Back to Perth for the Perfect Pointy End

Back in time for the Quarter Finals

After seven weeks being away and finally watching a live match at the World Cup it was good to get back home and, from a football point view at least, watch the rest of the World Cup in the comfort of my home city.

Although I had enough time to do a bit more sight seeing in Doha, I must admit I really had had enough by this point and just wanted to get away from Qatar as quickly as possible.

I got up, checked out of the fan village, thanked the very friendly staff, and caught the bus one more time to Al Wakrah metro station. From there I had to change lines to get to the airport nice and early.

I was looking forward to checking into my flight and getting through to the much famed center of the airport with all its shops and facilities but I hit a big snag straight away.

The Qatar Airlines check in desk has pride of place and is the by far the easiest to find. I strolled up nonchalantly like a well-travelled dude doing something that was entirely routine, but my cockiness bubble was soon popped as I was told that my flight had been cancelled.

W H A T ! ?

Apparently, some mundane flight networking problem had required Qatar airlines to remove the flight. I was told they'd sent me an email about this a couple of weeks ago but in all the chaos of travelling I must have missed it.

The good news was that I'd be automatically booked onto the next available flight at no extra cost and the next flight available heading toward Australia was only a few hours after the one I was supposed to have flown on. 

The bad news, however, was that as the carrier was now Malaysia Airlines I'd have to change at Kuala Lumpur. Worse, their check in desk wouldn't be open until just a couple of hours before the flight departed so I couldn't pass through into the main airport yet, as I'd hoped.

So, I had a ridiculous eleven hours to kill in the area outside the airport proper. There were a couple of cafes so that's where I made my "home" for the next half a day. I only had my carry on bag but I really wasn't in the mood to head off to the city to explore again.

Ho hum. Never mind, eh? 

At least I had some time (and an available power supply) to work on this blog, although even these eleven hours hardly scratched the surface.

Eventually, enough time had passed for me to leave the café and try to find the Malaysia Airlines check in desk. I must watched the departures screen for an hour before the allocated desk number finally was displayed, so I knew which check in desk to go to. 

When it finally appeared, I marched to the desk only to find that there were already at least two hundred passengers, mostly Malaysians, already waiting there. Clearly they knew something I didn't.

So, I had to wait in line for all the passengers to check in. And it seemed like every one of them had done their year's shopping in Doha and consequently had tones of luggage to check in. I started to panic as time was ticking and the queue wasn't going down very fast.

Eventually, it was my turn to be at the front of the queue. At last. I could check onto my flight home.

The flight from Doha to Kuala Lumpur... easy. But the connecting flight to Perth... "Sorry sir. There is a problem."

It would appear that something had gone wrong with the booking transaction and my connecting flight hadn't been properly secured. After a lot of questions and answers between my check in guy and his supervisor, I was suddenly told that I'd have to go back to the Qatar Airline desk for them to sort the problem out as it was them that had made the error.

Surely, as I was booked onto the flight to KL ok, couldn't I just get on that now and deal with the connecting flight there? Apparently not. 

So with about 45 minutes left before the flight was due to leave I had to leave the queue, still not booked onto the flight, and find the Qatar airline desk to try to get this mess sorted out. 

I did this, but the man there was really not very helpful and, I have to say, quite rude. To cut a long and stressful story short, he ended up referring me to another office, the main Qatar airlines one in another part of the departures area, so I legged it there and explained the problem again for the second time.

After some head scratching, umming and aahing, they referred me back to the Malaysia Airlines desk telling me that I should ask them to *cancel* both legs of my booking and then re-book them. This was the last thing I wanted to do but I didn't really have a choice. They assured me the booking was good and I'd be flying out of Doha tonight so I scampered back to the Malaysia Airlines desk and tried to explain the advice I'd been given.

After more confusion they did what was requested. And, with ten minutes to spare I managed to find the departure gate in the nick of time and I boarded the plane.

What a relief!

Homeward bound at last.

Previously: In Qatar

I arrived back in Perth early on Friday, 9th December and deliberately did not try to combat my jet lag as I still had all the key "pointy end" World Cup games to watch and I planned to do so, either in the middle of the night at home on my computer or at the Casino's impressive Sports Bar.

The first quarter final matches was that very evening, Brazil v Croatia first, then Netherlands v Argentina. I stayed up late to watch both at home in front of the tely via SBS's excellent free-to-view service. 

At the end of the Round of 16 games, this was the table of World Cup teams, if it had been a league...

England. Are. Top of the League.

