Fifa World Cup hot-takes: VAR, England, ‘It’s coming home’ memes and everything else we learned from Russia 2018
Social media has changed the way we interact with the game but it is not only technology that has forced us to reconsider what we thought we knew
We asked our writers for their takeaways from the last 64 games and the hours waiting for another kick-off.
They did not disappoint, even if some aspects of the tournament did.
Michael Church - Key lesson learned: don’t start booking flights before the final whistle blows. Sitting in the press seats in Rostov-on-Don and Japan, remarkably, go 2-0 up against Belgium after 52 minutes. The race to Kazan for the quarter-finals begins. Head down, websites trawled, flight on hold, first Belgian goal missed, key substitution missed, look up, second Belgian goal goes in. Thanks, Marouane Fellaini.
Oh, and Russia’s a magnificent country for a visit. Every World Cup host ensures their make-up is just right and they’re wearing their best frock ahead of their month-long Friday night out, but from west to east visiting this vast, diverse and fascinating country has been a real treat.