It has been said that the most memorable World Cup for many football fans is the one they experience around the age of 11 (give or take a year or two!) so for me that fell between Mexico ’86 and Italia ’90. Both of those tournaments hold special memories for me and it really did feel special to have some matches taking place in Mexico this time.
The majority of matches were hosted in the USA (with some in Canada too) though and it was eventually Spain that reigned supreme. I only saw them in live action in the latter stages but hadn’t actually considered them for the top prize prior to that as they never really captivated the public with their performances.
That certainly changed in the semi-final though when they were dominant against the much-fancied French team that were admittedly below par. In the final they deservedly came out on top in what was a quite poor final against an Argentina side that played in such a negative way. Winning the World Cup was maybe all the more remarkable given that they could only manage a goalless stalemate in their opening match against the minnows from Cape Verde.
Back in the day the World Cup for me was always just watching it at home on BBC and ITV with the odd public viewing here and there. In order to try and replicate some of that old magic I decided to get a VPN that would allow me to watch the coverage from back home and it was absolute bliss. People in the UK maybe don’t know how good they’ve got it when it comes to the TV coverage.
Times have changed since those earlier World Cups though and so taking in a whole game without any distractions (dog, smartphone etc.) is nigh on impossible these days. There were of course far more matches this time and they were spread out through the night so viewing a considerable amount of them just couldn’t happen when I had work and other commitments too.
Football on TV for me in recent years has mostly been consumed by just watching official highlights on YouTube and through various football vloggers on the same platform. The latter helped with bringing the real flavour of the tournament to life, particularly in Mexico which was arguably the heart and soul of the World Cup. Many raved about England’s 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in the Round of 16, and the experience of being there seemed incredible. I envy them and sadly for me the one-hour delay due to extreme weather conditions meant I wasn’t even able to see the second half as I had to go to work!
England against Argentina is another dream tie or should that be a nightmare! The long rivalry on and off the field means this is always more than just a football match. I am a big fan of Thomas Tuchel and he was very effective with his formation and tactics right up until England took the lead in the semi-final.
If England had held on, then he’d probably have been called a genius but it’s a fine line between success and failure. The German master tactician with a habit for getting teams over the line was brought into take England all the way yet fell into the same negative trap that let his predecessor down. I hope he is given the chance to rectify his errors in the 2028 European Championships.
Moving onto Japan and hopes for the national team getting beyond the first knock-out round for the first time ever were high given their successes against the big guns in recent years. Unfortunately, they were in a group where qualification for the last 16 meant a round of 32 match against either France, Morocco or Brazil depending on where they finished. As it was, their five points meant that they ended up facing the South American giants in Dallas. Their exit was similar to England’s by way of taking the lead, sitting back and inevitably conceding a couple of goals.
A 2:00 am wake up call for Japan vs Brazil
If you get up in the middle of the night (I got up for matches at 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6:00 am) then you need to make sure you tell people about it on social media or in a blog post!! I felt I was missing out a bit in the first week so when I had the opportunity I made the effort to watch three matches in one day.
I certainly wasn’t rewarded for it as the matches I saw were all fairly disappointing (Paraguay against Australia was absolutely dreadful!) and it seems I chose the wrong match on all three occasions as this was when the final group games were played simultaneously. How many others managed to watch four a day every day for the first 2-3 weeks I don’t know!
The best view of Japan vs Sweden!
There is of course more to the World Cup than just the matches such as the promotion of products (special Coca Cola cans etc.) and events like the Samurai Blue themed hub at Miyashita Park in Shibuya which was decorated out with flags, posters, food and drink stalls, photo opportunities and public viewings of Japan matches.
Getting to sit on the substitute’s bench and pose with Japan’s manager Hajime Moriyasu (complete with his famed notebook!) was a cool photo opp.
A few days after my first visit I attended again (having a had a much-needed haircut in the meantime) and had another photo taken with the Japan Coach.
The only other thing of note away from my screen was trying the Mexican Tacos Cheese Chicken burger from McDonalds which came with a football shaped bun. I rarely ever eat at the Golden Arches but my wife wanted a drink and some fries so I decided to get this themed burger which was actually much better than I anticipated.
Whilst it’s unlikely that any FIFA World Cup will ever match those earlier tournaments in my mind, I still can’t help but chase the dream of finding some new moments which will live in the memory for when I next look back and get nostalgic just ahead of the 2030 version.
Click on the following to read my overview from past tournaments:
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 