World Cup 2018: 3 biggest talking points of the Mundial so far
Looking back through football history, it’s clear to see that big talking points from each World Cup tend to go down as big pieces of overall football history.
In my lifetime I remember the Zinedine Zidane headbutt on 2006, I remember the sheer anger from Luis Suarez's handball in 2010 and the drama of the penalty shootout between France and eventual champions Italy in 2006.
The bottom line is that the biggest talking points from any World Cup often don't revolve around the best goal scorer or the best players involved.
Throughout this article, I am going to break down and analyse the 3 biggest talking points of the 2018 FIFA World Cup to date, and discuss what impact either positive or negative these points could have on the future of the beautiful game.
#3 Diving
In every other sport on the planet, a player writhing around on the ground screaming in agony is enough to make the hearts of people in the stadium or watching on TV skip a beat.
It's horrible, your mind skips to what surely could be a career-ending injury, or at minimum a cruel year on the sideline rehabbing and getting back to full strength for that poor player.
This is not the case in football and I don't understand it. Far too often in this World Cup, we have seen players rolling around on the ground clutching their leg as though they have snapped their tibia or grabbing their head as though they have fractured their skull.
The issue is they haven’t even received any contact at all in most cases. Whilst it is good to see players back running around 30 seconds after they have gone down, it's an absolute disgrace to see the theatrics they have used to try to win a free kick.
The worst part is it's the best players in the world doing this. Neymar, Ronaldo, Suarez are worse than anyone else. These guys are role models to millions of kids. These kids look up to them and spend hours at a time trying to copy their every move.
If they continue to behave like this, diving in football is only going to be more present at future World Cups. I don't have an issue with players falling to the ground. I understand that it is necessary to show the referee that there has been contact off the ball.
But when a player does 10 rolls or lies motionless for 30 seconds only to be back to 100 percent 2 minutes later, it completely ruins the credibility of the player, team, and competition its self.
Football is a beautiful game. The skill level involved at the top level is astounding. Therefore, it is a worrying sign when a player such as Neymar is being mentioned more for his theatrics on the ground, than the magic he produces with his feet.