Hello all! With the 2014 edition of the World Cup wrapped up, it is fair to say that it was one of the best ones in recent memory? True, I may be speaking from the perspective of a German fan who was ecstatic to see the Europeans lift the trophy, but I also believe that - objectively - the Brazilian event was one for the ages. Beginning in the group stages, we saw some exciting stuff with controversy in the opening Group A match between Brazil and Croatia: the Europeans would feel hard-pressed to have lost by a score of 3-1, but the rest of the tournament offered little solace as they bowed out with only a 4-0 drubbing of the group's beating boys Cameroon to their name. The pleasant surprises of the group were arguably Mexico - and in particular their outstanding goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa - who would go on to meet heartache of their own against the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Brazil and Mexico were the sides to make it out of the group in first and second places respectively (only separated by goal difference with 7 points a piece) while Croatia and Cameroon returned home earlier than they would have liked.
Over in Group B, titans collided and when the dust settled, Spain were the shocking losers traveling with Australia on their way out of the tournament. The Netherlands were indomitable, and Chile showed a resilient fire that unfortunately seemed to desert them as they advanced in the tournament. The Dutch took the top position in the group with a winning streak as Chile tallied 6; Spain grabbed 3 in the end; and Australia were thrilling, though to no avail as they collected 0 points.
Group C had its own brand of crazy as Colombia ran rampant over the competition; Greece edged out the right results after a 3-0 beating at the hands of the eventual group winners; the Ivory Coast were physically imposing though otherwise uninteresting; and Japan were inventive, a pleasure to watch, but only managed one point from the three group matches. Colombia and Greece proceeded on to do completely different things: The Europeans fell to a Costa Rican side that the world wanted to see do well in the Round of 16, while Colombia lost to the hosts in the Quarter Finals after a decent win over Uruguay.
As for Group D we had the world turn upside down for a couple of days. If you can find me one person who honestly thought that Costa Rica would progress from this group - let alone win the group - I would kiss you and them. And this wasn't at the expense of sides like Bosnia-Herzegovina or Iran (no offense!), but rather ITALY, ENGLAND, and URUGUAY. Frankly, it was awe-inspiring. The Ticos took 7 points, topped the group, beat Greece in the Round of 16, and were only just barely bested by the Netherlands in the Quarter Finals. Uruguay proceeded to be defeated by Colombia in the next round while Italy (with 3 points) and England (with 1) were left scratching their heads and wondering what the heck had just happened to them.
Turning now to Group E, where France scraped by with Switzerland after harrowing ordeals against Ecuador and Honduras. The Swiss lost to eventual Finalists Argentina in the next round as France beat Nigeria handily in the Round of 16 only to lose to the conquering Germans in the Quarter Finals by a single goal. There isn't much to say about this group as it was a straightforward one and the teams performed relatively close to expectations.
Group F is another matter. Although Argentina proved as deadly as anticipated (they did, however, lose strength rather than gain it moving out of the group), Bosnia and Herzegovina were less than their best. On attack they proved ineffectual against half-serious sides, while on defense they kept things close but could never work their own assault. Nigeria deserved the second slot despite drawing 0-0 with Iran (who were admittedly very spirited given the weight of the task that was expected of them) in their opening fixture. Edging Bosnia-Herzegovina and just barely losing to Argentina, the Africans earned their spot in the Round of 16 and it was a pity that they just rolled over against the French.
Now then, Group G which saw Germany slaughter Portugal 4-0 in the opener, the United States defeat Ghana 2-1 in an absolute thriller, and the Americans join the makers of Audi, Puma, and Haribo when all was said and done. Granted, Belgium would go on to beat the US by a single goal in the next round, but many of the fans kept watching as the Germans made a run to the World Cup Final... and win. Portugal were left deflated as they ended up in third on goal difference while Ghana earned a point from surprisingly drawing with Germany in their second group game. The United States tied with the Portuguese (though they honestly would have won, had it not been for Tim Howard's one and only mistake of the tournament) and lost 0-1 to Germany but it was enough!
Last but not least: Group H. Belgium ran out deserved leaders despite scoring few goals in comparison to the second place side. It wasn't Russia! No, not even South Korea! Yes, Algeria were the final surprise of the group stage with a 4-2 win over the Asians and a draw with the Russians after losing narrowly to Belgium in the first game of the group. As for the other two teams? They looked rather uninterested to be frank. They only ever scored a single, solitary goal (at most!) in any of the games they played. The Koreans couldn't stay off the ground, and the Russians seemed nonchalant as they were directed towards the exit following two draws: one in their first match with South Korea, and one in their last with the North Africans.
Going through the knock-out rounds, Brazil were able to edge Chile on penalties after a 1-1 game after 120 minutes - a lucky result for the hosts once more. Colombia roundly beat the Uruguayans 2-0 when the two sides faced off, while the Netherlands controversially beat Mexico 2-1 after a last gasp penalty was granted to the Europeans in the 4th minute of stoppage time. Huntelaar was more than up to the task of putting it away. Costa Rica defeated the stiff Greek defense on penalties after a 1-1 affair, while France beat Nigeria 2-0 and Germany had a bit more in the tank than the hard-fighting Algerians. Argentina sent the Swiss packing with a 1-0 victory as Belgium slotted home twice against the USA in their match-up. In the Quarter Finals, France lost 0-1 to Germany, Colombia lost to Brazil and Argentina beat Belgium by a similar deficit (1-2 and 1-0 respectively), as the Netherlands put Costa Rica to bed in penalties after a 0-0 game of football. The Semi Finals were another source of amazement as we watched Brazil mercifully lose 1-7 to the Germans (admit it, the Europeans could have made it much worse for them) and the Netherlands finally bite the bullet and fall in penalties to Argentina after playing out a 0-0 game. Fighting over third, Brazil were bested once more by the Dutch with a 0-3 scoreline before Germany found the back of the net against Argentina through Mario Gotze in the 113th minute of the match. Deservedly as the best team of the tournament, the Germans lifted the trophy and celebrated their 4th World Cup victory. Congratulations to all of the teams that participated and thank you for putting on such a brilliant festival!
