The World cup has now come to the crucial phase. Three more matches and then emerges the new World champion of indeed the globe’s most popular sport. With the expanded format in place this time, 48 teams were in the fray and 44 of them have fallen by the wayside leaving the four best to fight for the ultimate honour. Interestingly the four _France, Argentina, Spain and England _ are currently the top listed countries in the latest FIFA rankings! Sustained excellence, it can be said, paid rich dividends. So, everything has come down to perfection, so to say and so it would be tempting to predict France as the probable winner! Brazil did it in 2002 but then that was a different era. For, today the once top football nation is proving to be just a shadow of its past. But such has been the churn of the competition in the current edition that the sword of uncertainty has always been there to strike and give a dramatic twist.

The knockout phase had plenty to show in this regard though it must be said an upset result as such did not happen despite there being close encounters aplenty. To that extent the World Cup has been in every sense what it was expected to be, full of excitement and at all the venues in US, Mexico and Canada, the three countries which are co-hosting this edition. What was initially feared would be mired in controversy and negative comments, this........

© Mathrubhumi English