The Cup that was~Part 2

The home nation, rich with their tradition of the beautiful game and proud of the only national side with the 5 stars emblem are ready to kick-off the 20^th edition of the FIFA World Cup. Below is the breakdown of the verdict for each group as the tournament unfolded, best player for each group and my personal choice for the best 11 of the tournament. 

Group A:

A shaky start which was saved by a dubious penalty decision rescued the home nation in the opening match to collect all 3 points against the unlucky Croatians. There was no way through the Mexicans though in the second match and a shocker moment for Cameroon midfielder Alex Song in which he collected a deserved red card for elbowing Mandzukic from the back. The Mexicans proved too strong for Croatia in the final match as the home nation, Brazil and Mexico qualify.

Player of the group: Neymar Jr (Brazil)

Neymar proves himself at the biggest stage

Group B:

The defending champions, Spain come into this tournament optimistic for another triumph. On paper, they were favourites to top the group with Netherlands and Chile to battle for the second spot and a possible meeting with Brazil was something to avoid. The rematch of the 2010 final began with Spain full in control of the tempo and passing the Dutch to death. Not many expected Van Gaal’s men to perform well at this finals but a possible goal of the tournament header from striker Robin Van Persie started a rout with Arjen Robben running riot to torment the Spanish. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Chile put the final nail in Spain’s coffin as the defending champions ended their defence of the title in the worst way possible.

Player of the group: Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

Dutch delight against Spain

Group C:

Colombia cruised to this group with ease and playing some of the best free flowing attacking football led by James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado.  Greece, who got trashed in their first match after trying to pay open football reverted back to their defensive tactics after going a man down in their second match and it paid dividends against Japan as they held on to a precious point.  Japan found it tough to match the physical side of the game as their brilliant technical play come to no vain. A shootout match between Ivory Coast and Greece ended with the Greeks getting some miracle from their ancient Greek Gods to help them qualify with a last minute penalty.

Player of the group: James Rodriguez (Colombia)

Colombia lighting up the tournament with dazzling football

Group D:

Before the tournament begin, the question for this group was always “Who is in England’s group?” and the answer will be “Italy, Uruguay and some other team” Who would have guessed? That the other team would emerged unbeaten and champions of the group. England on the other hand, after all the hype from the media finished winless and rock bottom. Many predicted England to be too fast and slick for the Italians in the heat of Manaus jungle but as usual Italy showed their class and experience with De Rossi, Verratti and the evergreen maestro Pirlo bossing the midfield. The opening goal came with an assist without even touching the ball as the Mozart Pirlo let the ball pass through his legs which left Sturridge flat footed making him look like a lost soul on a stranded island. Marchisio did the rest. ‘The other team’, Costa Rica showed England how it was done by limiting Pirlo’s options and claimed a famous victory. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde moment from Luis Suarez with his goals against England followed by the infamous bite on Giorgio Cheillini’s shoulder.  That did not stop Uruguay from progressing as Godin netted another vital goal with his trademark header following a corner after an unlucky red card was shown to Marchisio. Costa Rica showed the world that it is never wise to write off the underdogs and that anything is achievable with proper preparation and teamwork.

Player of the group: Marco Veratti (Italy)

Suarez sends England home early

Group E:

France came into this tournament as the dark horses with plenty to prove. With a good blend of experience and youth they stormed through this group including a big margin win against the Swiss to claim top spot. Switzerland has a lot to improve on if they want to stay in the competition after their demolition in the hands of the French especially in defence especially when a possible meeting against Argentina looms in the last 16 round. Ecuador and Honduras though, were only there to make up the numbers.

Player of the group: Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)

Shaqiri scoring a hattrick against Honduras

Group F:

My choice as favourites to lift the cup, Argentina was not regarded as a threat by the media surprisingly. The conditions, time and surroundings made me convinced that they will win it as teams from Europe do not fare well in the South American region. A big plus for Argentina is that they have Lionel Messi, the best player in the world without a doubt. A last minute curler from outside the box broke the hearts of the Iranians who were so close to a goalless draw and their performance certainly made the Asian contingent proud. Bosnia was a big disappointment after their promising qualification form. Nigeria stole the second spot.

