It wasn't meant to be. France and their band of north African "Frenchmen" were simply too much for the Croatians. Oh well, France was the better team and that is how it goes. Croatia was the mouse that roared and represented themselves quite well throughout.

Overall, a fantastic World Cup and more parity than we have ever seen on that stage. Germany getting booted in round play, Brazil out in the Quarters, and the list goes on...

Now, if only the USA Men's National team could get their chit together and find a few dozen premier players out of the 375+ million people here... Maybe when the CTE thing makes football obsolete, they'll increase the size of the talent pool they're drawing from.

We'll revisit all of this in 2022.