Was this the best world cup ever?

Hard to say. The semi finals were a complete non event, when in the past they made some of the most memorable games. The lack of big games hurts this world cup, which is a shame, because the few that there were, were fantastic. Spain Germany, England France, Netherlands Argentina, and Argentina France. Could've been a star studded quarter final and then semi final, upsets killed that (which is also great in a different way, but led to shit/barely competitive semi finals).

The final is probably the best football game I've ever watched, taking it all into account. So that'll always go down in history.

I still can't shake the feeling that we were cheated of an Argentina-Brazil semifinal, which would have been fireworks and plenty more. But if that were to be the case last night's mother of all World Cup finals might not have happened.

Swings and roundabouts.
 
Best final ever, but no where near the best world cup.
Bar about 10 matches most have been rather lackluster,

Also England won a trophy at this one...
 
Both the best world cup was won by Argentina. 1986 led by magical Maradona. 2022 inspired by Messi and what a final, the best football match ever played in the history of football. We will never see anything like this again.
 
I think it has been great because there hasn't really been a standout team in the tournament.
 
Still 2014 for me with spain getting banged by netherlands, italy engöand failed (like germany this year)
The 7-1. 4 great teams (on paper) in semifinals. I loved it

This year had the best final and some special surprises (japan marocco) but not the best overall imo.
France 98 had so many good players to watch was better to me too
 
Still 2014 for me with spain getting banged by netherlands, italy engöand failed (like germany this year)
The 7-1. 4 great teams (on paper) in semifinals. I loved it

This year had the best final and some special surprises (japan marocco) but not the best overall imo.
France 98 had so many good players to watch was better to me too
2014 group stage was brilliant but the only good knockout was the 7-1 and that was over as a contest after 20 mins. The knockouts let that tournament down massively.
 
I loved it. Was the first time I've been to a world cup and obviously the first time I've seen my team (Wales) there. Wales were shite but aside from that I loved every minute, the atmosphere among the fans was fantastic and I met so many interesting people from all parts of the world.

It was bizarre that this was all going down in Qatar, and I was getting drunk in Qatar with some of my oldest mates from back home - just felt so random, but it added to the experience.

I'd agree some of the teams and games were low quality, but I do think that happens in every world cup and we tend to forget that and remember the highlights. I also think the nature of club football (talent getting hovered up by the rich teams) has made the quality in International football seem poorer by comparison - but in reality it hasn't changed that much, only our perception of it.

I sold my semi and final tickets to help pay for the trip, which was honestly ridiculously expensive, and I got a bit tired after 3 weeks in Qatar. Also lost interest a bit once England got knocked out. So a bit disappointed I missed out now but what an incredible final, definitely the best I've seen in my lifetime.

I don't think it was the best ever, but maybe over time we'll be able to assess that more accurately. I have so many romanticised feelings about older world cups and their iconic moments, it's hard to put this one above them.
 
I can only remember from 2002 but it’s the best I’ve ever seen. Highlights of previous edition don’t beat 2022 either.
 
The players and supporters made it the best ever, FIFA can't claim they had anything to do with it. From treating supporters like shit, and threatening action against countries if they wore armbands that showed support for something FIFA pretend they support, they have only cared about how much money they could make.
 
Best World Cup final I’ve seen (maybe ever?). Best performance by an African nation!

Not sure if it’s the best World Cup ever though, as the semi finalists (Croatia, Morocco both deserved to be there, don’t get me wrong but it would have been amazing if Portugal/Brazil made it instead) were quite “weak” - but then again, we tend to remember previous editions through rose tinted specs and I’m sure those “upsets” existed even then with a surprise or 2 in the semis (no disrespecting this Croatian team either, they’ve proven it time and again).

Guess a long way of saying I have no idea if it’s the best World Cup ever - I doubt it but it culminated in possibly the best final ever though, with Messi lifting that trophy propelling it even more!
 
Best World Cup final I’ve seen (maybe ever?). Best performance by an African nation!

Not sure if it’s the best World Cup ever though, as the semi finalists (Croatia, Morocco both deserved to be there, don’t get me wrong but it would have been amazing if Portugal/Brazil made it instead) were quite “weak” - but then again, we tend to remember previous editions through rose tinted specs and I’m sure those “upsets” existed even then with a surprise or 2 in the semis (no disrespecting this Croatian team either, they’ve proven it time and again).

Guess a long way of saying I have no idea if it’s the best World Cup ever - I doubt it but it culminated in possibly the best final ever though, with Messi lifting that trophy propelling it even more!
I know a lot of people wanted to see Brazil in the semis but I wouldnt call Croatia team weak by any standard nor we can be considered a surprise anymore. I know you meant no disrespect but had to say it. :)
 
I'm amazed how quickly people have forgotten how good the last two were. The same question was asked after Russia and particularly Brazil.
 
I know a lot of people wanted to see Brazil in the semis but I wouldnt call Croatia team weak by any standard nor we can be considered a surprise anymore. I know you meant no disrespect but had to say it. :)
Yeah, absolutely meant no disrespect to them, bud. Argentina v Brazil would have just been amazing to see though, and giving Brazil the chance to avenge their Copa final defeat!
 
It wasn't a good one to enjoy socially as people cba to make the effort when it's minus temperatures. The semi finals were also a bust. The World Cup just has to be played at the end of the season when there's enough time for the excitement to build etc.
 
It wasn't a good one to enjoy socially as people cba to make the effort when it's minus temperatures. The semi finals were also a bust. The World Cup just has to be played at the end of the season when there's enough time for the excitement to build etc.

To be fair where I was, lots of people were home for Christmas for the semi-finals/final and 3pm the Sunday before Christmas was a nice time to watch it socially.

I disagree I think the winter World Cup was a success as a spectacle. I had no problem watching several games a day when it was dark at 4.30 and cold and wet out, I didn’t feel I was missing out on anything, whereas watching 4 games when it’s sunny and 25 degrees out seems a slight waste of your day.

This time a year people watch a lot of football anyway in the PL and CL, so it was replacing that with better matches.
 
It delivered a load of engaging stories and had some excellent memorable games. Footballwise it was pretty great. For FIFA as an organization it was a new low point.
 
I know a lot of people wanted to see Brazil in the semis but I wouldnt call Croatia team weak by any standard nor we can be considered a surprise anymore. I know you meant no disrespect but had to say it. :)

Croatia had 3 World Cup Semifinals since their first participation in 1998 it's ridiculously good (vs England 1 in the same periode)
 
To be fair where I was, lots of people were home for Christmas for the semi-finals/final and 3pm the Sunday before Christmas was a nice time to watch it socially.

I disagree I think the winter World Cup was a success as a spectacle. I had no problem watching several games a day when it was dark at 4.30 and cold and wet out, I didn’t feel I was missing out on anything, whereas watching 4 games when it’s sunny and 25 degrees out seems a slight waste of your day.

This time a year people watch a lot of football anyway in the PL and CL, so it was replacing that with better matches.
Who watches the World Cup at home when it's sunny and 25 degrees out?! It was freezing cold on both nights of the semi finals where I am so nobody did anything. One of the most enjoyable aspects of international tournaments for me is watching the big games at a pub with a load of people and the smaller games at home or at a friend's place. That social aspect wasn't the same this time around, and there wasn't a big enough gap between the league stopping and the World Cup commencing for it to feel like a major event.
 
Who watches the World Cup at home when it's sunny and 25 degrees out?! It was freezing cold on both nights of the semi finals where I am so nobody did anything. One of the most enjoyable aspects of international tournaments for me is watching the big games at a pub with a load of people and the smaller games at home or at a friend's place. That social aspect wasn't the same this time around, and there wasn't a big enough gap between the league stopping and the World Cup commencing for it to feel like a major event.

Do you go to the pub every day in summer World Cups? Yesterday was one of the biggest sporting moments of my lifetime so I don’t know how you could say it didn’t feel like a major event.
 
I like winter world cups.

Felt there was much more energy in it than tournaments after 12 months of football.
 
It's mad to think the final was a non event / one sided for 80 minutes then just exploded into the best final produced.

Group games were a lot of fun and we had some shocks but also it mean that a lot of the groups went down to the last game / head to head which had so much drama and twists.

Morroco was a great story. We had a few great knock out matches
Netherlands Argentina
France England
France Argentina

Last 16 had all bar one obvious qualifier. Semi finals felt like non events. Biggest shame was we missed some heavyweight clashes like
Brazil Argentina
Maybe France Portugal
Portugal Spain
 
Do you go to the pub every day in summer World Cups? Yesterday was one of the biggest sporting moments of my lifetime so I don’t know how you could say it didn’t feel like a major event.
Nah, I'm not rich/an alcoholic. I go for all the England games and then for other huge games (and would have gone for Brazil for the missus). Smaller games I watch at home or at a friend's place. For me, the build up to the World Cup after the season ends helps create excitement with all the discussion and associated razzmatazz. The season ends, you have a month or so for the dust to settle and enjoy the lull while expectation and anticipation grows. This World Cup kicked off less than a week after our last game against Fulham in November. There's obviously going to be an effect to that.
 
