World Cup lessons - did Argentina learn any?

Spain are champions, phew! The festival of football is over, our lives go back to normal.

The World Cup has been viewed, digested and discussed like no other.

But, what have we learned?

Trump, travel bans, taking the lead: This World Cup over three countries was dominated by two monoliths, the US and FIFA. FIFA showed they love being front and centre. Previous World Cups have been facilitated by FIFA, but this time they put their name and logo everywhere. With the lion’s share of the games, and all the matches at the business end, it was also very much a US affair. When the hype settles, Balogun, Iran and visa issues need to be discussed - but will they?

Tickets: I purchased tickets through the FIFA portal for over the odds and have mixed views. Should all games be a fiver and be aimed at everyone? Alas it just ain’t happening. Stadiums were filled and dynamic pricing is staying. Tickets sell for what someone is prepared to pay, profits are being made and FIFA is front of the queue as supply and demand rules.

England: Second best ever tournament. Five minutes from the final. Two players in the top six for the golden boot. Yet some call for the manager’s head, question ‘DNA” (whatever that means) and claim we were lucky. If we can’t find the joy in victory, then we'll never truly succeed. It's time for a reset, but supporters and the media need a long hard look at themselves. I am proud with the shift put in by the England squad

Argentina: Having the GOAT is a massive plus. But Messi isn’t the full story. Think Millwall or 80s Wimbledon. No one likes us, we don’t care. Argentina have a siege mentality - the world is against them and EVERYTHING is personal. The Falklands overtones were an unpleasant case in point. One could feel hatred from Argentina. On my travels across the Americas it was universal, Argentina have an arrogance for which they are despised. Their display in the final and tawdry scenes after the whistle proved it.

Hydration breaks and half time shows: With the mask of player safety, it’s clear what the real benefit was. Fans hate it, but I predict that coaches will want them to continue. My experience in stadium and at home is they do allow a break, and do disrupt! As for THE show at half time - with the 15 minute rule now non existent then advertisers and in stadium concessions will do more of this - hopefully better.

Being there: I made it to Mexico and LA and hand on heart the World Cup delivered everything I could have hoped. Mexico v Ecuador in the Azteca was the greatest sporting event I have seen. The stadium, the noise, the crowd. And as for the SoFi. It's a $5.5bn work of art in which you can see where every cent was spent. Most importantly though the tournament allowed me to engage with people from across the world, with a common language of football and a common goal finding out more about each other, our countries and cultures. It’s a vast, money making, sporting leviathan but it genuinely does bring the world together.