Over the next month, I'll be covering the World Cup for Tribalfootball, and along the way, I'd like to share with you some of my experiences and keep you up to date with all the action!
VAR - You broke my heart
Emotion aside, I think Andreas Cunha made the right decision to award France a penalty yesterday. But he should've never had the opportunity to do so.
The fact that there is even a debate and conversation about a particular VAR incident defeats the purpose of using the technology.
Paraphrasing Mat Ryan after the game here, he said: What is conclusive? What's not conclusive? Those are the grey areas. And he's absolutely correct. VAR and technology should only be used for decisions that are indisputable: offsides and goal-line, even handballs are debatable.
The interpretation of the rules is a subjective decision made by the referee, and Cunha decided against awarding Griezmann a penalty. He made his decision and that's his job. This won't be the first time we talk about VAR in Russia and the game will continue to be shrouded in unnecessary controversy until, as Mat Ryan says, the grey areas are cleared up.
Ain't in Kansas anymore
My knowledge of Russia before coming here was scratchy at best. The sources generally were the Simpsons or Bond villains. And I can't say much has stuck from the year 11 history class I took on the Russian Revolution. So heading somewhere outside of the major two cities was always going to be a mysterious adventure.
Sometimes going in with no expectations enriches your experience, and that certainly proved to be the case with Kazan. In a city of 1.1million people, the capital of Tatarstan was a modern and vibrant city lying on the banks of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers. I'm actually quite disappointed I won't be back here for any more group stage matches. The new Kazan Arena was amazing, and journalists were able to use power sockets and WiFi which was terrific and well, necessary.
Die Mannschaft
Today I'll be heading back to the Luzhniki Stadium for Germany vs. Mexico. I'm really excited for this one. The Germans are always one of the tournament favourites, and they look as formidable as they did four years ago when they thrashed Brazil 7-1 before beating Argentina in the final.
First up is an interesting clash between Costa Rica and Serbia. Then the one I've been waiting to watch - Brazil. They're my pick to win it all and they can get themselves going with a win over a tough Switzerland outfit.
Tune in tomorrow for Day Four!
