This year's Draft World Cup was something of a classic, with numerous thrilling matches and interesting storylines. Two of the very best matches were Germany's wins in the semi-final and final, which confirm them as the first team to win multiple DWCs!
Today we will go through the awards for this year's event, and we will also explain the exciting next step!
Golden Boot
The easiest one to measure, this is the award given to the top scorer in the tournament:
1. Robert Lewandowski (GER) - 9 goals (7 games)
2. Edinson Cavani (FRA) & Harry Kane (ENG) - 8 goals (7 games)
4. Paolo Guerrero (BRA) - 7 goals (6 games)
A very rich year for strikers. How fitting that the final goal of the tournament was also the one to decide this award.
Golden Ball
The award for the best player of the tournament. The three nominees:
Robert Lewandowski - The tournament's top scorer was deadly in the box. And he saved it for the biggest occasion, with two goals in the final. The tournament's winning goal was a particularly ice-cool finish under the biggest pressure.
Neymar - Carrying a large burden as France's star man, he shone when cutting in from the left. Notched 5 goals and 3 assists, including a brilliant pass for Cavani's second goal in the final.
Marco Reus - Consistently excellent, and usually Germany's brightest creative spark. He scored 5 goals, the majority of which obviously came in his stunning hat-trick to almost single-handedly beat England. He was having a quiet final until his unexpected pass lead to the decisive winning goal.
After much deliberation, the judging panel (me) has decided the winner is... Marco Reus!
Team of the Tournament
Golden Boot
The easiest one to measure, this is the award given to the top scorer in the tournament:
1. Robert Lewandowski (GER) - 9 goals (7 games)
2. Edinson Cavani (FRA) & Harry Kane (ENG) - 8 goals (7 games)
4. Paolo Guerrero (BRA) - 7 goals (6 games)
A very rich year for strikers. How fitting that the final goal of the tournament was also the one to decide this award.
Golden Ball
The award for the best player of the tournament. The three nominees:
Robert Lewandowski - The tournament's top scorer was deadly in the box. And he saved it for the biggest occasion, with two goals in the final. The tournament's winning goal was a particularly ice-cool finish under the biggest pressure.
Neymar - Carrying a large burden as France's star man, he shone when cutting in from the left. Notched 5 goals and 3 assists, including a brilliant pass for Cavani's second goal in the final.
Marco Reus - Consistently excellent, and usually Germany's brightest creative spark. He scored 5 goals, the majority of which obviously came in his stunning hat-trick to almost single-handedly beat England. He was having a quiet final until his unexpected pass lead to the decisive winning goal.
After much deliberation, the judging panel (me) has decided the winner is... Marco Reus!
Team of the Tournament
Goal of the Tournament
Always a favourite, below you can view the four nominees and place your vote:
Stéphane Mbia (China) vs Libya
Víctor Núnez (Costa Rica) vs Germany
Odsonne Edouard (Scotland) vs England
Marco Reus (Germany) vs England
Always a favourite, below you can view the four nominees and place your vote:
Stéphane Mbia (China) vs Libya
Víctor Núnez (Costa Rica) vs Germany
Odsonne Edouard (Scotland) vs England
Marco Reus (Germany) vs England
Rankings
This is how the world rankings look for the top 90 teams in the world following the tournament. The teams below have seen no change since the last update.
This is how the world rankings look for the top 90 teams in the world following the tournament. The teams below have seen no change since the last update.
Germany complement their DWC triumph by regaining their place as the number one side in the world! England and France overtake Portugal to ensure that the 'big 5' teams occupy the top 5 spots for the first time.
Elsewhere, there isn't too much movement, since most teams played 3 or 4 matches. The biggest risers are, unsurprisingly, Wales and Algeria. Expect to see them rewarded in the next DWC with more favourable draws now.
What next?
As regular readers know, we adopted the new ranking system this year. And I am keen for it to include as many matches as possible, so we can accurately rank the teams against each other. I was going to just carry out a load of friendlies, but then I nicked an idea from UEFA... we will have... a Nations League!
Our Nations League will cover all 219 teams in DWC-world. The small size of the groups in the UEFA league left things very exciting, so we will also have groups of 3-5. This will leave us with 54 groups, and we will split them so:
Elsewhere, there isn't too much movement, since most teams played 3 or 4 matches. The biggest risers are, unsurprisingly, Wales and Algeria. Expect to see them rewarded in the next DWC with more favourable draws now.
What next?
As regular readers know, we adopted the new ranking system this year. And I am keen for it to include as many matches as possible, so we can accurately rank the teams against each other. I was going to just carry out a load of friendlies, but then I nicked an idea from UEFA... we will have... a Nations League!
Our Nations League will cover all 219 teams in DWC-world. The small size of the groups in the UEFA league left things very exciting, so we will also have groups of 3-5. This will leave us with 54 groups, and we will split them so:
However, unlike UEFA I am not keen to use the Nations League as a way of qualifying for next year's DWC. Therefore, there needs to be an aim for all teams, and that is the Nations Cup!
The Nations Cup is for the winners of all 54 groups, unlike in UEFA's version, which is just for the winners in Division A.
Teams from lower-ranked groups will enter earlier. The tournament structure will be:
The Nations Cup is for the winners of all 54 groups, unlike in UEFA's version, which is just for the winners in Division A.
Teams from lower-ranked groups will enter earlier. The tournament structure will be:
The remaining eight teams will battle it out until there's only one winner. It's mainly just a bit of fun, but it will be exciting to see who makes it to the end.
Still, that's for next time. I hope you've enjoyed this year's DWC tournament, and will join us for the Nations League and Cup!
Still, that's for next time. I hope you've enjoyed this year's DWC tournament, and will join us for the Nations League and Cup!