The World Cup has come to an end and probably the best overall team of the tournament won, but there are some major question marks over the teams which are usually contesting for the ultimate prize in world football. Spain, which incredibly sacked its manager just days before the start of the tournament, have got a major rebuilding task ahead of them after dramatically crashing out of the last two World Cups: out with the old and in with the new. The South Americans also had a poor World Cup and it was the smaller nations which shined - from Croatia to South Korea. I think England supporters will be disappointed. While the team played well and even won a penalty shootout, Gareth Southgate's young squad were outplayed by Croatia and were beaten twice by Belgium. There has been an improvement but I feel that England still have a long way to go. Yes, the team fought hard and yes if they had taken their chances in the first half against Croatia, they could have been playing in the final, but at the end of the day it was still the same old England.
It was a World Cup in which many of the leading teams in world football were poor from Spain to Brazil and from Germany to Argentina. England ended fourth with three defeats. I enjoyed the tournament because it was so wide open. The team which won was the one which was solid in defence and firm in attack and that is that. For many teams there is plenty of food for thought.