The STEEM FIFA Fantasy League - 3rd place match & the final

What a spectacular world cup this has been and what an amazing ending to it.

I hope you all enjoyed the Steem Fantasy League as well since things have gotten quite intense and close, more about the final points after the match events!

Belgium - England

This commentary is copied from r/soccer, courtesy of reddit user Montuvito_G.

5': GOAL FOR BELGIUM! 1-0! Wing-to-wing action as Nacer Chadli whips in a cross for Meunier to finish. Belgium 1-0 England

12': Lukaku issues a through pass to De Bruyne, but the English defense fail to clear and it bumbles its way to KDB, who crashes it against Pickford. Lackadaisical defending from England on that.

15': First shot on target for the Three Lions. Trippier's left foot cross meets Ruben Loftus-Cheek but he can't get enough power or direction and aims straight at Courtois.

20': Harry Maguire heads timidly towards goal from a corner and Courtois sweeps it up.

24': Sterling finally does something semi-right, controls a long pass from RLC and lays it off for Harry Kane to horrible skew his shot wide.

34': Great set piece play as De Bruyne drives a corner out to Tielemans on the edge of the box, who lays a decent pass to Alderweireld only to see him scoop the ball over the bar.

39': Unfortunate end to the World Cup for the ever present Nacer Chadli as he pulls his hamstring. Thomas Vermaelen arrives to shore up the defense.

Two minutes of added time

HALF TIME

Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard replaces the disappointing Sterling and Danny Rose.

KICK OFF, 2nd half begins

52': First booking of the afternoon for John Stones, who grabs Hazard's shoulders as if trying to control a steer's horns.

55': England look much better. A throw in finds Lingard unmarked in the penalty box, he drives a ball to Kane who just misses contact.

56': Gorgeous pass from De Bruyne finds Lukaku 1-1 on with the GK but he caresses the ball like a serial rapist and Pickford sweeps up.

60': And that's the end of Lukaku's World Cup, his pursuit of the Golden Boot ends as he goes off for Michy Batshuayi.

69': Eric Dier aims a shot on target but Courtois stops easily.

70': HOLY HELL England go close. Eric Dier exchanges passes with Rashford and races into the box, wonderfully dinks the ball over Courtois but club teammate Alderweireld clears off the line! Best chance of the game for England.

74': Eric fuckin' Dier has had England's last three chances. A first-time cross from Lingard is met by Dier but his header is aimed mere centimeters towards the wrong side of the post.

76': Belgium breakaway with precision and urgency! De Bruyne delivers the ball to Mertens, only to see him curl a shot closer to the corner flag than the actual goal.

78': Final sub for Belgium. The Spurs on-pitch contingent has increased as Moussa Dembele replaces the impressive Tielemans.

80': Exceptional performance by Belgium yet again as they pinball around the English defense, culminating in Meunier's volley crashing against Pickford.

81': HAZARD SEALS THE DEAL FOR BELGIUM! He slots the ball into the net and ensures Belgium's finest ever World Cup tournament. Belgium 2-0 England

81': The referee warily eyes the English players during the celebrations. No shenanigans this time.

85': RLC is replaced by Dele Alli.

Belgium win 2-0 over England and are placed 3rd in this World Cup! Congratulations.

Final: France - Croatia

This commentary is copied from r/soccer, courtesy of reddit user BanterBoat.

0': And the referee blows his whistle to kickoff the final match, the final of the World Cup! Croatia start!

2': And Modric has the honor of tackling Umtiti for the first foul of the match.

4': Croatia on the front foot in the opening stages, Perisic with some penetration but it's cleared.

5': First real half-chance of the match, Vrsaljko gets a cross in with space, but to no avail.

8': Strinic finds his way into the box, but its followed by an Mbappe tackle. Corner for Croatia.

11': Croatia are really getting into it! Perisic gets a great ball into the box, but it's miscontrolled. France will have to be better than this to win the Louis Vuitton™-cased trophy!

15': Perisic again with so much space, but the cross doesn't connect! No proper shots yet, but the chances are coming...