Great final, and the Netherlands Argentina game was good fun too. The rest of it was pretty ordinary really... No real atmosphere outside of the stadiums either (from watching on TV - I always love seeing a country embrace the whole thing, and I never felt that here).

But I don't think it could've had a better ending. Messi is still arguably the best player on the planet, and it's just perfect seeing him win the biggest match of all in his last ever international match... It's like something out of Rocky.
 
The biggest loser of this world cup is Ronaldo, if you know what I mean.

Special mention to Mbappe, scored 3 goals and 1 penalty shoot out in the final yet lost the match.

Take a bow, Lionel Messi, a new Argentina God is born after Maradona.
 
The final was a very good game, the group stage was pretty entertaining. The knockouts were good in parts but a few dull games.

Qatar obviously rigged the vote to get it, it was won by the team with the worst fair play, play acting and time wasting, who had 5 penalties, the most for 60+ years..., with players from other teams declaring it fixed and whose GK should have received two yellows in the final shootout and been sent off (wonder if other GK in future will try the same antics). So there's that. Plus the timing of it wrecks the integrity of leagues as some teams find key players out for the rest of season due to the world cup.
 
The final was similar to the 1986 one.
Boring for 80mins then a crazy 10 mins.
 
I enjoyed watching an international tournament with players in form and probably at their physical peak.

The downside is the effect it will have on club football later in the season.

It goes without saying FIFA as an organisation can take little from this. Qatar 50/50, there are obvious headlines which won't go away but there are parts of the culture which seem to have been embraced, and I think it certainly helped countries from Asia and Africa in particular seem a bit more relevant and important although that faded pretty quickly once the knockouts started.

I know of 3 people lucky enough to have attended games thanks to corporate ticketing through work and they all really welcomed the hospitality aspect of football which is becoming more prevalent at home too.

The final was gripping though. I didn't expect it to go that way with that many twists and turns. It was representative of the 3rd round of the group stages in particular.
 
One of the greatest finals ever, worst world cup in decades. It was absolutely shite, lack of quality was astounding.
 
The tournament felt a bit flat for me, almost like watching nations league or similar - not sure if that was the furore surrounding it or the fact it was staged mid-season. All apart from the final that is, which was absolutely sensational and felt very special.
 
One of the greatest finals ever, worst world cup in decades. It was absolutely shite, lack of quality was astounding.
Isn't lack of quality somewhat inherent for international tournaments though? You can't buy a top team, you're dependent on your country producing quality players.

And with the increasing amount of nations participating there was always gonna be dross games.
 
Best World Cup final I’ve seen (maybe ever?). Best performance by an African nation!

Not sure if it’s the best World Cup ever though, as the semi finalists (Croatia, Morocco both deserved to be there, don’t get me wrong but it would have been amazing if Portugal/Brazil made it instead) were quite “weak” - but then again, we tend to remember previous editions through rose tinted specs and I’m sure those “upsets” existed even then with a surprise or 2 in the semis (no disrespecting this Croatian team either, they’ve proven it time and again).

Guess a long way of saying I have no idea if it’s the best World Cup ever - I doubt it but it culminated in possibly the best final ever though, with Messi lifting that trophy propelling it even more!

Yeah I feel the same. Surprises are all great for the neutrals, but inevitable the wheels coming off later - Crotia and Marocco both made for not so great semifinals. I thin spain vs Portugal, and the winner against France would have been more interesting OR THE NEUTRAL. Same for BRazil vs Argentina on the other side.
But Morocco and Croatia deserved this of course and it was great fun seeing Spain and Portugal getting knocked out by Marocco but I'm still a fan of the "big" nations clashing (and as you can see, France vs England, ARG - NED and ARG - FRA ere the best knockout games because they all play football and not parking the bus all the time)
 
What was so shite about it?
The level of quality was pretty shocking, England v France and the final. The rest was high on drama , low on quality. Top 6 in England would beat the majority of that dross. International football has slumped in the last few years. I just didn't think the games were of a high standard. The host nation was a joke, there crowd and team added absolutely nothing. You always like to see the home nation go far, see the energy spread in to the tournament. I tried to get in to it but couldn't wait to it ended, looking forward to watching United again.