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As the first round of the World Cup ended, it is easy to say that it has so far been a fantastic tournament. One full of goals, full of surprises and sadly, full of controversial refereeing. For any football fan, this definitely has been a World Cup to savour thus far. The first round of the Cup has resulted in an astounding 48 goals in 16 matches, an average of 3 goals a game.From the very first match between Brazil and Croatia to the last between Russia and South Korea, goals have flown. Own goals,Penalties, Poor Refereeing and Red cards have also been aplenty. It is safe to say that almost each of the 16 matches have been great to watch, but here are 4 that certainly gave us fans the thrill, joy and excitement of the Cup.
#5 Notable Mentions
Brazil 3-1 Croatia
Swtizerland 2-1 Ecuador
Belgium 2-1 Algeria
USA 2-1 Ghana
With over 40 games still left to be played in the tournament, including the unpredictable knockout ties, expect more such enthralling encounters as this World Cup promises to be the most entertaining and exciting one yet.
#4 Uruguay vs Costa Rica
Star of the match- Joel Campbell
The first group D match looked very much one-sided for Uruguay, despite the absence of Luis Suarez. All the attention was on a powerful Uruaguayan team who were expected to roll over an under-appreciated Costa Rica side. The first half was marked by a penalty which was well converted by Edinson Cavani and gave Uruaguay the advantage at half time as expected.
It seemed that a different Costa Rica side appeared for the second half. Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, Keylor Navas and Duarte showed just why you should never underestimate any side in the World Cup. Costa Rica had a huge chance to draw level on 50 minutes, as Duarte was unmarked in the box but could only find Muslera with his shot. However, moments later, it was Joel Campbell who drew level with a composed finish.
A couple of minute later the game turned on its head, for the second time in minutes, Duarte was found unmarked in the box and this time he made no mistake to give Costa Rica the lead. Later, Joel Campbell wonderfully found substitute, Urena who dinked the ball beyond Muslera. Thus, what we witnessed was arguably the shock result of the Cup so far. Uruguay 1-3 Costa Rica.
#3 Germany vs Portugal
Star of the match- Thomas Mueller
The big two teams from Group G met in Salvador for their first game and it certainly was memorable. The Cristiano Ronaldo led side probably started as the underdogs and have time and again been accused of being over-reliant on their Captain.
At the same time, we had complete opposites in Germany, a star studded team where there isn't one particular player who is superior to the rest. Like many games this World Cup, this too started with penalty being conceded. Portugal's Joao Perreira was guilty of conceding the penalty which Thomas Mueller converted.
Then, Mats Hummels brilliantly headed past Rui Patricio to give them a 2-0 lead. This was followed by a moment of shame for Pepe who was red carded in the for apparently head-butting Mueller when the German player was sitting on the ground. Playing 10 men against a team like Germany was nevergoing to be easy as Thomas Muellar got his second goal of the game with a proper strikers finish. Later on, Muellar scored his first international hattrick scoring for the 3rd time past Patricio.
As for Ronaldo, it is easy to say that he had a forgettable game remaining invisible for much of the game. His frustration could be seen when the referee incorrectly did not award his team a penalty for a challenge on substitute Eder. Thus ended a proper German thumping of Portugal. FT: Germany 3-0 Portugal.
#2 Italy vs England
Star of the match- Mario Balotelli
In what promised to be a fiesty encounter between perennial underachievers, England and 2006 Champions, Italy, it duly delivered. England started brightly with the young Raheem Sterling making his mark early on with a powerful shot hitting the side netting, Jordan Henderson then forced a save from Salvatore Sirigu. Then it was the Azurri's time to turn up the heat.
After Andrea Pirlo's classy leave, Claudio Marchisio took a wonderful long range shot which went past Joe Hart. However in a matter of minutes, Wayne Rooney's pinpoint cross found Daniel Sturridge, who neatly tucked in the equalizer.
The search for the winner did not take much time in the second half as a brilliant Antonio Candreva cross found Mario Balotelli who headed home the winner. Later on, Wayne Rooney, surely should have converted an opportunity given his finishing prowess. It was surely a match that lived up to the expectations finishing- Italy 2-1 England.
#1 Spain vs Netherlands
Star of the match- Arjen Robben
The 2nd day of the World Cup gave us a rematch between last years finalists. It promised to be a very tight encounter and Spain looked just the better side on paper. The first 30 minutes of the game saw Spain dominating possession and playing their usual tiki-taka game. It was marred by a poor decision to hand Spain a penalty for a foul on Diego Costa. Xabi Alonso ably converted the penalty.
The rest of the game was one that was unexpected brilliance from the part of Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben and company.Just at the stroke of halftime left back, Daley Blind found Robin Van Persie whose diving header will go down as one of the goals of the World Cup.
Arjen Robben then showed how age is barely a number as he ran past the Spanish defence to take the lead. After three more goals thanks to Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben and Stefan de Vrij,who was responsible for giving away the penalty, and a Casillas error, the scoreline was one which will not be forgotten in a long time. Netherlands 5-1 Spain.
