Deservedly So

France was the favourite to win the World Cup from the off. They had a very talented team despite a lack of out and out striker. But Olivier Giroud turned himself into the ultimate target man and was instrumental in the way France play. This was made easy with the strong midfielders they had, plus Griezmann and Mbappe who could walk into any team in the world.

They had the perfect mix.

And Croatia wasn't that bad either. The team had leaders and guts. They fought in every corner of the pitch and truth be told, they played better than France in the Final. But it wasn't to be.

The Final was also a memorable game which had everything. Dodgy play acting earning a freekick leading up to a goal. VAR decision which could go either way. Own goals. Lloris applying to play for Liverpool with a calamatous goal.

On the flip side, Croatian equalizer from Parisic was too notch, Mbappe was an express train in scoring the final goal after Pogba demonstrating that he could shoot with both feet.

Six goals in total. And the heaven opened during the trophy presentation which was really a hug fest in the end. Mbappe was crown Young Player of the tournament with the great Luka Modric taking the consolation of the Golden Ball for tournanent's Best Player.

It was a great World Cup, topped off by a great Final. The quality of football may not be as great as the 2006 in Germany. The fact that many of the top teams stumbled during the group stage or soon after did not help. England getting to the semis put a smile to my face.

It was scary to think that France had the second youngest side - youngest being Nigeria and England third. This team will only to continue to get better. And Raphael Varane was a Rolls Royce at the centre of French defence. That boy can play ...

Ending Raya Break Part II

From Part I ...

Lunch was nice. The sun was high at the time and heat was searing. I then walked by Dataran Merdeka - which was calm that day - angling towards the River of Life before stopping at one of the shops for more drinks.

The birds at Lebuh AmpangBy Masjid Jamek and the newly-built shadesThe corridor of the old Court House next to Masjid JamekThe old COurt had been converted into a modern theatreWaiting under the shadesPart of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building. Hopefully it will long be preserved ...Next was Medan Pasar with a stop at Ruang to catch a small exhibition - The Towns of Malaya - enjoying the air conditioning and some real nice history. Next was Central Market. I debated for another stop or just to take the MRT to Bukit Bintang. Bukit Bintang won.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building from the rear. The tall pole at Dataran Merdeka can be seen as well.You've been warned .... no hanky-panky around here ...The colourful building by the River of Life. The colour of the buildings reminds me of Amsterdam.The flagpole by Dataran Merdeka. Used to be the tallest in the World.Across to the National Textile Museum The newly refurbished Kafe Old Market Square by Medan Pasar.Heading North ...At Bukit Bintang, I stopped for another coffee before making my way on foot past Pavilion back to KLCC using the elevated walkway. I was back at Suria where I started just before 4 pm taking the time to browse at Kinokuniya before returning home ...

A quick stop at RuangTaking the MRT from Central Market, heading to Bukit BintangBack to Pavilion and the famous fountainThe World Cup FeverMaking my way back to KLCC using the walkwayMore World Cup shenanigans Now that was a full day. Plenty to snap but it would have been better with an early start where the sun was lower and the heat was not as bad ...

Ing-Gerr-Land

The World Cup fever had finally hit me. And yes, I support England, and this was despite our pet goldfish - Gareth the Goldfish - died suddenly last month. Bad omen it may be, but England would still be on top.

They started their campaign against Tunisia the other night. On paper, it should have been an easy win but it turned out that Tunisia was a very organised outfit. Although England striked first - courtesy of a penalty by Kane - Tunisia equalised and the score remained so until an injury time winner from a set piece - a corner this time.

England clearly lacked the flair player who could unlock defences and throved more on fast transition play. This would be a problem against opponents who parked their bus and stayed behind the ball. At the end, the set-piece play bailed England out. Against better opponent, they had to be more clever. Without penetration, England would not go far.

The next game would be another straight forward one before the real test in the last group game against the best team in the group, Belgium. That would be the game who would make or break England’s campaign. For them to progress far, these are the games they would need to perform and get results from ...

Aidilfitri 2018

It was a quiet one this time around as we were just staying at home during the break. The initial plan to travel to Penang was shelved as the travel would be too much as the boys would be back to school on Monday - Raya was on Friday.

My father-in-law was also in not the best of health and my Sister was in Melaka with her husband’s family this time around. Just a few trips here and there but most of the time, my Mother had visitors coming. The house was never empty.

And then there was the small matter of the World Cup kicking off the night before Raya which meant sleepless nights and naps in front of the TV after plenty of food ....

My Father-in-law was a bit worse for wear when on one of the evening he was dehydrated and nearly fainted. A slight change of medications saw to that. Food was plenty though and I was sure I must have put on at least a couple of kilos, despite losing some during the fasting month.

I had a few days off after the festivities just to chill out - and do plenty of photography. For those travelling, drive safe and enjoy the time on the road ...