Game #57, Quarter Final #1: Brazil v Croatia

So, who would be the semi-finalists this time? Of course, as usual, Brazil were the favourites but they were up against Croatia... but never underestimate Croatia. This was Brazil's 17th World Cup Quarter Final (17 out of 22!). Italia 90 was the last time they didn't make it. This was Croatia's 3rd time as quarter-finalists, but that's pretty good when you remember this was only their seventh World Cup.

There are many things I love about Brazil but high on the list has to be their joyful national anthem. Surely one of the best in the world.

The game was the last one at the Education (for men) Stadium and was, as expected, a very tight affair with very few chances being created. The game was still 0-0 at the end of the ninety and so went into extra time. 

It was still 0-0 as the first half of extra time was coming to an end and I must say I was starting to get a bit frustrated with something about Brazil I don't like at all, their tendency to play act and dive and cheat. You know... what their star, Neymar, is most famous for. 

So, of course, what happened next? Neymar scored a brilliant goal to put Brazil ahead. He cleverly played two quick one-twos to dart his way straight through the heart of Croatia's stoic defence, dance past Croatia's excellent goalkeeper, Livakovic, and smash the ball high into the net.

105+1m. Neymar. Brazil 1 Croatia 0

But if anyone was writing Croatia off they'd be sorry. With just four minutes official time to go, Bruno Petkovic got a deserved equaliser. He found space inside the box as a cross was delivered from the right and he struck it, first time, past Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

116m. Petkovic. Brazil 1 Croatia 1.

So, the game inevitably went to penalties, and as soon as it did, I must say I thought Croatia would win. My usual rule of thumb here is: which team has the biggest goalie? and on this occasion it was Brazil as Alisson is 6cm taller than Livakovic, Despite my "rule", I just thought Croatia seem to always have greater mental strength in these situations and they'd just beaten Japan in a penalty shoot out in the previous round.

Nikola Vlašić (Torino and Croatia) Scores straight down the middle. 1-0...

Rodrygo (Real Madrid and Brazil) Misses, Livakovic saves, 1-0...

Lovro Majer (Stade Rennais and Croatia) Scores straight down the middle. 2-0...

Casemiro (Manchester United and Brazil) Scores to goalie's right. 2-1...

Luka Modrić (Real Madrid and Croatia) Scores to goalie's right, sending him the wrong way. 3-1...

Pedro (Flamengo and Brazil) Scores, weakly, just to goalie's right sending him the wrong way. 3-2...

 

Mislav Oršić (Southampton and Croatia) Scores, perfectly place to the goalie's right just out of his reach. 4-2.

Marquinhos (PSG and Brazil) Misses (Hits the Post). 4-2...

So, Croatia were in the semi finals... again.

Game #58, Quarter Final #2: Netherlands v Argentina

Was I sleepy after the first game which had me up until the early hours? Nope. Not a bit of it. I was ready for more, and the second quarter final followed pretty soon after extra time and penalties.

This promised to be a bit of a classic and it delivered. After their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in the opening match, Argentina had just got better and better whilst the Netherlands had started well and pretty much continued their form to reach the quarterfinals for the seventh time in the 22 competitions. This was Argentina's 9th.

After a quiet start, the game sprung to life after twenty minutes or so when first Messi for Argentina and then Bergwijn for Holland had attempts on goal. 

De Paul had another shot for Argentina after half an hour before the deadlock was finally broken by Nahuel Molina after a precision pass to him from GOAT Messi.

35m Molina. Netherlands 0 Argentina 1

73m Messi (Penalty to the goalie's left, send him the wrong way) Netherlands 0 Argentina 2.

 

83m Weghorst. Netherlands 1 Argentina 2 

90+11m Weghorts. Netherlands 2 Argentina 2 

Penalties

Virgil van Dijk Holland Missed, saved to goalie's right. 0-0

Lionel Messi. Argentina. Scored. Weakly placed to the goalie's right. He dived left. 0-1

Steven Burghus. Netherlands. Missed. Martinez saved well to the his left. 0-1.

Leandro Paredes. Argentina. Scored hard and well placed to the goalie's right. 0-2.

Teun Koopermeiners. Netherlands. Scored. Driven hard and well placed to the goalie's left. 1-2

Gonzalo Montiel. Argentina. Scores, again hard and well placed to the goalie's right. 1-3.

Wout Weghorst. Netherlands. Scores. Well placed to Martinez's right who goes the wrong way. 2-3.

Enzo Fernandez. Argentina. Misses to the right of the right post. 2-3.

Luuk de Jong. Netherlands. Scores. Weak shot to the goalie's right but he went the wrong way. 3-3.

