The top 25 moments from the 2018 World Cup

In a stunning move, one day before the start of the World Cup, Spain sacked manager Julen Lopetegui  after word came down he was headed to Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's replacement. Spain's technical director Fernando Hierro replaced Lopetegui, who was awarded a contract extension with the national team just weeks before.

Some wondered if host Russia — ranked 70th in the world — would even win a game at the tournament. It quickly squashed those concerns with a resounding 5-0 rout of Saudi Arabia to open the tournament. Denis Cheryshev scored twice as a sub to begin the Russians' improbable run to the quarterfinals.

Australia's Mr. Automatic continued his perfect work from the spot in Russia. The bearded Aussie midfielder scored both of his team's goals at the World Cup, converting each time on penalties. That left Jedinak a perfect 16 for 16 on penalty conversions for his career. The downside was that Australia failed to advance past the group stage.

Like it or not, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) served its purpose during its World Cup debut in Russia. According to FIFA, 99.3 percent of "match-changing" decisions were made correctly during the group stage. Technology also helped overturn an initial non-handball call that awarded France a penalty in its victorious final.

In its first World Cup since 1982, Peru failed to make it past the group stage, but that didn't hinder the spirits of a proud fan base that made the lengthy trek to Russia. An estimated 40,000 Peru supporters found their way to Russia, offering booming accompaniments of the national anthem and joyously cheering throughout every match, even when things looked bleak. Though Peru played only three games, its fans were rewarded with a victory in the group finale versus Australia.

Panama's first-ever appearance in the World Cup was probably forgettable to everyone other than the Panamanians. They failed to win a match and were outscored 11-2 with nine goals courtesy of Belgium and England. But when Felipe Baloy scored the nation's first World Cup goal in the 78th minute of a 6-1 loss to England, the emotion from the Panama players and joy from its fans on hand were priceless.

One of the more amusing off-field tidbits surrounding the World Cup came from Samara, one of the host cities. Located in southwestern Russia between the Volga and Samara Rivers, Samara officials said it was increasing the town's water supply to keep up with the influx of visitors for the tournament. They also mentioned that in the spirit of conservation, people should shower in pairs. That part was a joke, though certainly some took it to heart.

Japan reached the round of 16 for the third time in six World Cups, but it came with a side of controversy. The Japanese finished with the same amount of points, goals for and against and had an identical goal difference as group-mate Senegal. However, Japan moved on based on the "fair play" points tiebreaker, which rewards the team with fewer yellow or red card bookings. However, Japan drew the ire of many during its group finale against Poland when it toned down the aggressiveness and took a passive approach to tackling. The situation reportedly has FIFA re-thinking the validity of that specific tiebreaker.

There were plenty of highlight-worthy goals scored in Russia — for example, Ronaldo's free kick versus Spain or Denis Cheryshev's long left-footed strike against Croatia. But French defender Benjamin Pavard's blistering spinner off a bounced cross from near the corner of the box against Argentina in the knockout round was worthy of gold medal status. Not only was it Pavard's first international goal, but it tied a match France never trailed again.

Cristiano Ronaldo's three goals in a 3-3 draw against rival Spain provided an entertaining end to the first full day of matches. Ronaldo converted a penalty in the fourth minute, scored again in the 44th and added the dramatic equalizer off a free kick on 88 minutes to help Portugal earn the draw. Ronaldo, however, scored just one more time in the tournament. He drew bigger headlines after Portugal's last-16 elimination for deciding to leave Real Madrid for Juventus.

The biggest shock in the first wave of group matches came when Mexico stymied defending champion and World Cup favorite Germany 1-0. Fireball Hirving Lozano's celebration of his goal in the 35th minute won't be forgotten by Mexican fans. Toni Kroos and Julian Brandt both found woodwork for the Germans, while Guillermo Ochoa was brilliant in goal. Mexico went on to reach the round of 16, but things only got worse for the defending champs.

It's uncertain how much of a factor Uruguay star Edinson Cavani would have been if he was fit enough to face France in the quarterfinals. Uruguay struggled to generate much against the tactically-sound French minus Cavani, who scored both goals in the 2-1 last-16 victory over Portugal, but also suffered a leg injury in the second half.

England looked to striker Harry Kane to be their leader in Russia — he delivered from the get-go. After giving the Three Lions an early lead in their opener versus Tunisia, Kane headed in the go-ahead goal in second-half stoppage time that begin their run to the semifinals. Though Kane didn't score in the final three matches, his six goals earned him the Golden Boot as the World Cup's top scorer. 

