The World Cup has come and gone and now I'll climb back into my hole to hibernate for the next four years until it comes back. Make no mistake though, this tournament was an absolute gift and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it over the past few weeks.

In an earlier article, I made some predictions about who would walk away victorious when the dust had settled. As we all know, France defeated Croatia in the finale and took home the World Cup. Despite predicting that Brazil would win, I did identify France as one of the top four teams in the tournament. Additionally, I placed Croatia as part of my teams to look out for. Needless to say, I think my predictions were not so far off.

There was not much to complain about during this rendition of the world's biggest soccer tournament, so I'll comment on the greatness that was the 2018 World Cup before I explain some of my grievances.

First, let's acknowledge how captivating this World Cup truly was. There were nine games that were decided by a 90th minute or later goal. Nine. That is absurd for a 64 game tournament. We saw some of the best players on Earth perform at the highest level. Players such as Eden Hazard and Luka Modric shined throughout the tournament and lead their respective teams to deep runs. Many players had standout campaigns such as Hirving Lozano, Ivan Perisic, Aleksandr Golovin, Denis Cheryshev, Paul Pogba, Yerry Mina, Kylian Mbappe and N'Golo Kante. Many of these players will now have significant interest from clubs looking to capitalize on players who are in good form. The World Cup is one of the prime methods of scouting from clubs around the world and every tournament is followed by plenty of moves in the transfer market.

Another great statistic: over 64 games, there were 169 goals scored. This means there was an average of about 2.6 goals per game. In comparison, only the France 1998 and Brazil 2014 World Cups had more goals (171). What does this equate to? Exciting and high scoring matches which is what the World Cup is all about. It was a joy to watch players from around the world compete at the highest level with so much emotion and pride on the line. If you watched the ending of some of the closest games, it was clear to see how much each game meant to the players when the referee gave the final whistle. One of my favorite moments of this World Cup was when Belgium defeated Brazil and Eden Hazard was simply so overcome that he dropped to his knees. If you think the World Cup means a lot to the fans, you better believe this tournament means even more for the players.

The aforementioned Brazil versus Belgium game now leads me into some of my grievances about the World Cup in which I have three. My one prediction where I admit I was dead wrong was my analysis of Brazil's Neymar. Not only did he play way below his standard, his theatrics and simulation was downright embarrassing. Game after game, Neymar made a fool of himself on the world stage by trying to compensate bad form with flopping in order to get calls from the referee. This gives people who say that soccer players are frail and weak even more ammunition and gives soccer a poor image. Granted, many other players were accused of flopping at this World Cup but the biggest nuisance by far was Neymar.

My second grievance is the implementation and usage of the Video Assisted Referee or VAR. In the beginning of the tournament, VAR was used very successfully. However, as we got to the knockout stages, VAR decisions were very questionable. A prime example would be in the final where many believed that a penalty was given to France which should not have been awarded. Making decisions based on a slow-motion view is not always the best way to go about refereeing as real time reveals how quick players have to react. Many felt that the handball called in the box against Ivan Perisic which gave France the lead was incorrect. I tend to agree.

The last and probably most opinionated grievance I have is based on the way that France became World Cup champions. Throughout most games of the tournament, France never particularly played much better than any of their opponents. Most of France's wins came off pure luck, unfortunate mistakes by the opposing teams, and questionable refereeing calls. France did not have a defining style of play but rather relied on the counter-attack and their star players to score a goal when necessary. While proving to be an effective way to win, I can't say I truly thought France was the best team in this World Cup. Don't get me wrong, French players such as Raphael Varane, N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba had outstanding tournaments. Yet, in comparison to Germany's team in 2014 and Spain's team in 2010, France played at a significantly lower level than past World Cup winning squads. Maybe that simply means the tournament was conducted on a very even playing field or it could mean that the cards were just in favor of France this time around. All of that is trivial at this point.

All I can say is that I can't believe it's all over and I'll be 24 the next time the World Cup rolls around. The good news is that when I'm 28 the World Cup will be in the United States and you'll be seeing me at every game that I can possibly go to.

World Cup Russia 2018, you will be missed.