Lautaro Martinez. Argentina. Scores. well placed to the goalie's right. He dived to the left. 3-4

So many Argentinians in the stadium went crazy. There were far more fans from South America than from Europe. 

Here are the match highlights...

So, it was Argentina through to the first semi final to face Croatia. 

After that drama I had a very relaxing sleep and a very long lie-in in. 

I woke up to my first full day back home from my travels. And, as if my football passion wasn't high enough already, there was an immediate opportunity to get back into the swing of the local football scene too.

Perth Glory were playing their first home match in the A-League, after five straight away. Now I had to go to that one, of course followed by two more World Cup Quarter Finals to be watched at the casino.

Perth Glory at Macedonia Park

For reasons I still do not fully understand, Perth Glory's opening A League fixtures had to be played at the quaint but limited facilities at Macedonia Park, home of Stirling Macedonia of the West Australian National Premier League. I'd been there a few times already, usually to watch Stirling Macedonia play Perth Soccer Club - the local NPL team I used to support until new chairman, Jason Marocchi and the "football committee" (perhaps all of two others) decided to sack the most successful coach in WA football history and take the club on a "change of direction."

So instead of walking to the relatively big, modern and impressive HBF stadium I had to catch buses and trains to the northern Perth suburb of Stirling to watch my first live match in Perth since the end of August when, ironically, I was at Macedonia Park to watch the "Top Four Cup" play off between Stirling Macedonia and Sorrento, which the visitors won 2-1.

Anyway, back to December and Perth Glory were up against one of those new Australian franchisey teams with pointless names... Western United.

Western United !

Really? Yes. Well, they're "Western" and they're "United" but where are they based? Melbourne, obviously. Where else? 

Anyway, Glory won the game 2-1 and the match was played in front of a small crowd of 3,864, that nevertheless generated a great atmosphere, with the amazing backdrop of one of the balmy West Australian sunsets.

We've got the best sunsets in the land!

Ryan Williams scored early for Glory...

Early in the second half, Jack Clisby put Glory 2-0 up and the game was set for Glory to take the three points.

Me and the Glory boys had to make our way to the casino to watch the World Cup so we left a little early, missing ex-Glory favourite Neil Kilkenny's late consolation.

Here are the match highlights...

So, to the Crown casino, the best venue in Perth for watching live football, especially when it's in the middle of the night and the alternative, more convenient, sports bars like the Patriots, are closed.

Macedonia Park to the Casino for the World Cup Quarter Finals 3 & 4

Ready for more football at the Casino!

World Cup Quarter Finals

Game #59, Quarter Final #3: Morocco v Portugal

It was a smart move getting to the casino early. Not only did we get to watch an epic quarter final between Morocco and the impressive Portugal (impressive, at least, in their demolition of Switzerland in the round of 16) but it meant we could secure a good spot for the later big one between England and France.

The Sports Bar was already quite full by the time the game started. There weren't many chances early on but Morocco were clearly not overwhelmed by their first ever quarter final appearance in this, their sixth appearance at the Word Cup finals. Their previous best tournament was in Mexico 1986 when they reached the wound of 16. This was only the fourth time an African nation had reached the quarter final following on from Cameroon in Italia 1990, Senegal in Japan/South Korea 2002 and Ghana in South Africa 2010. 

Portugal, meanwhile, were playing in their sixth successive World Cup final but only their eighth overall. It's strange to think that between 1934 and 1998 - that's 64 years and 15 tournaments, Portugal only actually qualified twice. Thee first time was their wonderful team at England 1966, starring Eusabio but including Jose Augusto and Coluna memorably finished in 3rd place, still their best ever showing.

The best World cup for Portugal was in 1966

No England fan could ever forget that it was England who beat them 2-1 in the semi final at Wembley with two goals from Bobby Charlton with Eusabio scoring a late Penalty for Portugal. 

They beat the USSR 2-1, also at Wembley, to pick up 3rd spot.

Anyway, why would anyone possibly want to harp on about a World Cup that was 58 years ago?

Back to Qatar 2022 and this quarter final, and with half time getting ever closer, it was Morocco who took the lead with a header by Sevilla striker Youssef En-Nesyri on 42 minutes. He rose above the flat footed defence and even the Portuguese goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, to head home.

42m. En-Neyri. Portugal 0 Morocco 1

Portugal were unlucky not to equalise straight away when Bruno Fernandes hit the bar with a cross/shot thing but at half time it was Morocco that held the lead.

Fernandes hits the bar.

In the second half Morocco almost went further ahead before Portugal started to put together some really good moves, perhaps not coincidentally after Cristiano Ronaldo (almost GOAT) came on for Ruben Neves. 

Portugal were really unlucky not to get an equaliser after three great chances failed to score either through great saves or just missing.

But Morocco hung on to become the first African side ever to reach a World Cup semi final.

It was greeted warmly by the majority of fans at the casino bar.

Here are the match highlights...

And so, it was time for the big one. That match England fans love... and dread, where the promise of long overdue glory is tempered with fear of another defeat, where 62 years of hurt  might finally end... or continue.

And it couldn't get much more juicer that a "local derby" (in International terms) between England and their old rivals, France.

For me, having a few French relatives, this was always going to be a bit awkward. Of course family matters and of course I don't want to offend anyone but, hey, I'm an England fan and I want them to win. I actually quite like the French football team, whereas I can't bring myself to admit that much about Germany and my mother was German.

As I said earlier, it was a good move to get to the casino early and watch the Morocco v Portugal game as the bar was starting to fill up fast. Even though most of the supporters of the first match left after their game finished, by 11:45 there was already a queue to get in. The match was due to kick off at 2:45 am local time and after waiting in line for an hour or so hundreds of England and France fans squeezed in and the sports far area was full.

The atmosphere was pretty good humored to start with but England can fans can be so embarrassing when they start their jingoistic chanting about "ten German bombers" and the like. 

Oh well.  Here we go again!

Game #60, Quarter Final #4: England v France

Although we England fans are used to thinking of us as World Cup underachievers, having only won the thing once - and then as hosts, but we shouldn't feel too ashamed.  This was England's 8th appearance in a World Cup quarter final, out of their 19 appearances. It was France's 9th out of 21, yes, a slightly better frequency as well as total.

As the teams came out, you could sense that despite WA being a rather Anglo-friendly part of a largely Anglo-friendly country, that a good part of the support was for France.

Still, this was 2022 and England surely had their best squad ever. Young, exciting, and with an embarrassment of talented players in the squad. Ok, France had Kylian Mbappé, but that's just one guy, right?

England could win this... right?

It's a great bar for watching big games going on on the other side of the world.

I thought England started well but Murphy's law intervened soon enough. The ball fell to French defensive midfielder, Aurelien Tchouameni, on the edge of the "D" and he unleashed a shot that somehow found its way past several defenders as well as Jordan Pickford to find it's way into the net.

17m Tchouameni. France 1 England 0

About ten minutes later England seemed to have a decent penalty claim when Kane appeared to be brough down by Dayot Upamecano. To be fair, looking at the replay, I think it was outside the box but it was a mystery why the referee didn't at least award a free kick.

Contact Made. Outside the Box? No free kick.

So, at half time it remained 1-0 to France. I still felt confident though. 

Six minutes into the second half, though, Jude Bellingham was clearly brought down in the box and the referee had no hesitation this time.

Harry Kane converted beautifully, sending Lloris the wrong way and the ball hurtling into the top left corner.

 

54m. Kane. France 1 England 1

E C S T A C Y !

The tension continued in the second half in a very tight game. I continued to think this would be England's might but, as on so many previous occasions, this would prove to be overly optimistic.

With just twelve minutes left on the clock, a whipped in cross from Griezman and Giroud beats the defence at the near post to powerfully head home and France are ahead.

78m. Giroud. France 2 England 1

The casino bar erupted with noise as it was now clear that the support for France was about the same as for England.

 

But England's hopes were elevated again just six minutes later when they were awarded another penalty after Mount took a massive shove in the back from Hernandez. The referee initially doesn't give it but VAR intervenes and it it awarded..

So, all eyes and hopes on Harry Kane yet again. He meditates. He steps up... and blasts the ball over.

84m. Kane misses penalty. France 2 England 1

Rashford almost scored from the last kick but that was it. Yet again, England disappointed us.

Click below to see the match highlights again (if you can bear it!)

There was jubilation from the French fans, who seemed to have multiplied in number all of a sudden, at the end and, predictably, some of the gutted England fans did not respond well. For a few minutes it felt like the casino sports bar would be the scene of a big drunken brawl but, I'm glad to say, common sense prevailed in the end.

So that was it. Another World Cup over. Another big disappointment. I decided not to bother waiting for a taxi and just walk home from the casino. The foreshore of the Swan is a long peaceful walk, especially at 6am in the morning.

My overwhelming feeling at the end was just to bemoan England's lack of luck - that magic ingredient that you cannot train or plan for. It's a factor whose importance I think is never really appreciated - and this, remember, is in a game where the average goals per game is less than three. 

