Was it a good World Cup?

DazMarz

The group stages were just unbelievable. The entertainment on show there was class.

For sure, the entertainment value went down considerably in subsequent stages, but, in all fairness, this always happens (almost always, anyway). There is far much more at stake as the tournament progresses. Players and coaches do not care about entertaining the fans. They only care about winning (or possibly about "not losing"). They don't care about being flashy and brilliant, they don't care about wowing the crowds. They just want results. Considering what is at stake, I really fail to see what is the problem.

That said, I thought the Final this year was infinitely superior to a lot of the recent finals. It even trumped the 3rd-Place Playoff, which is usually a good game (the teams loosen up as there is very little to lose in that game).

It will always be remembered for some shocking results, record breaking moments and moments of pure magic.

The poor performance of the former Champions Spain and the meekness of their defence of the title; Germany flattening a misfiring Brazil; James Rodriguez capturing the imagination; Mario Gotze writing his name into history and becoming a national hero at the age of 22; Faryd Mandrogon becoming the oldest player to play in the World Cup at the age of 43; the fairytale of Costa Rica; the elimination of so many fancied teams so early; the heroism of Lionel Messi to drag Argentina so far (yet to come up so painfully short when it mattered); European dominance of the World Cup continuing. And others, who weren't so lucky.

It is one that will stick in my memory and while not an out and out classic, it certainly had its fair share of classic moments and memorable matches.

Scorpion Sting

kksaints wrote: »

I enjoyed the Group Stages and the last 16 a lot. The quarter finals and the Argentina-Holland match werent great but overall it was a very enjoyable tournament and a good final.

Best Matches: USA-Ghana, Algeria-Germany, Australia-Netherlands, USA-Belgium.

Worst Matches: Argentina-Netherlands, Belgium-Russia, Japan-Greece.

Don't forget the Iran - Nigeria game, what a snoozefest that was.

NIMAN

Excellent group stages.

Disappointing knockouts up until the semis and final.

Overall, very good. Really enjoyed the final, when these are usually dour enough affairs. Thought it was the most open in a long time.

SharpshooterTom

NIMAN wrote: »

Excellent group stages.

Disappointing knockouts up until the semis and final.

Overall, very good. Really enjoyed the final, when these are usually dour enough affairs. Thought it was the most open in a long time.

We had one blitz of Brazil, with the game being over inside 25 minutes. Granted it was a very memorable scoreline, but as a match I personally didn't see as enjoyable as others.

The other was probably the worst match of the entire tournament. It had fewer shots on target than any other knockout match since the 1990 WC final, thats how bad it was.

The final was an upgrade on the 2010 final, mainly because two teams went for this time, oppose to Holland kicking the sh!te out of their opponents leaving us a sour taste that time. But it wasn't a better final than say 2006, or 2002. As you say finals since 1986 have been turgid affairs, so this was a chance for this WC to stand out with a great final. It didn't really deliver and the final was no better/worse than all the other finals since 86. We didn't get enough goal mouth action in 120 minutes if you look at the highlights. I personally thought it was Germany's worst attacking performance in the entire tournament. Still, the right team won though, nice goal as well.

Irishcrx

Yeah I really enjoyed it, group stages had a few surprizes and the goals were flowing. Knock out stages stagnated a little bit as teams tightend up and focused on defending , too many 0-0 draws starting creeping in then.

Lots to remember though , some great goals , Brazil getting thumped , Van Persies flying dutchman , James Rodriquez stunning volley , Sarbella nearly falling on his ass on the touchline , hungry Louis , some great games , Tim Howard being a hero , Cameroon killing each other and Mario Gotze finally taking centre stage hopefully he can push on now he's a cracking little player.

And Germany deserved this , it's been coming a while with that generation of players. Thumbs up on this one for me.

LuckyLloyd

I thought it was great. Six of the 8 round 16 games went to extra time. Those matches may not have all been classics, but it was an incredibly tense and competitive tournament throughout the knockout stages. The Costa Rica / Netherlands quarter was engrossing also. I also thought the final was a great contest.

The USA / Belgium game was a genuine classic, THE game of the tournament and probably the best 30 minutes of extra time in tournament football since the 82 semi (I can't remember anything better anyway).

Stadiums were busy; atmospheres were generally great (massive improvement from 2010 anyway); South American teams were to the fore; the tournament was generally refereed to a decent standard; group stages were fantastically entertaining. What more could you ask for?

Finally though, we got a worthy winner playing a fantastic brand of football. It was brilliant to see Spain get shredded and the tournament defined by a far more dynamic and exciting team. Roll on France in two year's time.

Richard Hillman

Yes, I loved this world cup. I think one abiding memory of it was that "Passion, guts and determination" is still very relevent in football. The likes of USA, Algeria and Costa Rica have shown that you dont have to be a team full of stars to do well at a World Cup. All you need is a crap load of pride in your team and intensity in your play to go home happy with your efforts and your country proud of the team.

