FIFA Worldcup is one the most watched sports in the world. The popularity of this game is so high that even in a cricket-loving country like India, the excitement of FIFA matches is always at its peaks. The FIFA Worldcup 2018 started with high hopes from players like Messi and Ronaldo by their fans. These superstars failed to make to the final and now we have our two finalists.

France and Croatia will meet for the 21st World Cup championship. The matchup was set Wednesday, as Croatia outlasted England in extra time at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the venue for the title game. France was a favourite before the tournament and will remain so Sunday, in part because of its depth and talent, and in part, because it’ll enter the final so much fresher.

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GK Hugo Lloris, Ds Lucas Hernández, Samuel Umtiti, Raphaël Varane, Benjamin Pavard; MFs N’Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi; Fs Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappé, Olivier Giroud are expected frontiers of the team.

As the FIFA excitement increases, here are some interesting facts about the FIFA for years.

1. In 1966, the World Cup trophy went missing for a week when it was stolen just before the tournament started!

2. 9 months after the World Cup, the host and winning nations always have increased in the number of babies. Germany’s birthrate went up 10% in 2006!

3. Since the tournament started, every World Cup competition has been won by a coach with the same nationality as the team they are in charge of.

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4. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, over 750,000 litres of beer were sold in stadiums – that’s the equivalent of 3,170,064 beers!

5. Over 3.2 billion people watched the 2014 World Cup – that means that nearly 50% of the world’s population watched the tournament at that time.

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6. The 2018 World Cup ball, the ‘Telstar 18’ is modelled and named after the first Adidas ball used in Mexico in 1970.

7. The Telstar 18 was originally designed with 32 black and white panels to make it more visible on colourless TV sets in 70’s.

FIFA final will be held this Sunday and fans are going crazy over who will win the glorious FIFA World Cup this year.

Published by Bhaumik Raja on 13 Jul 2018