Soccer doesn’t typically appeal to North Americans, who crave more goals, can’t understand off-sides or substitutions, howl at the fact they can’t play two days in a row and ridicule players who dive dramatically whenever touched by an opponent.
Still, France versus England in the World Cup final Sunday would have been interesting.
Croatia ended that fantasy by eliminating England 2-1 in a semifinal Wednesday. And truth be told, even though it takes an entire month to decide a champion, the tournament has been intriguing as the world has learned the names of Mbappe and Modric while watching Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo and Kane fall by the wayside. Neymar’s fall was especially dramatic, highlighted by his fake-injury flop-and-roll that’s been ridiculed ever since on social media.
Croatia has never been in the final and could become the smallest country since Uruguay in 1950 to win the World Cup. France is one of only eight countries to lift the trophy, winning only in 1998. Game on! And no diving!