THE FIFA World Cup, legendary in itself, concluded its 20th tournament amidst massive support and excitement from players and fans alike in the host nation Brazil. The 2014 edition brought some surprises, some shocks, some goalkeeping howlers, some stunning goals and also some great disappointments. Now that Germany has taken the trophy home and the dust has settled, a general review of the tournament and the more noteworthy performances is warranted.
According to FIFA’s media release, almost 3 million tickets were sold for the World Cup and around 1 billion people tuned in to watch the matches, possibly setting a staggering record global audience for organized sports. Reports state that the social media’s craze for the World Cup was not so far behind, with over 30 million Tweets posted on Twitter and the phrase ‘World Cup’ being mentioned in social sites like Facebook and Tumblr almost 70 million times.
Some of the best matches included Argentina’s seesaw battle with Nigeria, eventually taken out 3-2 by two Lionel Messi goals, Germany’s draw with Ghana and finally Algeria’s storming 4-2 win over South Korea. Some of the more dissatisfying matches were the scoreless draws, like between Brazil and Mexico, not to mention games that featured Cameroon in this competition. Russia also produced less than enthralling encounters, including their failure to beat Algeria in a game that would have seen them through. In terms of shocking results, Costa Rica’s 3-1 win over Uruguay preceded a tremendous 1-0 triumph over Italy, finally beating the most disappointing team of the tournament, England, and showing their apparently hidden talents. The Dutch also made many of the world astonished by defeating reigning World Cup champions Spain 5-1 in the opening Group B fixture.
The host nation’s team suffered the most humiliation nearing the end of the tournament. After their crushing 7-1 defeat at the hands of the German team during the semis, most Brazilians still went on to support Germany in the Finals against Argentina. Thomaz Antunes, a Brazilian waiter, was quoted saying, “Not only do I want the German team to win, I respect them and their team work is stronger. Brazilians can’t stand the thought of Argentina winning the World Cup.” This not only goes to show their undying support for their national team, it also instils the notion of healthy sportsmanship between competing teams and their understanding of true talent. Even though never having won the World Cup before, Netherlands showed their team’s strengths and prowess by reaching the semis against Argentina and finally beating Brazil for 3rd place in the tournament.
The Final between Germany and Argentina brought many of the world together reminiscing about both the team’s rich World Cup pedigree and cheering through sensational performances from both sides, finally concluding with Germany’s 1-0 win and with Philip Lahm lifting the trophy. Though some have argued otherwise, by common consensus the FIFA World Cup 2014 has been one of the best World Cups of them all as it delivered moments of madness, great sports and moments of inspiration for tournaments to come.
