There have been great triumphs so far in the 2018 World Cup and for each fantastic triumph there has been an equally grave footballing tragedy. As delightful as it is to discuss the meteoric rise of Russia, the stout defensive unit of Uruguay, or the prospects of Belgium finally winning it all, the calamities deserve the limelight as well. As we barrel into the quarterfinals, lets take a look at the three biggest disappointments to date in this summer’s World Cup.

Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski and his boys came into the World Cup as popular dark horses of the tournament. Among the top 10 footballing nations in the world, or so FIFA would have us believe, Poland was armed with Bayern Munich’s super star Lewandowski and seemed poised to unleash him on Group H. However, from the first whistle in Poland’s opening defeat to Senegal, up until their group stage elimination, the White and Reds were not up to snuff. New Bayern gaffer, Niko Kovac, has come out and firmly stated that Lewandowski will not be leaving the German Bundesliga champions to join Chelsea, and for that matter, will not be linking up with Real Madrid. One has to wonder if Lewa could be on his way to Madrid or London if he had, say, bagged a group stage hat trick or found a way to drag his country into the latter stages of the tournament. We can hem and haw at the possibilities for Lewandowski’s career possibilities, but the bottom line is both he and Poland’s early dismissal from the World Cup is one of the biggest disappointments of the tournament.

Mohamed Salah

The next unfortunate recipient of our unwanted recognition in this segment is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. The 26-year old lit up the English Premier League in 2017–18 with 44 goals in all competitions. Salah added to his world-beater form with the match winner against Congo in World Cup qualifying to seal Egypt’s place in the 2018 World Cup tournament. Nothing seemed to be going wrong for Salah who would be flanked by fellow Premier League player Mohamed Elneny come World Cup time. But an upper body injury in the Champions League Final, oh right, he took his club to the Champions League Final, began what would become a rapid unraveling for the Egyptian superhero. Salah missed Egypt’s opening group stage match and was the subject of criticism for not making an appearance. Egypt went on to lose all three matches, scoring just two goals, en route to a last place finish in Group A — arguably the weakest group of all. Salah’s dominant club form did not carry over when he suited up for country this June and that was a massive disappointment for Liverpool, Egypt, and football fans around the world.

Sadio Mane

We touched on this topic a bit in one of our previous Blog posts, but the third and final subject(s) of this segment is all of the African nations that qualified for the World Cup. Particularly, Nigeria and Senegal. Tunisia qualified as well, and well done to them, but qualifying for the final tournament was as much as this Tunisian squad realistically could have hoped for. Morocco have some very nice players but did not stand much of a chance of advancing into the final 16 when it was all said and done. We just chatted a bit about Egypt, so lets move south and focus on Senegal and Nigeria. Sadio Mane has logged 44 goals in his Premier League career and led a Senegalese squad that seemed poise to make life difficult for fellow Group H goers. Opening night they did just that by upending group favorites Poland. However, the joy of their opening upset might have caused a hangover that the Senegalese could just not shake. A draw with Japan followed by a loss to Colombia doomed Senegal to a group stage elimination at the hands of FIFA’s fair play rule. Nigeria, similarly, were out for blood in Russia. Armed with a range of players who plied their trade in the world’s top leagues, Nigeria seemed a legitimate threat to advance from Group D. It was not meant to be as the Super Eagles only managed one win in their three group stage fixtures. Group D was a ruthless one, but the world expected more of Victor Moses and company.

Expectations are just that- expectations. Nothing is ever set in stone as this World Cup has shown us. Many expected to see Lewandowski carry Poland on his muscle-bound shoulders into the late stages of the tournament. We all expected Mohamed Salah to continue his incredible form and top the Group A table. Nigeria and Senegal were sure to make sparks fly and show the world the footballing quality Africa’s best have in their lockers. Sadly, many expectations were not met. These failed expectations are what we know as disappointments. Disappointments are always present at these types of competitions and are necessary to make the triumphs truly special. So, take in these disappointing results, football fans, as you marvel at the successes of those who remain.

— — —

If you share our passion for the football industry, you can join Playrs.io pre-sale and get a 15% token bonus!

Make sure you join our Telegram channel to stay tuned on our project updates.

After all, we’re doing this for the fans!