Records, Milestones & Heartbreak – Leicester City's 2018 World Cup
As we draw closer to the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, we look back to four years ago, remembering the stamp made by Leicester’s men at the 2018 tournament. With eight stars from Filbert Way all sent out to play for their respective countries, it was the first time in history that City had more than two players on the global stage offered by the World Cup.
However, the number of a Foxes that have lifted the trophy still stands at one, when the late, great Gordon Banks did just that with England in 1966.
Despite England ultimately suffering heartache in the semi-finals, it was a brilliant effort from a squad containing two City players; Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy. Coming second in Group G behind Belgium, the Three Lions would go onto to beat Colombia on penalties in the Round of 16, passing Sweden in the quarter-finals, before ultimately meeting their fate against Croatia in extra-time of the semi-final.
Maguire made a heavy impact on England’s progress, featuring in all six matches played in the tournament, starting five of them. The physical centre-half would even introduce the world to his goalscoring ability from corners as he claimed his first international goal in the 2-0 win against Sweden to get into the last four. It was also the first-ever time a Leicester City player had scored for England at a major tournament.
With Harry Kane often leading the line, scoring six goals and claiming the Golden Boot Award, Vardy nevertheless made an impact for the Three Lions, featuring on four occasions in Russia – vs. against Panama, Belgium, Colombia and Croatia. Another Leicester player that did manage to find the net on the international stage, though, was former striker Ahmed Musa, who along with Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfried Ndidi, made Nigeria the most populated squad with City players.
Although the Super Eagles failed to get past the group stage, their Leicester cohort did have an impact in Group D, with the trio featuring in all three games, as Musa netted twice, scoring both in a 2-0 triumph over Iceland. That made him the first-ever LCFC goalscorer at a World Cup – a record which will never be taken away from the Plateau-born forward.
Another pairing which travelled to the same base camp from Leicester were Adrien Silva and Ricardo Pereira, who represented Portugal. Coming second to Spain in Group B, they couldn't make it past the RO16 when they were defeated 2-1 by Uruguay, with Edinson Cavani scoring a brace. Ricardo's only appearance came in that fateful knockout tie with Uruguay, while Silva was used on three occasions during the competition.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, on the other hand, was called up to the Denmark squad and played every minute for his country in Russia. That totalled to four appearances, as the Danish came second in Group C, two points behind eventual champions France, before being defeated by would-be runners-up Croatia in the last-16.
However, it is fair to say that the Dane between the posts certainly did his country proud, as not only did he save a Luka Modrić penalty in the final stages of extra-time, but would go on to stop two during the shootout.
The final two City players to feature at the World Cup were Shinji Okazaki and Yohan Benalouane, for Japan and Tunisia respectively. Leicester’s Japanese forward was part of the Samurai Blue squad that made it to the final-16, being beaten by Belgium in the 94th minute by a Nacer Chadli goal. Okazaki was an unused substitute during that clash, but did make three appearances, starting once.
Meanwhile, Tunisia finished third in Group G behind England, with one win against bottom side Panama. Benalouane made a single appearance as a substitute in the 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
With a record number of Leicester players featuring in the past tournament, it is certainly a historic moment for the Club, but now four years on, all eyes will be on the seven Foxes hoping to appear in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
Visit LCFC.com/WorldCup for news and views this winter.