10 Talking Points From The First Round Of World Cup 2018 Group Games
2. Only One Red Card
Not since 1986 have we seen such a clean start to a World Cup tournament. The first 14 games passed by without a single red card being shown. We got our first glimpse of red in the early minutes of the 15th game, with Colombia's Carlos Sánchez being sent off for handball.
The former Aston Villa man's actions were stupid, but at least he wasn't sent off for a bone-crunching tackle or other act of violence. In fact, fans and players have been lucky enough to enjoy an opening round of group stage fixtures with relatively fair play all around.
We've seen a few bad tackles and controversial decisions, but no real nastiness and it's good to see that only a single red card has been needed so far. Sendings-off are sometimes necessary, but can often ruin the pace and spectacle of a game, so it's good to see players timing their challenges well and not indulging in any violent behaviour.
Perhaps the introduction of VAR could be partly responsible for this. Players are now aware that they stand a much greater risk of being punished for foul play and are behaving better as a result.