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 20th 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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)
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Worthy champions : Germany the winners of World Cup 2014 |
My best XI of the tournament:
