Now, without further ado:
Croatia 2-1 Morocco
The third-place playoff was full of action right from the opening kick-off. Within the first 10 minutes, Joško Gvardiol had opened the scoring for Croatia and Achraf Dari equalized almost immediately after. As the first half drew to a close, Mislav Oršić scored a spectacular goal which ensured that Croatia would finish in the top three for a second consecutive World Cup and the third time overall.
Argentina 3-3 France (Argentina win 4-2 on penalties)
Where do we even begin?
For the third time in this same tournament, Argentina either blew or almost blew a 2-0 lead late in regulation time. A Lionel Messi penalty and another goal scored by Ángel Di María before halftime seemed to all but seal it for the Albiceleste. Then, starting from the 80th minute, Kylian Mbappé entered a 40-minute stretch of near-superhuman play. Mbappé pulled one back from the penalty spot, then immediately after scored a spectacular volley to send it to extra time.
In the additional 30 minutes, Messi once again appeared to have clinched it for Argentina with his seventh goal of the tournament but for another penalty in favour of Les Bleus in the 118th minute. Having earned the penalty, Mbappé converted it to send it to a shootout. In the shootout, misses by Kingsley Coman and Aurélien Tchouaméni set up an opportunity for Gonzalo Montiel to win the title for Argentina. The Sevilla full-back duly dispatched it to bring the World Cup title to Argentina for the first time since 1986.
Let's now take one last look at my bracket.
The most important point, of course, is the fact that I was dead on the money with my title pick. Interestingly enough, my primary reason for picking Argentina did not match the actual cause of their success. I had expected Lautaro Martínez to seize the reins of this Albiceleste team from Messi and thoroughly dominate as Argentina won the title over England, one of their fiercest rivals. Though Lautaro had an extremely disappointing tournament, everything worked out in the end.
The most important point, of course, is the fact that I was dead on the money with my title pick. Interestingly enough, my primary reason for picking Argentina did not match the actual cause of their success. I had expected Lautaro Martínez to seize the reins of this Albiceleste team from Messi and thoroughly dominate as Argentina won the title over England, one of their fiercest rivals. Though Lautaro had an extremely disappointing tournament, everything worked out in the end.
Looking at the rest of my bracket, the usual pitfalls which befell many a bracket-maker hamstrung mine as well. I had neither Croatia nor Morocco even advancing from their respective groups. I also picked Belgium to reach the semifinals; that being said, very few people would've picked them to slump to a group-stage exit prior to the tournament.
As for my individual award predictions, my Golden Ball (Kevin De Bruyne/Lautaro/Kieran Trippier) and Golden Boot (Romelu Lukaku/Aleksandar Mitrović/Lautaro) predictions were way off. However, I nailed my Golden Glove prediction of Emiliano Martínez, while I do consider myself somewhat unlucky with my Best Young Player pick of Bukayo Saka. Had England beaten France in the quarterfinals (not an unrealistic outcome by any means), Saka would've stood an excellent chance to bag the honour.
Now, what are the main takeaways from this World Cup?
The importance of high-level goalkeeping
More so in this World Cup than any other before it, many matches came down to the performances of the men between the posts. Croatia's Dominik Livaković, Morocco's Yassine "Bono" Bounou, and especially Argentina's Golden Glove winner Emiliano Martínez truly stood out during this tournament, taking their teams to victories which would otherwise have seemed unlikely.
Playing the long game with substitutions
Twice during this tournament (Brazil vs Croatia, Argentina vs France), a match which went to a penalty shootout was arguably decided before it; in both instances, many of the losing team's best penalty takers had already been substituted prior to the shootout. This has proven to be a grievous error. In a knockout tournament, assuming that a match will not go to a penalty shootout is extremely dangerous. Brazil and France found this out the hard way.
Mid-season World Cups - here to stay?
The 2022 World Cup saw a markedly higher level of play than those of many prior editions. This is likely due to the fact that the players were in mid-season form with no rust to shake off. This allowed them to get right into the swing of the tournament without any major adjustment period. FIFA might just take this into account when scheduling dates for future World Cups.
A successful World Cup defense will probably never happen again
Despite having to overcome many difficulties before and during the tournament, France pushed through and made it to the final - only to fall short at the final hurdle. Having not been accomplished since 1962, successfully defending the World Cup remains the most difficult achievement in sports. With the tournament's upcoming expansion to 48 teams, back-to-back World Cup victories by any team are unlikely to ever occur again.
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