2018 FIFA World Cup

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 5 days time!

Unfortunately South Africa didn't qualify for the World Cup, but I'll still be watching the tournament with interest.

Some teams I'll be following include Brazil, England (especially as a long-time supporter of them), and Portugal.

One match I'll definitely be watching is the Portugal vs Spain one.

Who will you be supporting? Are there any matches you are looking forward to?

[Shadow Gaunt]

Yes, Portugal vs Spain will be quite an interesting match. Another match that could maybe interesting (at least in the first matchday) is Brazil vs Switzerland.

I am rooting for Russia, England, and France (there's actually a funny story with this one) though I'm putting my bets on Germany winning.

And the funny story with me rooting for France is that I thought since the colors were red, blue, and white, it must be Russia playing, but when I realized at the end of the match (this happened a long time ago) that it was France playing, I decided to still root for them. And I have supported them ever since.

Oh and I'm interested in how much does you or your family follow the FIFA world cup (my family follows the soccer world cup with fervor)

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

My dad used to follow the FIFA World Cup very closely. The first World Cup I started paying attention to was the 2006 one, as I had started playing soccer a year or two before then. The 2010 World Cup was hosted in South Africa, so I had the opportunity to watch several matches live. The atmosphere at the matches was electric.

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch many games during the 2014 World Cup as the first half of it was during my mid-year exams of my final year of university (although I do remember watching one of France’s matches with some friends). Once I was back home for the holidays I was able to watch some of the remaining games. I distinctly remember watching the Brazil vs Colombia match, as that was when Neymar sustained a serious back injury. I'm really glad he's since recovered.

Neither of my brothers have much interest in the FIFA World Cup, but my mom will sometimes watch a few games with me. She especially enjoys the part where the teams sing their national anthems.

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

Apart from watching the Portugal vs Spain match in its entirety, I've only really caught snatches here and there. I been following the scores quite closely though. It's been quite the tournament so far!

Already three of the top 5 teams in the world (as of 7 June) have been knocked out of the world cup: Germany, Portugal and Argentina.

I'll still be supporting Brazil and England, but I'll now be following Croatia too, especially after their impressive 3-0 victory over Argentina, which had the likes of Lionel Messi.

[Prof. Amy Lupin]

It's hard to believe the tournament is almost over. There were some nail-biting games in the quarter-finals, particularly the Croatia vs Russia one.

I'm excited to find out the outcome of the France vs Belgium semi-final as well as the Croatia vs England one. I think France and England have more chance of getting into the finals, but I really hope Belgium and Croatia do -- as neither team has won the tournament to date.