Its been a rollercoaster of a week and so far Russia is all I could have hoped for and more. Here are my personal highs and lows from round 1 of the tournament:
Highs
1) Russian roulette
I loved the home sides opening performance, I loved Golovins performance. I loved the home crowds engagement. I loved seeing the lowest ranked team in the tournament win by the biggest margin so far.
2) Favourites for what?
I love that the so called “smaller” and less prominent teams have come to play, and proven that they are not here just to make up numbers. France, Belgium and England have been the only “big” teams to win – and only just. And can we just talk about Mexico. Their passionate performance was one of my favourites in this first round. This match proved that playing with your heart will always trump playing with your brain. Ok not always. But mostly. That, combined with their emotional reaction to beating the current Champs Germany made my week.