Even the better teams like Chile, Mexico and Colombia can go home happy knowing that they left everything out on the pitch and their commitment was never doubted. They put teams like Italy, Spain, Portugal and England to shame. Those 4 teams are full of top players but none of them can go home with their heads high and say "we gave it everything".

Irishcrx

I know England were forgotten about quickly after going out, but they really are a ****ing joke of a national side aren't they.

ROCKMAN

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I thought it was great. Six of the 8 round 16 games went to extra time. Those matches may not have all been classics, but it was an incredibly tense and competitive tournament throughout the knockout stages. The Costa Rica / Netherlands quarter was engrossing also. I also thought the final was a great contest.

The USA / Belgium game was a genuine classic, THE game of the tournament and probably the best 30 minutes of extra time in tournament football since the 82 semi (I can't remember anything better anyway).

Stadiums were busy; atmospheres were generally great (massive improvement from 2010 anyway); South American teams were to the fore; the tournament was generally refereed to a decent standard; group stages were fantastically entertaining. What more could you ask for?

Finally though, we got a worthy winner playing a fantastic brand of football. It was brilliant to see Spain get shredded and the tournament defined by a far more dynamic and exciting team. Roll on France in two year's time.

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Yes, I loved this world cup. I think one abiding memory of it was that "Passion, guts and determination" is still very relevent in football. The likes of USA, Algeria and Costa Rica have shown that you dont have to be a team full of stars to do well at a World Cup. All you need is a crap load of pride in your team and intensity in your play to go home happy with your efforts and your country proud of the team.

Even the better teams like Chile, Mexico and Colombia can go home happy knowing that they left everything out on the pitch and their commitment was never doubted. They put teams like Italy, Spain, Portugal and England to shame. Those 4 teams are full of top players but none of them can go home with their heads high and say "we gave it everything".

Thanks lads ,could not have put it better.

SharpshooterTom

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Yes, I loved this world cup. I think one abiding memory of it was that "Passion, guts and determination" is still very relevent in football. The likes of USA, Algeria and Costa Rica have shown that you dont have to be a team full of stars to do well at a World Cup. All you need is a crap load of pride in your team and intensity in your play to go home happy with your efforts and your country proud of the team.

I don't mean to pick on your post but that cliché isn't necessarily true, Brazil did all the bellowing of the national anthems, crying, praying to the almighty etc before the match. Germany on the other hand, very professional, quite stoic and didn't really give a lot of umpf in the national anthem. However it was "Passionate Brazil" lost who lost 7-1.

England players are often criticised for not showing passion or singing their hearts out for the national anthem enough, but really if we're being honest that pashun stuff is a lot of nonsense really. England just aren't very good.

Richard Hillman

ThomasFlynn wrote: »

I don't mean to pick on your post but that cliché isn't necessarily true, Brazil did all the bellowing of the national anthems, crying, praying to the almighty etc before the match. Germany on the other hand, very professional, quite stoic and didn't really give a lot of umpf in the national anthem. However it was "Passionate Brazil" lost who lost 7-1.

England players are often criticised for not showing passion or singing their hearts out for the national anthem enough, but really if we're being honest that pashun stuff is a lot of nonsense really. England just aren't very good.

I get what you are saying but Brazil didnt have much in terms of guts and determination. As soon as the poo hit the fan and they were down against Germany, they crumbled. They gave up after the 2 goal.

Turtyturd

As has been said, it was brilliant in the group stages which were the complete opposite of 2010 where teams were afraid to lose. The KO stages were more tense affairs but still entertaining for the most part.

It was also a tournament where strong teams won out over individual talents, with a lot of the big names like 'Ronnie', Aguero, and Van Persie being disappointing.

The_Kew_Tour

Very good world cup.

Was delighted for Germany and Messi proved he aint no Maradona.;)

Was delighted for Costa Rica and Algeria and was enjoyable to watch teams like Holland, Chile, Columbia.

even though there was little surprises in the knockout stage plenty of games were tense and could of went either way.

eagle eye

Up to and including the last 16 games it was the best World Cup I've ever seen and I've been watching them since '74 but it was poor from the QFs onwards and in the end it turned out to be just a good one but not the greatest or even close for me.

AllGunsBlazing

Thought it lost a lot of it's momentum by the 1/4 final stage as well.


It will never happen, but, I think reducing the number of teams and getting rid of the round of 16 would benefit the overall quality. A lot of the sides looked leg heavy and overly cautious in the knockout rounds.

Reekwind

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

It will never happen, but, I think reducing the number of teams and getting rid of the round of 16 would benefit the overall quality. A lot of the sides looked leg heavy and overly cautious in the knockout rounds.

Given that the caution and 'leg heaviness' began immediately in the round of 16, doesn't that suggest that fatigue has nothing to do with it?

gimmick

I really enjoyed it, but then I am a sucker for the world cup. I enjoyed S Africa as well ffs

There was a pretty constant standard of entertaining games in the group stages, hell even Greece were involved in an exciting 45 minutes (GREECE!) against Ivory Coast.