Semi-Finals

I watched both semi finals at home, taking advantage of my diminishing jet lag to stay up late into the night.

Game #61, Semi Final #1: Argentina v Croatia; Tuesday 13th December

The first semi final pitted Argentina against Croatia and despite Croatia's very strong record in these tough big games, I think most fans, me included, felt that Argentina had turned the corner and were strong enough to win this.

And so it turned out. The result of this one was rarely in any doubt and after a cagey start, Argentina started to impose themselves on the match. Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic made an early save before clattering into Alvarez who was one on one running onto a long through ball. 

It was a clear penalty and Livakovic received a yellow card too.

The penalty was scored emphatically by GOAT Leonel Messi. Even though Livakovic is an excellent penalty saver and guessed the right way, Messi's spot kick was struck with such pace and accurcy it was in the net before the goalie had moved across.

34m Messi (pen). Argentina 1 Croatia 0

Five minutes later it was 2-0. Another fast counter-attack led to Julian Alvarez powering his way into the box, with the aid of a couple of lucky deflections which came straight back to him in the perfect place to stroke it hard past Livakovic.

39m. Alvarez. Argentina 2 Croatia 0

Argentina could have scored again, both before half time and after it before a mesmeric run by Messi set up Alvarez for his second and Argentina's third.

69m Messi sets up Alvarez for Argentina 3 Croatia 0

So, that was that. Argentina would be in the final on Sunday. So, against France, right?

Game #62, Semi Final #2: France v Morocco; Wednesday 14th December

Again, I don't think many were predicting Morocco to win this, but then again no-one had predicted them to even get through the group stage let alone through the round of 16 and the quarter finals.

In the end, though, the quality of the French team saw them through.

There wasn't even five minutes on the clock when France scored. Morocco's previously practically impenetrable defence looked comically inept when a series of blunders left the ball bouncing high towards Theo Fernandez, who bizarrely volleyed in just past goalkeeper Bono and two Moroccan defenders on the line. 

5m. Fernandez. France 1 Morocco 0

Lloris made a fine save from Ounahi five minutes later but France reasserted themselves and Giroud hit the post after 17 minutes. Just before half time Yamiq brought a brilliant save from lloris with a spectacular overhead kick but at the interval the game was going according to the script.

For the first twenty minutes of so of the second half, Morocco impressed with their determination to press for an equaliser and, to be honest, their play deserved one. They created several chances but none of them decisive.

Then, with just twelve minutes left on the clock, a brilliant dribble by Kylian Mbappe weaved past four Moroccan defenders before pushing the ball to Kolo Muani who could not miss from 5 meters.

79m. Muani. France 2 Morocco 0

So, yes, Sunday's final was indeed going to be Argentina v France. 

3rd/4th Play Off

Game #63 Croatia v Morocco; Saturday 17th December

One of the features of the World Cup that I like to wind up my friends about is the 3rd/4th play off.

Most of my friend, and indeed most fans I've ever talked to, hate these play off matches. 

"Why bother?" 

"They all want to go home by now"

"Pointless match"

et cetera.

Well, I disagree. In fact I wish they'd have far more play offs.

I make the analogy of the World Cup being like a party. Imagine, you've invited 32 guests and you're all having a great time, but then, half way through the night, you turn the music off and make an announcement.

"All right. It's that time where half of you have to piss off home. Bye".

Then, an hour later, you repeat the process until there are just eight left. Then four.

Not much of a celebration is it?

That's the argument I usually make, anyway. I have to admit that even I struggled to get excited about the prospect of Croatia v Morocco in the 3rd place play off. But I maintain that it would be better if, instead of quarter finalists just going home after they lost, they continued to play for places 5 to 8 as the losing semi finalists do for 3rd and 4th.

I seem to be the only fan in the world who would have loved to have seen England play Portugal and Brazil against Holland in the day before the quarter-finals. And, then before the semis, perhaps there could have been an England v Brazil match for 5th place. 

Anyway, like other areas of my life, I'm used to disappointment and being in a minority of one. I guess, I'd really like to see a league table of all the 32 teams, each with seven games played.

The best we can do is this, which includes all the games played, including knock-outs...

If the World Cup was a League Table

So, anyway, the match for third place, as I admitted, wasn't the most thrilling prospect but it would be the feisty Croatians that were up for the match most. Enough to win yet again.

7m Josko Gvardiol. Croatia 1 Morocco 0

Croatia took an early lead with an amazingly powerful diving header by Josko Gvardiol.  

7m. Gvardiol. Croatia 1 Morocco 0

But Morocco came back straight away and equalised when Achraf Dari found himself completely unmarked in front of goal and had the simple opportunity to nod in.

