Creative design thanks to Canva
Argentina was just crowned as the champions of world football, for the 3rd time around. Some would say this is the best edition of the world cup, ever and I couldn't disagree with that. We've seen lots of beautiful memories and the unpredictability of being a champion was uncertain throughout the tournament. It wasn't an easy journey for Argentina and France would've won it if Emi Martinez was not able to block that late extra time shot.
Since the tournament is over, I'd like to show you who among the players have received tournament awards:
- World Cup Champions - Argentina
Finishing top in group C, winning 2-1 against Australia in the KO stage, a thrilling 4-3 win on penalties against Netherlands, a comfortable 3-0 win in the Semi-final against Croatia, and that famous win against France, Messi's dream collection is now complete
- Golden Boot winner - Kylian Mbappe
Tallying 8 goals overall in the competition, with that famous hat-trick in the finals where they lost against Argentina, Mbappe is your Golden boot winner in this current edition.
Finally, Messi's elusive World Cup trophy, photo from Japan Times
- MVP of the tournament - Lionel Messi
No question about it. Messi has been an influential player for Argentina in achieving that victory. Scoring 7 goals, 3 assists, and those killer goal contributions and passes makes Messi the MVP of the tournament. He previously won it in 2014.
- Golden Glove - Emiliano Martinez
Known for his heroics against Netherlands, he replicated that performance again against France in the final. That World Cup save in 120+3 min was the best save of the tournament. Emi is a monster in the penalties. Bono and Livakovic have also been very good but it was Martinez finals performance!
- Young Player of the Tournament - Enzo Fernandez
That stunning goal against Mexico was his first introduction to the world. But it was mostly his work ethic and quality build up passes that makes him being selected as the Young player of the tournament. Many have also said Julian Alvarez should've won that award but no one can't deny Enzo's crazy performance in this World Cup too.
- FIFA Fair Play Award - England
The factor that determines this award is the number of violence caused by this team in this World Cup. This is a measure on how many bookings players committed during their games and it was the game against France where Maguire committed the only yellow card for the lions.
My team of the Tournament
This is my personal opinion and there was no other blog or site I take credit in creating my team of the tournament. From my overall experience, there might be bias, I believe these are the players who stood out in their positions:
| Lionel Messi | Kylian Mbappe | Dominik Livaković |
|---|---|---|
| Achraf Hakimi | Antoine Griezmann | Alexis Mac Allister |
| Sofiane Boufal | Julian Alvarez | Joško Gvardiol John Stones |
| Theo Hernandez |
What about you? Who among the players have stood out from your own perspective? Share that to us in the comment section.
