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Without a doubt this World Cup has been entertaining and a competition that will go down as one to remember. As the first round of the competition is now complete, many Canadians and fans worldwide who were at first full of confidence now find themselves heart broken and many whose hopes were diminishing now find themselves full of excitement with their teams successful qualification to the knockout stage.
The knockout matches will undoubtedly make for an exciting time for any fan who's a true supporter and a follower of great football.
It will now be interesting to see if any upsets unfold in the round of 16, as well as to see which of the teams that shone brightly during the group stages will be able to continue their momentum as the pressure in the tournament increases.
With that in mind, I’d like to take one last look at the group stage and highlight those that distinguished themselves, as well as one team that faltered in an expected fashion.
Biggest wins
The United States and Chile share the honour of winning big games in the group stage. The United Statess win against Ghana was the push and momentum they needed going into their matches with Portugal and eventually Germany. That victory against an athletic Ghana side gave Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad the confidence to get a result against a struggling Portugal and then go into the Germany game knowing that qualification to the knockout stage was just one point away. Getting those first 3 points proved to be the deciding factor to their qualification after their eventual defeat to the Germans.
Chile went into their first game expecting to come out with the win, but the next game was the one they knew would be the deciding factor. Spain's humiliating fall to Holland ended up being a perfect storm for Chile, as they eventually capitalized on Spain's lack of confidence. This caught most by surprise but, in my estimation, after watching the first matches of both teams, it seemed likely that Chile would win that crucial match and see themselves to the next round. In the process, they played a role in making Spain the biggest disappointment of the tournament.
Biggest disappointment
For nearly a decade Spain was the best national team football had to offer. Their three major championships in recent years, as well as being runners up at the 2013 Confederations Cup had them as one of the favourites going into Brazil 2014. We now have Holland and Chile to thank for their early exit. Their tournament was cut painfully short and they were sent packing before the majority of teams in the tournament. Diego Costa, who after choosing Spain over his country of birth (Brazil) was expected to make an impact and help his national team to success but was immensely unsuccessful. He along with his whole team are the obvious biggest disappointment of Brazil 2014. I bet Costa now wishes he had picked Brazil. Maybe then he would have found himself competing alongside Neymar in the Golden Boot race.
Living up to the hype
The race for most goals of the tournament is an exciting one. Two of the world’s best players are head to head in the race for Golden Boot. Neymar and Messi, whose lack of success this past club season isn't at all reflecting on their play at this tournament, are both carrying their teams through the biggest stage the beautiful game has to offer thus far. Although there are others alongside them in the race for Golden Boot, these two are the obvious pick for who to watch for the rest of the tournament, simply because they are living up to the hype. Neither Argentina nor Brazil have looked strong collectively but the individual brilliance from these two and their MVP performances is something you cannot deny.
One to keep watching
Being of Colombian descent, I may be a bit biased but it's still hard to ignore the excitement demonstrated in all three matches by Colombia during the first round. Their exciting style of football and high scoring first round play along with their well-choreographed dance celebrations makes them a team I think most are anticipating more from. The absence of Falcao has forced Colombia to share the protagonist role. Ultimately, this has given everyone an opportunity to witness the spectacle that is the national team of Colombia.
I look forward to the second round of this tournament where anything can happen. The ball is round and the best teams don't always win but if history is proof of how things may go, we are definitely in for further surprises and a lot more entertaining football.
Toronto-born David Monsalve is a professional goalkeeper with Finnish football club AC Oulu. In addition to representing Canada at the U17, U18, U20, U23 and Senior Men’s levels, he has also played for Canadian clubs Toronto FC and FC Edmonton. When he isn’t training and playing professional matches, David also coaches in the Toronto area and is up for discussing anything and everything football-related via his Twitter account, @davidamonsalve.
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