Croatia and England sprung the competition’s major surprises while France marched all the way to the 2018 World Cup title.
Here, Press Association Sport selects its team of the tournament.
FORMATION 3-5-2:
GK: Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
adidas Golden Glove Award:
?Thibaut COURTOIS (#BEL) #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/S5xB7RBBdP
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
The Chelsea number one claimed the Golden Glove award as the tournament’s top goalkeeper with a string of fine individual performances – including three clean sheets – as Belgium finished third.
CB: Raphael Varane (France)
CB: Harry Maguire (England)
CB: Jan Vertonghen (Belgium)
Gutted to lose in the Semi-Finals. We gave it our all. The support from all the fans in Russia & back home has been unbelievable. Thank you. #REDTOGETHER pic.twitter.com/aOfsgj0RTZ
— Jan Vertonghen (@JanVertonghen) July 11, 2018
The Tottenham star tied Belgium’s defensive set-up together, at times almost in spite of boss Roberto Martinez’s tactical tinkering.
RWB: Kieran Trippier (England)
Good feeling in the squad. Bring on tomorrow ?? ??? pic.twitter.com/1CFp0pWL7j
— Kieran Trippier (@trippier2) July 10, 2018
The World Cup’s premier set-piece exponent came of age at Russia 2018, his dead-eye delivery so crucial to the success of Gareth Southgate’s men.
DM: N’Golo Kante (France)
LWB: Aleksandr Golovin (Russia)
Aleksandr Golovin’s #WorldCup by numbers:
28 recoveries15 crosses13 tackles won6 chances created5 interceptions5 take-ons2 assists1 goal#SquawkaScout pic.twitter.com/YdYcnd1pxi
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) July 11, 2018
The 22-year-old is unlikely to remain at CSKA Moscow much longer after a lung-busting tournament where his work rate typified hosts Russia’s relentless drive to the quarter-finals.
CM: Luka Modric (Croatia)
adidas Golden Ball Award:
?Luka MODRIC (#CRO) ?Eden HAZARD (#BEL) ?Antoine GRIEZMANN (#FRA) #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/KQSRiwUznh
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018
Already lauded as one of the planet’s top midfielders, Modric walked off with the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player on Sunday. The Real Madrid man was unable to guide Croatia to victory in the final against France, but he can leave the tournament with his head held high.
CM: Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Eden Hazard makes it 2-0 against England as @BelRedDevils take bronze at Russia 2018 ?
? TV listings ? https://t.co/xliHcxWvEO ? Highlights ? https://t.co/LOdKDX2Cwn #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Rxo21DQiRU
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 14, 2018
Helped Belgium to their best-ever World Cup finish after beating England in the third-place play-off and cemented his reputation as one of the game’s top talents. Was simply unstoppable at times and his efforts saw him finish second behind Luka Modric as player of the tournament.
CF: Kylian Mbappe (France)
Catch him if you can ⚡ #FRABEL #FiersdetreBleus @KMbappe pic.twitter.com/o8HS4beCZR
— French Team (@FrenchTeam) July 10, 2018
Eyebrows were raised at Paris St Germain’s £166million fee to prise teen starlet Mbappe away from Monaco. Now those quizzical frowns have turned to belated expressions of appreciation. The fleet-footed forward has terrorised defences throughout Russia 2018 and netted his fourth goal of the competition in Sunday’s 4-2 final win over Croatia.
CF: Harry Kane (England, captain)
Not the way we wanted to finish but so many positives to take from this experience. Travelling fans and everyone back home have been great – thank you. #ENG #ThreeLions #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/IlsNewUHWi
— Harry Kane (@HKane) July 14, 2018
England’s talisman has the on-field power and the off-field poise to lead any forward line, and any team, anywhere in the world. Finished the tournament as the leading scorer with six goals, two more than his nearest challengers.
