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𝘉𝘺 𝘎𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰 / 𝘒𝘶𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵

𝙁𝙄𝙁𝘼 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝘾𝙪𝙥 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩. 

I was lucky to be in Qatar, and witness the 2 G.O.A.Ts – Cristiano Ronaldo & Lionel Messi in action. Such a euphoria of fans – just at their sight, and their touch of the ball. Unimaginable. 

It all proved that the icons are as great as the sport itself. This drives me to make a bold statement: THE WORLD CUP IS ALL ABOUT SUPERSTARS. There is no charm otherwise.

After watching the matches, and personally experiencing the fire and excitement, here’s MY TAKE on this World Cup.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥: Lionel Messi (Argentina) – No doubt about it especially after watching him LIVE; this World Cup is completely Messi's.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛: Neymar (Brazil) – No wonder he is so popular among fans and younger generation. His image is like a rockstar. 

𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥:Cristiano Ronaldo. Not just in stadiums or games, fans in metros, boulevards, markets & homes – it is all Ronaldo. The way Ronaldo’s ‘Siuu’ action and sound is emulated by fans everywhere, must be unsurpassed in the history of football.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗘𝗥: Szczesny (Poland) – he was the best in the group stages. 

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥:  Pepe (Portugal) – to play a flawless game at the age of 39 years and even score in pre-quarters; I give it to him. 

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: Saudi Arabia’s defender Ali Albulayhi who mocked Messi.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗥:Joao Felix (Portugal) – What a stamina, skill, and ball control; we will see more of this player in years to come. Joao 'Filix' (as the Arabic commentators call him) is highly skillful and a technical player who can play as a striker as well - as a second striker, or a winger, although I guess his primary position is that of an attacking midfielder.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗠𝗜𝗗𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗𝗘𝗥: Angel Di Maria – I wonder why he was selected first place; he is well past his prime. A younger player could have been on the bench.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗥: Kylian Mbappe (France) - At just 23 years, Mbappe is one of the icons of world football -- playing in his 2nd World Cup finals. What a fairytale. He could play in atleast another 3 World Cups.

𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥: Breel Embolo (Switzerland striker) - Almost 90kgs, I loved the way he bulldozed his way through; he was a terror in the match against Portugal which the Swiss lost 1-6.

𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥: Bernardo Da Silva (Portugal) - Though as weak as a kitten, Bernardo is one of the most skillful and stamina player.

Neymar

Peacock player

𝗟𝗔𝗭𝗜𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥: Lionel Messi – I saw Messi walking on the ground 50% of the match; I think the referees, and perhaps German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer covers more distance than Messi in a game. What would it be if all players walk like him?

𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥: Mbappe - He should be in athletics.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗨𝗧: Lautaro Martinez (Argentina) – most suitable for a footballer.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗨𝗧: Neymar (Brazil) & Weston Mckenzie (USA) – both share the prize for the worst hairstyle. Neymar's hair was looking like buddikabaal, I could not distinguish between a peacock and Mckenzie.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗡: Gasper Crasto (India) – India may not be playing, that did not stop Indians from sporting India's flag. Feel proud of it.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦: Without doubt, the best fans were Argentina. I am speechless about how much they live football and how they are 'tearing' for it, and the song doesn’t stop since leaving for the game 3 hours earlier. They are in large groups, almost everyone wearing Messi or Maradona jerseys, and their melodies are so infectious that even neutral fans like me join in to sing. What must be the aura in Argentina.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗘: Ivan Barton (El Salvador) – referee for the Brazil vs Switzerland match – amazing ref.

𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗘: Mateu Lahez (Spain) – He almost allowed a war between Argentina-Netherlands letting 10 minutes of extra-time plus another 2 minutes added to that from nowhere, showed yellow card to the mighty Messi and another 15 players. If he was allowed, he would probably book me for swearing at him and all the other spectators. He allowed the last minute 2-2 equalizer sending the game to tie-breaker.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛: Walid Regragui (Morocco) – This guy has played to his potential without any superstars in the team. The team reached the semi-finals of the biggest tournament on earth scoring just 5 goals. 

𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛: Gareth Southgate (England) – With the kind of talent England possess, they have nothing to show for that. England will never win so long as Gareth keeps giving them hope of 'coming home’; bring in Beckham.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛: Fernando Santos (Portugal) – Who keeps the world’s best player on the bench? This coach benched the superstar; Ronaldo start the last match against Morocco could have rattled the opponents.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠: USA -- One of the youngest, fastest teams – playing like a propelled engine. USA will surely flourish n years to come.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠: Qatar. Am sure India would have played better than Qatar, and would have gathered better audience worldwide. 

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛: England. I rate their game in this World Cup higher than Brazil; they were amazing to watch.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗬 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡: Portugal's white away jerseys are awesome.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗝𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗬𝗦: England – the white home colors are so colorless and un-British. They need to design blazing jerseys like their red color jerseys or ones from 90s to attract attention. There is no British identity with spectators like the Brazilians.

𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗨𝗠: Lusail (Gives the chill, really; the stadium is like a theatre).