it, why can’t Malta?

The Losers

1. Germany

What went wrong?

After losing 1-0 in their first game against Mexico, it was expected that the former champions would step up. Narrowly escaping a draw with Sweden after a wonder goal by Kroos was still unconvincing, but losing to South Korea in the final match was definitely the final straw.

A shadow of the former World Cup 2014 squad which rocked the world and thumped Brazil 7-1 on their home soil, Germany were just not the same team this year.

2. Neymar

Ok; this kid is incredible and can already be considered one of the best players in the world. But this World Cup so far has been a bit of a shocker for Neymar, who has spent more time writhing in pain on the floor than scoring.

Unfortunately, Mr Jr has now become somewhat of a meme around the internet due to the rolling around antics, but he still has enough time to turn things around ahead of Brazil’s Round of 16 match against Mexico later today.

3. Senegal

One of Africa’s best hopes in making the last 16 unfortunately didn’t manage.

After one win, one draw, and one loss, Senegal found themselves on equal points with Asia’s finest, Japan. With equal points and equal goals both for and against, it was only down to their disciplinary issues that left them out of the next round.

One yellow card too many saw this historic first and just how brutal it can get when the call is so close.

BONUS: TVM’s live streams and those 4pm matches while we’re at work

We had to give TVM this shout-out.

Their daily livestreams make sure we’re always only one click away from catching the action, and their post-game analysis is as enlightening as it is entertaining.

And of course, that English commentary is definitely welcomed. Thank you TVM; you guys are the real MVPs.

In between the easily-accessible livestreams and our computers having access to the internet, however, its not hard to anticipate a couple of dilemmas at work once those 4pm matches kick off. And with matches only getting more dramatic and important as the days roll by, it’s only bound to get worse.

On the positive side, we’ve developed near ninja reflexes to close the tab whenever someone comes around.

Who are you siding with at this year’s World Cup? Tell us below!

READ NEXT: The Fanciest Way To Watch The World Cup In Malta Is Here