World Cup 2018: 5 major disappointments so far
FIFA World Cup 2018 has been special in many regards, especially as the potential last World cup of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the greatest players ever to play the sport.
The introduction of 'Video assistant referee' also added to the anticipations, as people hoped the refereeing errors could finally be limited. However, it has once again been proved that expectations would not always turn to reality. Disappointments were many, from the controversies regarding 'Video assistant referee', to the underperforming superstars.
The increase in the count of own goals and penalties also add to the already mounting frustration among the fans.
Let us see the five big disappointments of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
#5 David De Gea
The Spanish goalkeeper has featured in all three of their group stage matches, and the pre-quarters, he has been on the pitch for a total of 390 minutes. His current save rate is just 16.7, an indication that 6 out of 7 attempts on his goal ended up in the nets.
While no goalkeeper is expected to save every shot that comes to his goal, De Gea made some silly mistakes which resulted in such poor numbers. The second goal he conceded against Portugal tells us how disappointing the Manchester United star has been.
David De Gea came to the World Cup as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But by the end of the group stages, we saw him fighting to get at least the tag of a decent goalkeeper. He conceded 5 goals from his three group stage matches, managing to make only one save in the tournament so far.
He never really looked like saving a penalty in the shootout against Russia. As a result, he is on the bottom of the list of Goalkeepers with most saves. He is ranked 40 in a tournament that features only 32 teams. That means even the second choice goalkeepers of other teams rank high above him, such an embarrassment for a player with his calibre.