17': Mbappe finds space on the right but his cross is wayward. It's followed by a French freekick... Griezmann steps over it...

18': GOOOOOOOOAL! Own goal for Mandzukic! Jubilation for France, despair for Croatia!

22': Mbappe gets clear on goal with an amazing ball, but his touch his heavy.

24': Rakitic tries a volley with his left but it's off the mark.

28': Yellow card for Kante, who brings down Perisic after a promising ball.

28': GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Perisic brings in down and bangs home a half volley!

33': Plenty of back-and-forth action here, with both teams desperate to get back in the lead.

34': Matuidi heads a ball wide after a Croatian corner, and is appealing for a handball!

35': VAR is going to be used here... Perisic definitely got contact with his hand...

36': Penalty for France! Perisic is called for a handball in the box! Griezmann steps over the penalty spot...

38': GOOOOOOOAL! Griezmann converts the penalty! France regain their lead, it's 2-1!

41': Hernandez is booked for a hard slide on Rebic.

44': Umtiti has taken a knock following Croatia's second corner, and he's forced to sit out.

45': We'll have 3 additional minutes this half.

45+1': So close! Vida heads just wide from Rakitic's corner!

45+3': After a close opportunity from Vrsaljko's cross, that's the half. France 2, Croatia 1.

45': And France start the second half.

47': Griezmann tries a long shot, but its too central- Subasic catches easily.

48': Rakitic gives Modric a turn and shot opportunity that Lloris saves.

49': A great over-the-top ball played, but Lloris gets out of his box quickly to chest it away.

52': Mbappe gets through past Vida, but Subasic is able to save.

53': A pitch invader stops the play. Get off the field you twat.

59': GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Against the run of play, Paul Pogba gets two chances to hammer home from the edge of the box and he takes the second opportunity on his left foot! Subasic caught wrong-footed and France take a two goal advantage! France 3, Croatia 1.

62': It only took them three goals, but France are looking lively now!

65': GOOOOOOOOOOOAL! And now they've got a goal to show for it! Kylian Mbappe, the 19 year old, scores! It's 4-1- is this the nail on the coffin for Croatia's hopes?

69': GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! NOT YET! Huge mistake by Lloris, he tries a feint but Mandzukic gets a deflection in! Croatia have pulled one back, it's 4-2!

71': Rebic comes off for Kramaric.

73': Matuidi comes off for Tolisso.

77': Rakitic caps off a great move for Croatia with a decent shot, but it's just wide, partly due to the unfortunate positioning of the referee.

80': Croatia are dominating possession and looking for a goal, but the French defense is resolute in their World Cup hopes.

81': Giroud comes off for Fekir.

82': Strinic comes off for Pjaca.

87': A great save from Subasic following Fekir's shot. Croatia struggling for real penetration, as the entire French team is parking the bus to ensure a win.

89': Rakitic tries a shot from range, but it's too high.

90': We're gonna have 5 minutes of extra time here.

90+2': Vrsaljko is booked for a hard tackle on Griezmann.

90+5': And that's one for the history books! France win the World Cup!

France win the World Cup 2018, congratulations and great effort by Croatia to get to the final for the first time ever!

League Standings

If the world cup it self hasn't had many close calls then our Steem Fantasy League sure made up for it. @seanreilly comes in from 2nd spot with 7 points off and wins the Steem Fantasy League by 2 close points! Amazing and huge congratulations to him!

For those who don't remember, the SBD prize pool will be shared as follows:

1st place receives 40% of the prize pool
2nd place receives 15%
3rd place receives 10%
4th place receives 8%
5th place receives 7%
6th place receives 6%
7th place receives 5%
8th place receives 4%
9th place receives 3%
10th place receives 2%

I will be going through all Managers that placed in the top 10 and check that they signed up on post 1 or 2, if they have failed to do so their prize will go to the next manager instead.

Thank you everyone for participating and a big thank you to @blocktrades for sponsoring it! Get ready for the new season of Premier League and some other Football leagues as well! ;)