#JustSports 86: 2018 FIFA World Cup special – Part 2

Rahul Puri and Samar Khan discuss once again the vagaries of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2018. Speaking from London, Rahul reflects upon how the underdogs have broken into the quarter-finals in this edition of the World Cup after vanquishing their stronger opponents through extraordinary football and athletic grit. He thinks that even though the big players are expected to make it into the advanced stages, “it is the other side of the draw that I think has got a lot of the mystery about it.” 

Samar observes that World Cups differ because they demonstrate “defensive mindsets” across teams: “There is not the attacking, free-flowing football that we’re used to seeing — the kind of football people pay to see. Teams are actually slugging it out.” Rahul says that even though that might be true for the first two rounds of the group stage, he points out that “the second round has been full of goals, I think the last stages of the group stage was also full of goals.” 

The two discuss questions surrounding the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) again with Rahul confronting Samar’s criticism that the technology is obstructive to the flow of the game. He argues that it has affected teams, who no longer get away with foul play. However, he says, “My only problem with VAR is: what about the times when it doesn’t seem like a very consistent system?”

The big players are discussed at length in the podcast with the duo remarking how each of them can clinch the much-coveted trophy. “If I was a betting man,” Rahul says “I’d probably put my semi-finals as France-Belgium and Croatia-England. And I’m looking at France-England final.” “Well, I am a betting man, so that’s where the money is,” Samar shoots back.

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