{"id":1265,"date":"2026-07-18T22:48:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/?p=1265"},"modified":"2026-07-18T23:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:23:49","slug":"gom-world-cup-diary-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/gom-world-cup-diary-38\/","title":{"rendered":"GOM World Cup Diary #38 One Game Left…"},"content":{"rendered":"

GOM World Cup Diary #38 One Game Left…<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

Whatever Happened To The Journey?<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

It’s funny how quickly four weeks can disappear.<\/p>\n

When the World Cup kicked off, it felt as though we had a whole summer of football stretching out in front of us.<\/p>\n

The opening ceremony.<\/p>\n

The first surprises.<\/p>\n

The first controversial VAR decision.<\/p>\n

The first underdog refusing to read the script.<\/p>\n

It all seemed such a long time ago.<\/p>\n

Now, somehow, we’re down to one game that really matters.<\/p>\n

Yes, I know there’s still the Third Place Play-off, but I’ve already had my little grumble about that. My mind has moved on, and I suspect the minds of most football supporters have as well.<\/p>\n

The Final is all that’s left.<\/p>\n

It made me realise how often we spend our lives looking at the destination instead of appreciating the journey.<\/p>\n

We do it with holidays.<\/p>\n

The planning starts months in advance.<\/p>\n

The cases are packed.<\/p>\n

The excitement builds.<\/p>\n

Then, before you know it, you’re standing at the baggage carousel wondering where the last fortnight went.<\/p>\n

Life has a habit of doing that.<\/p>\n

Children grow up.<\/p>\n

Careers come and go.<\/p>\n

Neighbours move away.<\/p>\n

Even World Cups, which seem to dominate every waking moment, eventually become another set of memories tucked away in the back of our minds.<\/p>\n

Looking back, this tournament has given us just about everything.<\/p>\n

Underdogs who refused to know their place.<\/p>\n

Favourites who discovered reputations don’t score goals.<\/p>\n

Referees who occasionally seemed to be watching a completely different match.<\/p>\n

VAR reminding us that football can now take longer to make a decision than it takes some people to choose a new kitchen.<\/p>\n

We’ve laughed.<\/p>\n

We’ve celebrated.<\/p>\n

We’ve grumbled.<\/p>\n

Well, I have. It’s practically a full-time occupation.<\/p>\n

But that’s been the joy of it.<\/p>\n

Football has once again proved that it’s never really just about football.<\/p>\n

It’s about hope.<\/p>\n

Disappointment.<\/p>\n

Friendship.<\/p>\n

Families gathered around televisions.<\/p>\n

Strangers becoming friends for ninety minutes.<\/p>\n

Conversations in pubs.<\/p>\n

Arguments in living rooms.<\/p>\n

Children dreaming.<\/p>\n

Adults pretending not to.<\/p>\n

Tomorrow, one team will lift the World Cup.<\/p>\n

They’ll rightly earn the headlines.<\/p>\n

But the tournament has belonged to far more than one team.<\/p>\n

Cape Verde reminded us that courage matters.<\/p>\n

Morocco showed us what belief can achieve.<\/p>\n

Norway proved that reputations are there to be challenged.<\/p>\n

England gave us hope.<\/p>\n

Spain reminded us that quiet confidence is often more powerful than loud prediction.<\/p>\n

Even the teams going home early played their part.<\/p>\n

Without every one of them, there wouldn’t have been a journey worth taking.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that’s the real lesson.<\/p>\n

The trophy belongs to one nation.<\/p>\n

The memories belong to all of us.<\/p>\n

By Monday, the stadiums will begin to empty.<\/p>\n

The television crews will head home.<\/p>\n

Supporters will fold away their flags.<\/p>\n

The football shirts will find their way back into wardrobes.<\/p>\n

Life will quietly return to normal.<\/p>\n

Until, one day, someone mentions the next World Cup…<\/p>\n

…and we’ll all start believing again.<\/p>\n

Funny old game.<\/p>\n

Funny old life.<\/p>\n

Anyway, what do I know?<\/p>\n

I’m just a grumpy old man.<\/p>\n

Go on then\u2026 leave a comment. Show me your inner GOM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GOM World Cup Diary #38 One Game Left… Whatever Happened To The Journey? It’s funny how quickly four weeks can disappear. When the World Cup kicked off, it felt as though we had a whole summer of football stretching out in front of us. The opening ceremony. The first surprises. The first controversial VAR decision. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,13,53,82,111],"tags":[209,96,219,217,215,79,218,98,102,106,216],"class_list":["post-1265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-grumpy-old-man","category-humour","category-soccer","category-world-cup-2026","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-football-fans","tag-football-journey","tag-football-memories","tag-football-reflections","tag-grumpy-old-man","tag-life-lessons","tag-modern-football","tag-world-cup-2026","tag-world-cup-diary","tag-world-cup-final"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1265"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1267,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265\/revisions\/1267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davethomasonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}