That's another year then. And like last year, England are triumphant as they lift their second Draft World Cup. But how did it all play out? In this episode we'll have a quick review of the tournament and hand out some gongs.
Tournament review
Group stage
Tournament review
Group stage
For most of the big teams, the group stage was a piece of cake. Spain and Brazil had early wobbles by drawing their opening matches, but ultimately came through to top their groups. But Portugal - who were technically second seeds but group favourites - fell to a stunning loss to Ivory Coast. Defeat to Colombia in their second game left them on the brink of elimination and they failed to save themselves in their final game.
Ivory Coast were unable to get through to the knockout rounds for the first time, but several other teams did: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Norway all made it for the first time, as did Sweden at their first DWC.
Knockout stages
Ivory Coast were unable to get through to the knockout rounds for the first time, but several other teams did: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Norway all made it for the first time, as did Sweden at their first DWC.
Knockout stages
A fairly typical DWC knockout bracket was blown wide open when both Spain and Germany suffered shock defeats, to Saudi Arabia and Sweden respectively, whilst Belgium overcame Brazil in an epic contest. It meant that five teams made the quarter finals for the first time, and four of those faced each other. Of those, Mexico and South Africa prevailed to make the semi finals - a great moment for them and a historic one too, as they were the first ever representatives of their continents to make the final four.
The quarter finals saw a huge clash between the two dominant sides of the current era, England and France. It looked like it was going to be an easy win for England until France scored from two consecutive corners, and the game went to penalties which England won.
Amidst all this, Italy had been flying under the radar and were the only team to keep up a 100% record whilst staying untroubled. They kept that up despite a late South African rally to make their first DWC final, where they met England who had brushed aside Mexico.
The final was effectively over in the opening half hour, as England scored from three set pieces. They added a fourth, and despite a good Italian second half England had done more than enough to lift the trophy!
Tournament awards
Golden boot
Also known as the top scorer award, this was a pretty competitive one this year. The top three this year would have topped the charts last year. Players tied for goals are separated by games played, and this is the outcome:
The quarter finals saw a huge clash between the two dominant sides of the current era, England and France. It looked like it was going to be an easy win for England until France scored from two consecutive corners, and the game went to penalties which England won.
Amidst all this, Italy had been flying under the radar and were the only team to keep up a 100% record whilst staying untroubled. They kept that up despite a late South African rally to make their first DWC final, where they met England who had brushed aside Mexico.
The final was effectively over in the opening half hour, as England scored from three set pieces. They added a fourth, and despite a good Italian second half England had done more than enough to lift the trophy!
Tournament awards
Golden boot
Also known as the top scorer award, this was a pretty competitive one this year. The top three this year would have topped the charts last year. Players tied for goals are separated by games played, and this is the outcome:
Romelu Lukaku is the first winner of this award whose side didn't make at least the semi finals, so this is some achievement. Remarkably, all his goals came in three successive games, and by the end of the second round he had been Belgium's only goalscorer. Meanwhile Kylian Mbappé narrowly misses out on adding the Golden Boot to his Golden Ball from 2020.
Overall, it's been a high-scoring tournament as (in my opinion) FM's Versus Mode continues to err hugely on the side of goalscoring. This means it's attacking players who have much the better tournament, which means our next award is a tricky one to get the balance of:
Team of the tournament
I think there is only one way to do this, and that is to go full Garth Crooks:
Overall, it's been a high-scoring tournament as (in my opinion) FM's Versus Mode continues to err hugely on the side of goalscoring. This means it's attacking players who have much the better tournament, which means our next award is a tricky one to get the balance of:
Team of the tournament
I think there is only one way to do this, and that is to go full Garth Crooks:
Our top two from the goalscorer charts are joined up front by Alexander Isak, who may have only scored three goals but was generally instrumental in Sweden's quarter final run. He was actually out-scored by centre back Ricardo Nascimento, who gets in there as a nod to South Africa's outstanding tournament. Similarly, Mexico and Saudi Arabia's excellent tournaments are reflected in places for David Ospina and Jonathan Rodríguez.
Beyond that, the team sees the two finalists fill out the remaining places, and there are actually more Italy players than England. Paulo Dybala was the tournament's most creative player with seven assists, and his 42 key passes was 14 higher than the next-best player (France's Neymar). Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kevin De Bruyne were threats both creatively and in front of goal. Both teams were outstanding defensively, and they each have a defender in the mix too.
These eleven players also form the shortlist for...
Golden ball
Or, the award for best player. And it goes to...
Beyond that, the team sees the two finalists fill out the remaining places, and there are actually more Italy players than England. Paulo Dybala was the tournament's most creative player with seven assists, and his 42 key passes was 14 higher than the next-best player (France's Neymar). Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Kevin De Bruyne were threats both creatively and in front of goal. Both teams were outstanding defensively, and they each have a defender in the mix too.
These eleven players also form the shortlist for...
Golden ball
Or, the award for best player. And it goes to...
An incredible performance in the final helps Kevin De Bruyne become the first central midfielder to take the prize. Our two top goalscorers have to settle for second and third, with Lukaku edging out Mbappé due to the way he carried his side.
Goal of the tournament
Honestly, I can't really remember any obvious contenders from the tournament, so in order to judge this I've had to revisit the hundreds of goals this DWC... and here's the outcome:
Goal of the tournament
Honestly, I can't really remember any obvious contenders from the tournament, so in order to judge this I've had to revisit the hundreds of goals this DWC... and here's the outcome:
Two goals from Group F, a stunning long-range lob from Imoh Ezekiel and a mazy run from Giorgian de Arrascaeta. But they are bested by a long-range top corner curler from Wales' Joe Ralls.
That would normally be it, but we have a new award to give out!
Draft signing of the tournament
The dynamic of squad-building in DWCs has altered since we introduced draft signings last year. And the award this year was an easy choice:
Draft signing of the tournament
The dynamic of squad-building in DWCs has altered since we introduced draft signings last year. And the award this year was an easy choice:
Given that Lukaku was second place for Golden Ball and won the Golden Boot, it was a no-brainer. Similarly, Isak had been included in Team of the Tournament so was always going to be runner-up here. Third spot goes to France's Raphael Varane, who popped up with a goal to add to his general excellent defensive work.
So that wraps up another year! Ta-ta!
So that wraps up another year! Ta-ta!