2018 FIFA World Cup

Lore & Background

The tournament featured 32 teams, with Iceland and Panama making their debuts. Germany, the defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1938. Host nation Russia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. France became the fourth consecutive European winner after Italy (2006), Spain (2010), and Germany (2014).

In Their Own Story

The stands at the Luzhniki were a sea of red and white, but the pitch told a different story. Umtiti's header in the first minute seemed almost accidental, a flick of the shoulder that sent the ball past Subašić and into the net. The Croatian crowd gasped. Then Pogba, that lanky midfielder with the dreadlocks, stepped up to the free-kick, curled it over the wall, and the French bench erupted. But it was the second half that belonged to the boy from Bondy. Mbappé, still a teenager, still wearing a number 9 that felt borrowed from a future he hadn't yet earned, threaded his way past two defenders and finished low, cool, almost bored. The second goal was even cleaner—a sprint, a touch, a finish. The stadium fell silent. In the French dugout, Deschamps simply nodded, as if this was all exactly as planned, and perhaps it was. When the final whistle blew, the blue shirts collapsed onto the grass, the golden ball catching the Moscow light. Griezmann hoisted it above his head. Mbappé, still in his teens, stood at the edge of the celebration, watching the fireworks, knowing the world would remember his face for the next twenty years.

Reader's Guide

Luka Modrić (Croatia) won the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Harry Kane (England) won the Golden Boot with six goals. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) won the Golden Glove. Kylian Mbappé was voted Best Young Player and became the second teenager, after Pelé, to score in a World Cup final.

Did You Know?

• The tournament cost over $14.2 billion, making it the most expensive World Cup until surpassed by the 2022 event.
• More than 3 million people attended the matches.
• 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities.