IF the marquee players turn up ready for business, the group phase of any World Cup can be as long or as short as FIFA want.
There have been some unlikely heroes over the first round of 72 games but, let’s face it, the stellar names have been the ones who have made it compelling. You can get away with any format if you have Lionel Messi doing vintage Lionel Messi stuff.
It was fitting that one of the last acts of the group stages was Messi coming off the bench to score his sixth goal of the tournament. He lit up the first two and a half weeks of this tournament.
But then again, so did Cape Verde and their indefatigable players.
