A Quick Look on FIFA World Cup 2014 Group Stage
FIFA World Cup 2014 Brazil is in the “round of 16” phase. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Netherlands, Mexico, Costa Rica, Greece, France, Nigeria ,Germany, Algeria ,Argentina , Switzerland ,Belgium and USA have qualified for the knockout stage of the mega event. “A quick look on FIFA World Cup 2014 group stage ” is a bird eye view of some of the most significant events happened during group stage.
Opening Ceremony
Colorful opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 12, 2014, at Arena Corinthians Stadium in Sao Paulo. The ceremony featured Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Claudia Leitte and many other star performances.
Defending Champion
Performance of the Defending Champion Spain was a disappointment. The Spanish team got eliminated from the tournament in the initial stage.
Upset Eliminations
Many big teams could not manage to make to the knock out stage. Portugal along with England and Italy are FIFA World Cup 2014 group stage eliminations.
History in Making
The underdog Algeria won its first World Cup match since 1982 and qualified for the round of 16 for the first time.
The Best Goal
Dutch striker Robin van Persie`s header goal against Spain could easily be the best goal of the FIFA World Cup 2014 group stage. He out smarted Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas with stunning “flying” header forma distance of almost 15 yards.
Top Scorers
Argentina`s Leo Messi, Brazilain Neymar Jr. and German Thamos Muller are the joint top goal scorer at the end of the FIFA World Cup 2014 group stage. Each player scored 4 goals in 3 matches.
The Best Player
Lionel Messi was the best player of the FIFA World Cup 2014 group stage by far. Scored 4 crucial goals and got man of the match in all three matches played, a record itself.
Record
German Forward Miroslav Klose equalized Ronaldo`s record of the most goal in the world cup history by scoring a goal against Ghana. Both players have scored 15 World Cup goals each.
Big Guns Misfired
Some of the biggest names in the football disappointed the fans with their extremely poor performances. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo along with some other big guns were total failure and did not contribute much for their sides.
The Suarez Bite
One of the most controversial events of the event was “Suarez bite”. Uruguay strikers Luis Suarez bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the match. FIFA took action and suspended from all football-related activity for four months. He is also banned for nine international matches.
The End of Era
FIFA World cup was the last tournament for some most beloved players. The international careers of David Villa and Andrea Pirlo ended with the eliminations of their teams from World cup.
