Attending 2018 FIFA World Cup Final in Russia
July 18, 2018: I went to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday, where I saw France beat Croatia, 4-2. It was my 40th World Cup game, in my seventh World Cup.
France went on an own goal, and then
I love the World Cup - it’s allowed me to combine travel and soccer - and every four years the cycle starts again. No matter where it’s held, you see fans from nearly every other country come together with a similar mindset...to show their pride, to learn about others, and to enjoy the games and atmosphere together. It’s awesome.
I'd been carrying around the ticket to the Final the entire time. It was currency, and it was a little beat up from being in my pocket for a week. So on gameday I made my way to the Ticket Center, a few metro stops away from the stadium, to see if they'd reprint it for me. On my way to the subway, I see Croatian fans unfurl a massive Croatia flag right in front of Red Square...
The subways - by the way - were pretty neat...marble, arches, with statues, and museum-like. The reason is tied to their soviet days. And just as you can see Lenin statues throughout, you can also still see Soviet symbols in places, like the metro.
Anyway, I got to the ticket stop and there was a frenzy of people looking for and selling tickets...like I've not seen for another event. It also felt kinda sketchy - maybe because people looked so desperate to get / sell tickets. So, after they told me they wouldn't reprint my ticket, I kept my hand in my pocket and got the hell out of there, quickly.
I got to the stadium around 2pm - four hours before kickoff - and there were already a ton of people there. No one wanted to take a chance on traffic...and it's an incredible scene...there were people from every country here, all posing with each other and their flags in front of the stadium - a very friendly vibe. And there were many people looking for tickets. It was hard not to think about it, but I really didn't consider selling it. (Also prices started around $2000, I imagine the market would've been higher had England made it).
I had to walk a long way to get to my gate - crossing the first ticket / security check point about 2.5 hours from kick. I just wanted the ticket to scan, and not be worried about losing it or having it picked anymore.
It was pretty surreal walking in to the stadium and finding my seat, 15 rows from the field behind the goal on the Croatian end.
I HAD MADE IT TO A FIFA WORLD CUP FINAL!
People all around me wore their national team jerseys or flags, including Japan, Germany, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Warmups seems to go by fast, and the closing ceremonies - where Will Smith performed - where pretty cool. And before you knew it the ref blew the whistle and the game was underway.
Three goals were scored in front of me, and the game was pretty fun...back and forth early. France went up after 20 on an own goal by Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic. Then the stars all scored: France got goals from Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and the young phenom Kylian Mbappé. Croatia’s Ivan Perisic and Mandzukic scored.
But France’s skilled, young guys had more legs and put the game away. And Croatia fans looked just as spent as the team...they tried to get into it, but I think they realized this opponent was much better than England was, and a fourth come-from-behind win would be real tough. France's fans also showed up this time in decent numbers...across the field behind the other goal.
The trophy ceremony took forever to start, and we had no idea why. And when it finally started, it also started pouring rain. The stadium is open but with a round roof that covers most of the stands...I was completely dry about 5 rows behind the people who were getting drenched.
France players went around the field waiving flags and stopped in front of my end, applauding the Croatia fans, who returned the respect with congratulatory applause. Croatia fans and players also held special waves and chants - for a country so small, they were all so happy to have made it to their first final.
I waited a while before leaving the stadium, almost like I didn't want it to be over. I walked around, took more photos, and just thought how fortunate I've been. I've done some fun things and traveled to many counties, so my bucket lists is pretty full. But of course this event will fill a good part of that bucket.
I didn't have a hotel that night, but the hotel that I checked out of earlier in the day allowed me to store my backpack.
I walked around till 3:30 am - there were still thousands of people celebrating the last night of the tournament. The hotel called me a taxi and I got to the northern-most Moscow airport around 4:30. It was like a zombie zone, with other revelers spread around trying to sleep while waiting for flights out.
While I have my thoughts and skepticism of the place, I'll hold on to this...no matter where it's held, the World Cup brings together fans from all over the world who want to show pride in their country, who want to learn about others, and who want to enjoy the games and the experience together with everyone.
And here's a fun last anecdote from walking the incredibly crowded Nikolskaya street in the wee hours of the morning...seeing people wearing national team jerseys but speaking in different languages, or different accents. Many fans that travel - often with the idea of exchanging jerseys, like players do - had given Russian fans their jerseys, and the Russians wore them.
Some may have been a little scared of going to Russia, or put off by some of the issues we've read about, but once you come together with other like-minded people for such an event, that fear turns into a celebration of more than just soccer.
This was the last sign I took a photo of that last night, held up by a Russian woman and written on a tshirt. It says a lot.
Thanks for reading and letting me share parts of this trip with all of you. I'm already looking forward to Qatar in four years.
Nikolskaya street
