The 2014 FIFA World Cup has seen a lot of amazing feats and surprises along the way. IT is shaping up to be one of the best football tournaments witnessed in recent times. The fact that it is being held in Brazil, which could be looked upon as the Mecca of football, has added tremendous flavor to the proceedings. There are a lot of factors that are contributing to the success of this World Cup, so lets take a look at the major reasons.
The Goals:
Goals are probably the most attractive part of a football game and this tournament has seen a barrage of them. Compared to the 2010 World Cup, there are more goals per game and the quality of goals is top notch – the way it would be expected for a tournament of this level. 35 more goals were scored in the group stages itself as compared to the previous tournament – that many more cheers from the fans!
The rise of the Underdogs:
This World Cup has seen things like never before – Spain losing their first two games and being eliminated in the Group stages, Costa Rica topping the Group of Death, a Colombian at the top of the race for the Golden Boot – all things that haven’t been witnessed in a long time. Of course, in the semi-finals we are left with top footballing nations – Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Netherlands, but the journey for them was made difficult by the smaller teams.
The Goalkeeping:
Tim Howards exploits, keeping USA in the game till extra time and making 15 saves in a single match, creating a new record has definitely seen a lot of appreciation from the fans. Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa will also be on the books for a lot of the bigger Clubs after his incredible performance against Brazil. Although we have seen so many goals, the keeping has also been world class and this has been appreciated by the mass and media all the same.
Expectations being met:
Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., Thomas Muller and a load of other big names have performed well and are currently competing to win the Golden Boot. The crowd loves to see their heroes perform and this World Cup has delivered their expectations. Not only have the big names performed but they have delivered at crucial times when their team has needed them the most. Messi’s winner against Iran, Neymars’s double after Brazil going down to Croatia in their first match are all crowd winners.
The tournament still has 4 matches left and we can be assured that these matches will be packed with punch. The World’s eyes are set on Brazil and the stage is ready – will the heroes do it for their Country? Or will we see some unexpected turn of events? Lets brace ourselves for the last week of the tournament and enjoy the rest of the most watched tournament on the globe.
Some more of the wonderful moments from the World Cup:
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