The 2nd round was fun as well. Holland Mexico was a good game despite the conditions. Uruguay Colombia was the best of that round. Brazil Chile had drama, Germany and Argentina pushed all the way which on other days both would have lost and France (imo) robbed Nigeria.

We had some massive talking points
- Spains no show and Casillas' fall from grae
- Costa Rica shocking the world (anyone who says they saw it coming because they knew all about their manager and keeper etc is a liar).
- Suarez being bitey again
- 11pm KOs ruining peoples timeliness at Work
- USAs attitude to the game. A real bright point.
- Vanishing spray!!!
- Dunphys on air faux pas
- The passion showed by many countries players and fans during their anthems.
- Brazils utter capitulation in the most amazing result in football history followed by another thumping 3 days later.
- Klose overtaking Ronaldo as the grestest world cup scorer of all time.

Yup, its fair to say it was fun ride.

Moist Bread

I had my fun and that's all that matters.

Joya

I have to say I'm really glad to see that this WC was liked by many of ye, cause I found this World Cup was really very exciting and enjoyable

I'd qualify it as the best one that i saw so far - not only because of the extraordinary Germany's performance, but because of all the unexpectedly exciting and good matches in the group stage from teams you would not expect it like Nigeria or Iran?! , and yes i am watching the World Cup very passionately since late 80s early 90's (i was a child!) ..

BTW really loved the James's show, was going for Holland but tbh they started good but then played too tactically and like to boring safety and that kind of game could not get them through to the final. Do not think that Argentina deserved at all to be in the final either though but was glad that it was one European one South American team

also not so many referee's mistakes and injustices like in the last cup that was really annoying.. so all in all, I had really good time and am missing it :d))


ps. Messi should not get that title of course as at least not for what he showed in this WC cause it was like you could not even hear his name and "did he played really here" you d have to ask yourself.. so..
also for the best goal i voted for André Schürrle's goal as I liked it lots but James's gal against Uruguay was a class in its own..

Hyzepher

2014 was a great WC, so many great games, tension and shocks.

But '82 has to be my favourite. Some of the games that year were amazing - right down to the final. if you're not familiar with '82 just think of a second round round-robin format with Italy, Argentina and Brazil all in the same group and Spain, England and Germany in another!

Joya

yea i remember those days (years), i was a kid though but had an album with those small sticker pictures you know, collecting them when maradona was like the king that no one could stop - football was different then though, it transformed loads till now id say..

764dak

Sheepy99 wrote: »

Did it live up to your expectations?
Was the general standard high enough? How about in the latter stages?
Were the games themselves exciting?
Could the quality of goals have been a bit better?

For me, after the group stage finished I was thinking that it had went well, the lesser nations had come into it a bit (Costa Rica, Algeria), and not everybody who was expected to qualify, made it into the second round (Croatia, Spain, Portugal, to an extent Russia).
The standard and quality of games wasn't unbelievable but this happens in high stake games and in general from my own interpretation of international football so I was taking a lenient look at it.
Perhaps unfairly, I was comparing it to 2010 when looking for the positives, which was statistically (2.27 goals p/m) and in terms of atmosphere (Vuvuzela, enough said) the worst ever.

Knockout stages were extremely poor, there was only 1 or 2 good games and not even a supposed "classic" match which we will look back on (Brazil/Germany obviously for the wrong reasons)

There were few memorable goals (Cahill's, Rodriguez's, i know) whether they be long range strikes or great team goals and I thought the defending could have been better on a lot of occasions, without trying to put down those teams that just aren't that good in general (Honduras for example)

All in all, I felt it didn't live up to expectations, a real shame after the all that went on in the lead up to it, despite the lack of media attention.

Do you feel that the World Cup disappointed and that if it continued to do so, would its popularity over time diminish to the same level as maybe the FA cup's (bit extreme) if it wern't for FIFA and whoever else talking it up and marketing it to the level it is as of now.

Most people in the Americas expected Mexico to make it to the second round and not Croatia.

pickarooney

764dak wrote: »

Most people in the Americas expected Mexico to make it to the second round and not Croatia.

Based on what? They were atrocious in qualifying and were very jammy to get through in what could hardly be described as a tough qualifying group.

Sheepy99

764dak wrote: »

Most people in the Americas expected Mexico to make it to the second round and not Croatia.

That's great, thanks for pointing that out

764dak

pickarooney wrote: »

Based on what? They were atrocious in qualifying and were very jammy to get through in what could hardly be described as a tough qualifying group.

Well, the CONCACAF final round has six teams just like the European qualification groups (except one which had five teams). The CONCACAF final round sent three teams to the round of 16 in the World Cup. The biggest wins were only by two goal margins. Mexico looked bad because they played against decent teams.

osnola ibax

Overrated

Muff_Daddy

Easily the best since '86