First and Last Memorable moments from the World Cup 2014

This World Cup has set new records and has been the most entertaining one yet. The group stage matches were action packed and the matches from the quarter-final onwards became a test of endurance for players and audiences alike. Here are the moments that rocked the headlines during this World Cup –

First Goal

The host nation did indeed score the first goal – they only did it for the opposite side, Croatia, which was the only goal scored for that side that night. Marcelo, who was on the defence and very close to the Croatian goalpost ended up accidentally nudging the ball into their goal. All this happened in the 11th minute of the game.

Fastest Goal

Cint Dempsey scored a goal within just 31 seconds in his match against Ghana. The USA captain certainly makes the most of every minute. He picks up on Jermainee Jones’ assist and shoots into the far post. It was an incredible start to a game that the Americans went on to win.

First Yellow Card

The first match of the World Cup indeed saw plenty of action. Neymar, Brazil’s star forward was handed a yellow card as he rammed his elbow into Croatia’s Luka Modric in the first half itself. The Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura seemed to be on Brazil’s side that night as he later went on to award a penalty to the Selecao where most agree one wasn’t needed.

First Red Card

Pepe’s angry head-butt to Thomas Muller of Germany earned the angry Portuguese the first red card of the tournament. The man accidentally shouldered Muller, to which the German player responded with his usual theatrics. This seemed to anger Pepe, who went back and rammed his head into Pepe’s forehead. As hilarious as it was to watch, it did count for intentional damage to a player.

First Hattrick

Muller did take sweet revenge on Pepe and the entire team of Portugal by going on to score the first hattrick of the World Cup 2014. He first picked up a penalty goal in the 12th minute as Pereira picks up a yellow card. He then scored a beautiful goal in the 1st minute past half time and another one in the 78th minute.

Last Yellow Card

Sergio Aguero took one for his team in the World Cup finals as he tackled Germany’s Bastien Schweinsteiger near the far touchline. It was in the 65th minute of the game when things were getting desperate, not a single goal was shot and the Argentines were getting pretty tensed. Mascherano had picked up a yellow card just a few seconds before teammate Aguero followed.

Last Red Card

This World Cup saw a considerably low number of red cards. Whether this is a comment on the style of playing or quality of refereeing, one cannot say for sure. Oscar Duarte of Costa picked up his second yellow-turned-red card in their match against Greece on the 29th of June. His foul in the 66nd minute turned the yellow card he had picked up in the 42nd minute into an instant red card.

Last Goal

This was of course Mario Goetze’s slammer in the 113th minute of the World Cup finals against Argentina. No other goal had been scored the entire game and he went on to win the World Cup for his nation.