My World Cup is over with Brazil, Germany, Spain losing

Brazil`s players are dejected after losing the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and Brazil, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Pic/AFP

The FIFA World Cup is over for me even before boarding the flight to watch the semis and the finals.

The three teams that would have been fun to watch are done and dusted. Brazil lost in the penalty shootouts in the quarter-finals and earlier Germany and Spain were knocked out too. Now, only Portugal remain, but this is being written before their quarter-final match so don't know if they will make it to the semis. That the first two quarter-finals went to the penalty shootouts show how evenly balanced the teams are at this level. So more than anyone else, the goalie who is hardly ever mentioned in the previews becomes the most important man and not any of the big names who hog the headlines. Hopefully, the final does not go to the penalty deciders as that would be as much of a lottery that a super over in cricket is.

Professional Management Group