Dark horses are fine, but time for France to apply some gloss

What this World Cup could really do with is a team to capture the imagination, says Brendan O’Brien.

It’s been a fun World Cup, no doubt about that. Watching some of the big boys leave the playground with a bloody nose before the bell rings has been entertaining. But… There is a sense that, like a kid playing with matches who has set the curtains ablaze, things have gone a bit too far. That we could all do with a few heavyweight bouts from here on in.

We already know that one of England, Sweden, Croatia and Russia will make the final at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday week so its probably safe to say that there are very few of us keeping the fingers crossed that Uruguay can somehow navigate a way through France, Brazil, and Belgium from the top side of the draw.