Player of the group: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Messi breaking the deadlock against Bosnia

Group G:

This was considered as the group of death and it certainly was.  Albeit their huge injury list, the efficient Germans stamped their mark in the World Cup with a hat trick from the ever so underrated Thomas Muller. It was a result the Portuguese could not recover from but a dying second’s equaliser against the impressive USA gave them a lifeline in their final match. It was not all walk in the park for the Germans though as Ghana gave them a run for their money in a pulsating draw. USA just needed to keep the score down against the Germans and they did. A solitary goal from Muller decided the match and both qualified from this nail biting group.

Player of the group: Thomas Muller (Germany)

Pepe letting his frustration off against Muller

Group H:

The other tournament dark horses, Belgium finished this final group as group champions as many predicted they will. The performance from them as a team need to step up a few notched if they want to progress further in this competition. Algeria won many hearts with their amazing display and gutsy defending but a second spot means that they will be meeting the mighty Germans. The Koreans could not draw inspiration from their 2002 heroics as they faced a rather premature exit yet again.

Player of the group: Islam Slimani (Algeria)

Fellaini scoring a vital goal against Algeria

Last 16:

The weaknesses of the home team were exposed to the limit with Chile giving an almighty scare and the tie being decided by the lottery of a penalty shootout. Another goal of the tournament contender from James Rodriguez against Uruguay while France was comfortable winners against Nigeria. Germany and Netherlands faced a daunting last 16 round with their respective matches ending with a 2-1 result. The luck of the Greeks finally deserted them as they lost to Costa Rica also with a shootout, Argentina scrapping through the Swiss and the USA vs Belgium was probably the match of the tournament as Belgians had the quality when it mattered.

Fairytale: Costa Rica shock the world by reaching the quarter finals

Quarter Final:

An ill-tempered clash saw Neymar’s tournament over due to injury but his side marched to the last 4 at the expense of Colombia. Germany looked much more assured at the back with Philip Lahm going back to his right back position and Mertesacker being relegated to the bench. Hummel’s bullet header settled an evenly contested match against France. Louis Van Gaal made a masterstroke decision by substituting Cilessen for Tim Krul before the shootout and it paid huge dividends. Argentina made sure that number of European and South Americans are even in the semis.

Unlikely source: David Luiz scoring from a freekick

Semi Final:

They way Brazil was playing the whole tournament was just like waiting for a disaster to happen. It did, and it hit the nation which ran football in their blood to experience an unforgettable mauling at the hands of the Germans. There was no more hiding that the current Brazilian side do not deserve to wear the famous yellow jersey. Miroslav Klose received a standing ovation from both set of fans as his goal made him the current all-time World Cup top scorer.

Record breaker: Klose becomes the all time top scorer

In the other semi-final, a bore goalless draw was played out as they cancelled out each other. The highlight of the match was when Javier Mascherano made a last ditch tackle to block Robben goal bound effort. It was the tackle that eventually brought them to the final with the Dutch once again claiming the nearly men title after shootout defeat. As a Dutch fan, it was hard for me take as they came so close yet again but definitely proud of what the team has achieved.

Million dollar tackle: Mascherano with the bock of the tournament

Final:

Can Germany finally claim the title since West Germany managed it in 1990 or will Argentina beat the odds and keep the cup away from European hands?  After a string of disappointments in previous Euro and World Cups for players like Lahm and Schweinsteiger, they were never going to let this go. Bastian Schweinsteiger produced a performance of a lifetime in the midfield especially after losing Khedira in the warmup that meant he had to cover every inch of grass and he did to almost perfection. It was a memorable battle between him and Mascherano in midfield as the Germans found a way to nullify Messi by defending as a team.

Hard as rock: Schweinsteiger gave his all for the final

 Howedes, a natural centre back who played left back for the whole tournament should be really proud of himself. Every Argentine will always rue and wonder what might have been if Higuain’s one on one chance fell to the injured Arguero. Without, Di Maria they lacked the cutting edge as the hero of the day came from the bench to settle the match in extra time and Germany are the 2014 World Cup champions.

Winning goal: Gotze netting in the goal of his life

The name ‘Mario Gotze’ will forever be remembered and he instantly becomes a German legend. In the end, the best team of the tournament were the worthy winners.

Worthy champions : Germany the winners of World Cup 2014

My best XI of the tournament:

Best goals:

1) Robin Van Persie (Netherlands) vs Spain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJ4jByEpnY

2) Tim Cahill (Australia) vs Netherlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2tmftLN2lY

3) James Rodriguez (Colombia) vs Uruguay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFoiW_40MqM