These, Gianni Infantino said earlier this week, have been the greatest group stages of all time. Unusually, he might be right (although his claim this was the most diverse last 16 is debatable at best). The football is only a small part of this World Cup but it has been largely excellent.
There have been some shocks, some favourites went home early, some played up to their pre-tournament billing and every group produced tension and intrigue. Infantino was conducting an in-house interview, hiding from journalists and accountability as he has since his bizarre address the day before the tournament began, which meant that nobody could ask the obvious question: if these group stages have been so good, why is he getting rid of them?