9m. Dari. Croatia 1 Morocco 1

Modric almost put Croatia back in the lead before Morocco had a couple of chances themselves but as half time approached Croatia surged back in the lead with a wonderful lob into the net off the far post from Mislav Orsic.

42m. Orsic. Croatia 2 Morocco 1

The drama wasn't over yet, with chances for both sides before the final whistle and Croatia ended up in 3rd spot in a World Cup for the second time. In their six finals appearances, they've finished at least 3rd in three of them.

Here are the highlights...

So, the next night, it was the World Cup climax and, for me, another opportunity to watch a big match at the casino sports bar.

Game #64 World Cup 2022 Final: Argentina v France; Sunday 18th December

It was lovely to watch the big match with my dear wife. She'd never call herself a football fan but Lesley more than tolerates my obsession with "silly old football" and is pretty knowledgeable about the game really.

Anyway, she didn't take too much persuading to come to watch the game at the casino with me, even though she knew we'd have to wait for hours twiddling our thumbs, after arriving early enough to even get in, never mind a a decent seat. Dear Leb even agreed to come along wearing a France top. I thought that was a good look - me in my classic striped Argentina shirt that I'd bought in Buenos Aires in 2009, and Leb in her brand new navy blue French shirt we'd bought at Fremantle market earlier in the day. A number of people commented actually: we were definitely covering both camps.

At the Casino by 7:40 pm

Claimed our perfect seats near the back of the fan area. Exciting!

Atmosphere was already building early on for "La Leb" and "Algirdes"

In the Lusail there was a massive majority of support for Argentina whilst back in the casino bar in Perth, it was, if anything, the opposite. French fans definitely outnumbered Argentinians. The bookies made France slight favourites but everyone was expecting a classic.

The French fans did not win many Argentinian (or neutral) friends with their disrespectful booing of the Argentinian anthem. And I thought England fans were bad!

The Marseillaise was sung with an impressive passion and, it must be said, largely respected by the South Americans.

Argentina lined up like this...

France, like this...

But, as the world would soon find out, this match was set up to largely be about a titanic battle between the two number ten heroes on either side...

Leonel Messi v Kylian Mbappé.

Eventually, all the fanfare was over and the game got under way. 

After a cagey start, Messi almost set up Alvarez with a delightful little chip into the box but the Argentinian No 9 was off side. McAllister had a shot on goal inside five minutes too as France tried to give Messi a physical reminder that they knew about his threat. 

With ten minutes on the clock, Argentina were definitely on top whilst Hugo Lloris was on the ground nursing an injury and hoping to catch his breath. La Albiceleste (the white and sky blue) had had most of the possession, most of the chances, the only corner. France hadn't got going at all and whereas Messi had been involved in  almost everything, Mbappé had hardly had a touch.

Di Maria was being encouraged to probe the French right side at every opportunity, often by Messi. On 16 minutes he was fed the ball unmarked inside the box but he skied the ball way over the bar. It was only in the 18th minute when the French star first got involved with a probing run down the left but he was fouled on the edge of the box. Griezmann took the free kick and Giroud met the cross with a decent header that went over the bar.

Just a couple of minutes later, though, the game took its first dramatic twist.   Di Maria got the slightest push in the back from the France right back, Dembele, inside the box and, of course, he went down. 

Penalty!

Who else should take it but Messi, the GOAT.

Hugo Lloris was sent the wrong way, luckily, as he probably would have saved it if he had guess correctly.

23m. Messi (Penalty) Argentina 1 France 0

So, although Di Maria was lucky to have been adjudged to have been fouled and Messi was lucky that Lloris guessed the wrong way, no-one could deny Argentina had been the best side so far and deserved to be in front. This was what all the neutrals wanted - an early goal, at least one before half time.

France finally responded and put some pressure on the Argentina goal for a few minutes but then it was back to script and a single-handed Messi dribble earned a corner which he took himself from their right.

Messi was dominating, Mbappé anonymous. Argentina had had all five shots so far, two of them on target.

On 35 minutes France dared to wander close to the Argentina penalty area for a change and the response was devastating. With the ball at their feet and space in front of them, Argentina cut France open with a lightning fast break. McAllister, Messi, four or five clinical first time passes and then the last one straight into the path of Di Maria, who slotted it past Lloris to make it 2-0.

This was too blady easy! 

36m. Di Maria. Argentina 2 France 0

I think it was about this time in the game I tried to start the chant ... "ou est les bleues!?" But no Argentinian fans joined in!

