MOSCOW — When World Cup players and coaches are asked to explain an almost inexplicable situation or outcome, the common response comes with a shrug and, in various languages, an unsatisfying response: “That’s football.”
What has unfolded here over three weeks can be neither explained in full nor casually dismissed as something that has happened for reasons only known to the soccer gods.
That’s football? More like, that’s not normal.
There are, though, some ways to make sense of it all.
First, the facts: Germany, Brazil, Spain, Argentina and Portugal are gone. That’s the reigning champion, the all-time trophy holder, a global titan, a five-time finalist and the defending European winner — the last two of which employ the sport’s two most electrifying players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.