No team scored more goals (16) than Belgium or had more individuals find the back of the net (10) than the Red Devils. Whether it was Eden Hazard wreaking havoc with the ball, Kevin De Bruyne finding the right man, Romelu Lukaku creating chances in the box or Thibaut Courtois coming up big in net, Belgium's "golden generation" didn't disappoint. They didn't win the World Cup, but beat England twice and Brazil for a national-best third-place finish.

France's 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe might be the poster boy for this World Cup's youth movement, but he wasn't alone. Harry Kane is about to turn 25 and Romelu Lukaku did so in May. Kane's teammate keeper Jordan Pickford is 24 and Hirving Lozano is almost 22. Four years from now in Qatar should be fun. 

There are some people who watch the World Cup simply for the goal celebrations. There's the traditional knee slide, popular airplane and we even saw a shirt come off. Then there was France star Antoine Griezmann, who again showed his love for the uber-popular video game Fortnite by doing his "Take the L" after converting a penalty versus Argentina in the last-16 and an abbreviated version in the final.

Fan shots back home always provide a certain amount of entertainment at the World Cup. While Iceland's thunderclapping faithful wearing parkas in Reykjavik was cute, nothing beat England's semifinal watch party in London's Hyde Park. Throngs of fans crowded the famed city park, and when Kieran Trippier's free kick on five minutes curled in, the amount of beer tossed — and wasted — into the air was both impressive and impetuous.

In a knockout stage match that featured 1,235 combined completed passes, Russia frustrated a more talented Spain team into a 1-1 draw after regular time. Nothing was decided in extra time and when the match went to penalties, the host nation proved wrong any doubters it had left. Igor Akinfeev's remarkable kick save in the shootout gave Russia a 4-3 decision and an unimaginable spot in the quarterfinals.

Is it true Gareth Southgate waistcoats are selling faster than Harry Kane jerseys on the London High Street? Quite possibly, as the rookie England manager has become just as popular for his touchline look as the way he prepared his side to equal the nation's second-best World Cup finish. Fashion aside, Southgate was able to revive England's national team history by selecting a young squad that played with cohesion and passion and exceeded expectations most in their own country had.

Lionel Messi's World Cup experience in 2018 didn't go as smooth as that of 2014 when Argentina lost to Germany in the final. Though Messi persevered through all the drama that this World Cup presented to reach the knockout stage, the lasting image of his tournament came when his penalty attempt was saved by Iceland's Hannes Halldorsson a little past the hour mark during a 1-1 draw in the opener.  

Depending on the reports, Argentine players were ready to throw manager Jorge Sampaoli into fire and asked for his dismissal following an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Croatia in the second group game. Whether it be a problem with chemistry or finding a way to open things up more for Lionel Messi, Sampaoli found himself in a tumultuous situation. Argentina did manage to advance past the group stage and Sampaoli still has his job. Stay tuned.

The Brazilian star's dives and dramatic tackle reactions have been mocked everywhere from late night talk shows to fried chicken commercials. But Neymar's antics should not be a surprise considering the magnitude of the stage on which he is performing. He's an athlete, but also an entertainer, and this is his shtick. When he was standing upright, Neymar had a solid tournament with two goals, an assist and tournament-high 27 shots.  

For a third straight World Cup, the defending champion failed to make it out of the group stage. It seemed unlikely that could happen to the methodical and powerful Germans, but they never looked comfortable in Russia. Following the opening defeat to Mexico, Germany needed to rally by Sweden and looked completely lost in a 2-0 upset loss at the hands of South Korea that sealed their World Cup fate. 

The second-smallest nation (just over 4 million) ever to reach a World Cup final, Croatia enjoyed its own dark horse run in Russia. After sweeping through their group, the Croatians, led by midfield mastermind Luka Modric, went beyond regular time to beat Denmark, Russia and England before falling to France in the final. Arguably the hardest working team at this World Cup, Croatia's new "golden generation" was rewarded with the best finish in the nation's history. 

Joining England as the second-youngest team at the 2018 World Cup (average age: 26 years), France answered every challenge presented in Russia and its stars shined brightest when needed to give the nation a second World Cup final. Star Antoine Griezmann, teenage wizard Kylian Mbappe and charismatic midfielder Paul Pogba all scored in the final while Didier Deschamps became the third individual to win the World Cup as a player and manager.