The expression, well known to football fans, that came to mind was "France are getting killed in midfield" and Messi was the assassin.

Five minutes before half time, French coach Didier Deschamps took both Dembele and Giroud off and substituted them with Thuram and Kolo Muani. Clearly France had a big problem here.

At the break, then, Argentina were in complete control. France were nowhere. The rumor was that a bug had spread through the French squad.  

Back in the casino, at least one French fan had lost any interest he'd had in the game and, instead, started paying a great deal of attention to an attractive young woman whose Argentinian fan boyfriend was, understandably, almost totally distracted by what was going on on the big screens and had kind of drifted away from her, standing with a few others in white and sky blue stripes. I wasn't the only person noticing this, and a few Italian aussies to our right were starting to get rather annoyed by him.

During the interval, the Argentinian boyfriend seemed to sense what was going on and decided to stand closer to his partner. Admirably, he showed no hostility to the short, drunk French guy, but instead put his arm around him and tried to befriend him. 

So, to the second half. 

The game continued in the same pattern as the first half. Argentina on top. They were the only team creating chances. 

The game then entered a scrappy phase with Argentina, perhaps understandably, looking to slow it down and waste time and France, still struggling to find any rhythm. 

Messi had a sniff to get the third on the hour and McAllister had an even better chance a couple of minutes later but Lloris beat him to it in the box. Di Maria, who had been brilliant, was taken off after 64 minutes. I guess at 34 years old he could be forgiven for beginning to tire.

70 minutes gone and it was still 2-0 to Argentina and they were still very much in control. It was at this point that, finally, with just twenty minutes left on the clock, Mbappé fired in his first shot but Fernandez responded for Argentina a couple of minutes later.

With 78 minutes gone, Argentina were coolly, slowly, taking a throw in just inside the France half. Counting down the clock. Looking ever more comfortable. What could possibly go wrong?

France regain position, hoof the ball upfield and suddenly it's Kolo Muoandi closing in on goal with the Argentinian central defender Otamendi in pursuit. An hand on the shoulder and it stayed there for far too long before the French forward, of course, went down giving the referee no choice but to point to the spot.

 

Penalty to France and who else but Kylian Mbappé to take it. 

This was perfectly struck to the Argentinian goalie, Martinez's right. He guessed the right way and got a touch but it was struck too firmly.

80m. Mbappé. Argentina 2 France 1 

So... game on!

Argentina looked shaken and it was symptomatic that just seconds later, the man himself, Leonel Messi was dispossessed by substitute for France, Kingsley Coman. He turned and fed the ball forward towards Mbappé who headed a one-two to another sub Eduardo Camavinga. The lobbed return was then volleyed with such awesome power and accuracy it stopped a million Argentinian hearts all over the world, including a few hundred in the Perth casino sports bar.

What a goal!

  

82m. Mbappe. Argentina 2 France 2

In ninety seconds, from down and out, to being the team who were looking hungry for victory, all of a sudden. 

Suddenly the French fans found their voice after being quiet for most of the game.

Did I hear the Argentinian's sing "¡Solo cantas cuando estás anotando!" Maybe not. No longer was it "Ou est les bleues?" but the other one...

 

With three minutes left, Thuram went down in the box and for a heart beat it looked like another penalty would be awarded to France. Instead, to the relief of most of the fans in the stadium, the referee saw a dive and Thuram was booked.

In the third minute of injury time Kylian Mbappé, now full of fire, ran in and crashed a shot at goal but Otameni made up for his earlier error and deflected the ball over the bar. Then, another penalty claim for France, or was it outside the box? Neither.

Now it was Argentina who were clinging on as France were looking to win the match and Mbappé was suddenly involved in everything

The commentator made the point "It's as if we are watching the changing of the guards. You've (Messi) had your spell as the best in the world, now it's my (Mbappé) turn."

Maybe Leonel Messi was listening because a minute later he fired in a ferocious shot that Lloris did well to save. Argentina were not out of this yet.

So the first 98 minutes of the World Cup Final was finished. Time now for another half an hour. Usually, this event in World Cup ties is met with dread but I can't remember ever looking forward to extra time so much.

After such an exciting and frantic climax I think the players (and indeed the fans) deserved a break and the pace definitely slowed down as this titanic clash resumed.

For much of the first half of extra time it was the French who seemed to have most energy. Their players all seemed so young and speedy. Argentina, by contrast, suddenly looked comparatively old and slow but then the Argentinian coach, Leonel Scaloni, made two substitutions - Lautaro Martínez came on for Julian Alvarez and Leandro Paredes came on for Rodrigo De Paul and this move seem to give the Argentinians a new lease of life. They ended the half back on top, unlucky not to take the lead.

