THE TOUCHLINE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2022 AWARDS!

 THE TOUCHLINE FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2022 AWARDS!

-Mitansh Kagalwala

Photo Via: Adweek


 

Whew. Those twenty-eight days really flew by, didn’t they? And now we have to wait four years for the next one. This World Cup really had everything, didn’t it? Upsets, heartbreak, jubilation, last-minute equalizers, penalty shootouts, great goals, great saves, a GOAT finally lifting the trophy, and one of the greatest games of football of all time. Here’s what we made of it:

 

The Group Of Death Award

Group F

This was a tough one. Group E gave us a huge upset, and one of the most exciting three-minute stretches of football in World Cup history, but in the end, Group F just about nudged it. Morocco defied all expectations (except Samuel Eto’o’s) to finish first, eliminating World Number 2 Belgium in the process. Croatia finished runners-up by the skin of their teeth, and Canada were arguably the best last-placed team in the tournament. Into the knockout rounds, and it was time for Group F to really shine. Croatia caused a massive upset in beating Brazil to make it to the semi-finals, while Morocco beat Spain and Portugal en-route to becoming the first African team to ever make the semi-finals. Respect.

The Golden Tie Award

Walid Regragui (Morocco)

You can’t look past Walid Regragui for this one. Morocco were the highest-achieving team in Qatar, and much of that is due to their discipline and organization, both of which can be credited to their manager. Sofyan Amrabat’s transformation into one of the World Cup’s best midfielders, and Morocco’s adaptations to cope without Romain Saiss, Noussair Mazraoui and Nayef Aguerd were nothing short of inspirational. Regragui’s tactics to break down Belgium and to hold against Spain and Portugal were absolutely spot on, and the Moroccan will go back a hero.

Photo Via: The Japan Times


The Golden Pacifier Award (Best Young Player)

Enzo Fernandez (Argentina)

Enzo Fernandez was brought into the midfield after Argentina’s loss against Saudi Arabia, and was the catalyst to Argentina’s resurgence. He provided something different to the Albiceleste, that they had missed due to Giovanni Lo Celso’s injury. He set the tempo and dictated play from midfield, providing a balance in the middle of the park, and was one of the key reasons why Argentina won the midfield battle for a majority of the game in the final against France.

Photo Via: Football.London


The Golden Glove Award

Dominik Livakovic (Croatia)

A large part of Croatia’s success this World Cup can be attributed to their giant in goal. The Croatian dragged his nation through two penalty shootouts, and finished the tournament with 25 saves, 14 of which were from inside the box, a 78.1% (!) save percentage, and 2 clean sheets in 7 games. A mistake in the semi-final to give away a penalty to Argentina aside, an absolute wall in goal.

Photo Via: Rediffmail


The Golden Ball Award

Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Who else? The greatest player of all time finally won the greatest trophy, thus completing football. And he did it in style, finishing with the most goal contributions in the tournament, and having scored in every single knockout game.

Photo Via: Marca


The POTTOTM (Player of the Tournament Other Than Messi) Award

Kylian Mbappe (France)

8 goals, 2 assists. Golden Boot winner. Single-handedly dragged France to penalties in the World Cup final, and often looked like he was carrying the French team through the tournament. A worthy follow-up to his excellent 2018 World Cup, and a scary prologue to the 2026 World Cup

Photo Via: SBNation


Game of The Tournament

Argentina 3(4) – 3(2) France

The greatest World Cup game of all time, possibly the greatest football game of all time, considering the stakes. No more comment.

Team of The Tournament

Manager: Walid Regragui (Morocco)

Captain: Lionel Messi

4-3-3

Dominik Livakovic (Croatia); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Romain Saiss (Morocco), Josko Gvardiol (Croatia), Theo Hernandez (France); Antoine Griezmann (France); Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco); Enzo Fernandez (Argentina); Lionel Messi (Argentina), Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Kylian Mbappe (France)

Honourable Mentions: Emi Martinez (Argentina); Raphael Varane (France); Luka Modric (Croatia), Olivier Giroud (France)

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