The pattern continued as the second fifteen minute spell started. And three minutes in, Argentina took the lead again - again, through that man Messi. Martinez blasted at Lloris but Messi struck in the rebound. There was a little confusion for a few seconds as the ball was cleared, but clearly from behind the line.

108m. Messi. Argentina 3 France 2

Again, Argentina seemed to be heading for victory and once again they started to look to count down the clock and turn up the cynical knob on the footballing style dial. Paredes "took one" for the team giving the impetus back to France. From the resulting corner, the ball fell to Mbappé who struck the ball hard towards goal. It struck Montiel on the elbow and the referee pointed to the spot.

So, guess who...

Martinez went the wrong way, but I don't think he'd have saved it anyway. It was struck with such power and precision.

 

118m. Mbappé (pen). Argentina 3 France 3

As fans' thoughts turned towards a penalty shoot out, the players focused on winning the game in open play. First, it was Argentina to press forward. A shot. A corner. Then, France break. Mbappé crossed. Kolo Muani rose. Headed. Glanced it wide of the diving Martinez... and the post. The clock ticking. Then Argentina attack. Martinez. One on one with Lloris. Off side. Then France. Konate lobbed the ball forward to Kolo Muani who only had Martinez to beat. "Only" - he saves, of course!

Then, down the other end. Messi to Monteil. Perfect Cross. Martinez rises. Heads... wide.

So it did go to penalties. Of course it it.

The first toss went to Argentina. The shoot out would not take place in front of the relatively small group of French fans.

Emiliano Martinez v Hugo Lloris.

So, the penalties... eek!

Kylian Mbappé struck the first with power. Martinez guessed correctly and for the second time in the match got his hand to the ball, but he couldn't stop it. France 1 Argentina 0.

Lionel Messi next, of course. Careful, Leonel. He rolled it in, slow as you like passed Lloris, who really should have saved it. France 1 Argentina 1.

Next up Kingsley Coman. He struck it harder than Messi did but higher up and it was straight at Martinez. So, still France 1 Argentina 1. Advantage Argentina!

Now it was Paulo Dybala. Cheekily, straight down the middle. Lloris flew to his left and the ball nestled in the back of the net. France 1 Argentina 2

Now the pressure was on Aurelien Tchouaemi for France. Mind games from Martinez seemed to work and the ball flew wide of the post. France 1 Argentina 2.

Next Leoandro Paredes slotted in coolly past Lloris who couldn't get down quick enough. France 1 Argentina 3.

Next Randal Kolo Muani scores! Straight down the middle. France 2 Argentina 3

So, this was it. One more goal and Argentina win their third World Cup. Gonzalo Montiel coolly sent Lloris the wrong way and that was that!

So, Argentina had won the penalty shoot-out 4-2 after a fantastic final which ended 3-3.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup thus went to the Albiceleste, surely after the best final ever.

It was certainly the best World Cup final I'd ever seen, although I can believe that any England who watched the 1966 one and is old enough to remember it, might well have a different opinion.

I suppose looking back on it, the first 78 minutes were a little one-sided. The French had apparently just not turned up. It was a case of "ou est les bleues" (sorry, I just can't resist that one!) until Kylian Mbappé finally decided to put in a shift after all and participate in the gladiatorial contest of the number tens we were all expecting. Them "ou est?" became "allez!" and the match exploded into an amazingly open, end-to-end, slug fest.

Highlights

Full Match

The verdict on the whole World Cup? I have to say it was largely positive too. Putting aside the question of whether Qatar (and Russia) bribed FIFA to stage these two World Cups, both announced at the same time, remember, and the dubious suitability of a tiny oil-rich country hosting the Worlds No 1 football tournament when the country has such a weak history in the game, is difficult. But if one just focuses on the football - what went on on the pitch, not off it, then it's hard to be critical.

It had some great shocks, none so dramatic as Saudi Arabia beating eventual champions, Argentina, but how about Japan, beating both Germany and Spain. Morocco becoming the first African side ever to reach the semi finals. Croatia, again, impressing everyone with the mental strength. Even England had a few good performances and, once more, they threatened to actually win the thing. 

Anyway, here's the final table. Seems fair enough to me.

Final "Table"

The World Cup Winners table, at least, wasn't added to by Brazil, Germany or Italy.

So, with the world cup over, my attention, naturally, flipped back to the domestic season and the big question - would Forest stay up?

I decided to write one more blog post about that, especially as it all ended so ecstatically!

Next... Forest escape the drop!