32 national teams, 1 trophy… and this is the entire history of the 2014 World Cup! From the group stage all the way to the FINAL With crazy underdogs, incredible matches and shocking results, this World Cup marked history! Considered one of the BEST ever held In 12 brand new stadiums, some totally renovated and others built from scratch, the 32 national teams were divided into 8 groups!
Brazil, the host country in group A, the current champion Spain in group B with the Netherlands, Germany in the same group as Portugal, and even Italy in the same group as Uruguay and England! And from the 32, only 16 were gonna be in the knockout stage So, Round 1 began, and the first match of Group A was Brazil against Croatia! But the first goal of the tournament happened in a way no one expected: Own goal, what a bad way to start!
But Brazil reacted and turned it around scoring 3 goals! Brazil was the top favorite to win the World Cup, after all, they were playing at home with great players and managed by Scolari, the same coach who won the title in 2002 But the first shocking match happened in Group B: Spain against the Netherlands! Spain was the current world champion and two-time European champion; with the same manager who led them to all those titles and players like Casillas, Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Ramos, Busquets, and many others!
This would be a giant match, and early in the first half, Diego Costa suffered a PENALTY! So Xabi Alonso scored the opener! The current champions take the lead!
And then they almost scored again! Until the 44th minute, when that happened. .
. . A stunning goal by Van Persie to tie the match!
It seemed like we were gonna have a very balanced second half! But in the last 45 minutes…. The dutch HUMILIATED Spain by 5-1!
Until this match, the dutch were not so much considered one of the favorites, but they showed they could go far! In fact, the main favorites to win the title were: Brazil, Argentina with Messi, Di María, Higuaín, and Germany, coached by Joachim Low with Özil, Müller, Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, and many others But it wasn't just them who had a chance of lifting the trophy! There was also Belgium with Hazard, Lukaku, and De Bruyne, Italy with Buffon, Balotelli, Pirlo; France with Benzema, and England.
. . it was going to be a huge World Cup And in the first round of the group stage there were other surprises!
The most shocking of all happened in the so-called group of death! In Group D, there were Italy, England, Uruguay and… Costa Rica! Costa Rica was already considered eliminated, but in the first round, they BEAT Uruguay 3-1!
They scored 3 goals against Uruguay and shocked everyone! And in the same group, Italy defeated England! Marchisio scored the opener, then Sturridge equalized, and Balotelli scored the second!
2-1 While in Group F, Argentina beat Bosnia and in Germany’s group there was Portugal! So they faced each other in the first match, but it didn’t go well for Ronaldo’s team: 4-0, what a humiliation! So the second round came, and there were even MORE surprises!
Brazil DREW with Mexico in a match where Ochoa saved every shot, and in Group B, Spain faced CHILE Spain lost the first game, so this match against Chile was decisive. . .
if they lost again, they were out! Chile SCORED! What couldn't happen, happened!
But it got worse: By 2-0 Spain LOST again and was ELIMINATED! Now the defending champion had no chance of going to the round of 16 But Spain wasn't the only big team eliminated early. .
. in the group of death, England faced Uruguay! England had already lost the first match against Italy, and Uruguay lost the first match to Costa Rica!
So whoever loses was eliminated! Literally an early knockout stage So the match began, and in the first half, Uruguay SCORED the opener! It seemed all over for England But then, England’s number 10 showed up… Rooney EQUALIZED!
And England had a squad that could really make a very good run Besides Rooney, they also had Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Hart, Milner, Sturridge, and many others! But then, at the 85th minute. .
. Uruguay WON and England LOST the SECOND match in a row! !
Now they would only have a slight chance if Italy defeated Costa Rica by some big margin! But Costa Rica surprised again Costa Rica defeated Italy 1-0, and were heading to the knockout stage! Who would’ve imagined, the team considered the "weakest" won two consecutive games And with that, England was eliminated!
Another giant team that fell early Meanwhile, Argentina was drawing with Iran! But they had Messi And there were even crazier games, especially in Germany's group! In the second round, Germany faced GHANA, and DREW!
! That's right Then Portugal faced the United States! Where they even started winning, but suffered a TURNAROUND: Portugal was ALSO being eliminated!
Until they DREW in the last minutes! Were still alive! Oh and also France showed they could go far, because they had already defeated Honduras 3-0; and now defeated Switzerland 5-2!
8 goals in 2 matches So the second round ENDED, and from the 32 national teams SIX were already eliminated: Cameroon, Australia, Honduras, Bosnia, Spain and England Now it was the moment of truth: the LAST round of the group stage! This would define the elimination of other 10 national teams And in Group A, Brazil thrashed Cameroon that was already out! But Mexico would directly compete for a spot against Croatia!
And it didn't work out for the croats, ‘cause Mexico played really well and won! Croatia eliminated Now in the group of death, Costa Rica was already through, so the battle was between Italy and Uruguay! The winner of this match, would be in the knockout stage And when the game started, it had a very balanced first half!
But in the second, Marchisio was SENT OFF! Italy now had one less player, and when the game was still tied. .
. this happened: Suárez BITES Chiellini, it’s almost unbelievable, but HE DID BITE HIM! Lucky for him, the referee didn't see it… The game continued 0-0; but not for long With a header by Godín, Uruguay WON and qualified for the round of 16!
Italy was eliminated! Both national teams that played the UEFA Euro FINAL 2 years before fell in the group stage Now in Group G, Portugal would only qualify if they BEAT Ghana by a big margin! They needed to improve their goal difference and hope that the United States would lose to Germany!
And indeed, Germany WON, but against Ghana Portugal only won by 2-1! So Germany topped the group, and by goal difference, the United States finished second! Portugal and Ghana ELIMINATED Meanwhile, Argentina beat Nigeria to finish the group with three wins!
So the group stage ended, and from the 32 teams, 16 were OUT! Now it was time for the knockout stage In the round of 16 the leader of one group faces the runner-up of another! 16 national teams for only 8 spots, and the first match was BRAZIL against Chile!
The Brazilians thought it would be an easy win, so much so that early in the first half from a corner, David Luiz SCORES! 1-0! Brazil started winning!
But at the 32nd minute… Chile equalized! Brazil saw it wouldn't be EASY at all, and in the second half, Hulk scored a goal that was DISALLOWED by the referee. .
. so no one scored again and the match went to extra time! And in extra time, there was a moment that could’ve changed the entire history of that World Cup: The ball hit the CROSSBAR!
So the draw remained and it went to penalties! Everything was gonna be decided on penalties, the host country could be eliminated! But that is when the keeper Julio César became a hero Chile was eliminated and Brazil was the first to secure a spot in the quarterfinals!
But after this match, it didn’t feel like Brazil was a team that could win the tournament And that was just the first intense game of the round of 16; there were even crazier matches to come And on the same day, another match took place: Colombia vs Uruguay! Colombia had never made it to the quarter-finals before. .
. but now they had James Rodríguez With this amazing goal Colombia took the lead, and in the second half, James received the ball inside the box and sent it into the net! 2-0!
For the first time in history, Colombia was in the quarter-finals, and the first match was set: Colombia against Brazil! So still in the round of 16, the Netherlands faced Mexico! And the Dutch were the favorites to qualify But early in the second half: Mexico takes the lead!
And the Netherlands couldn't equalize; the keeper Ochoa was saving everything! Mexico was going through But at the 88th minute, Sneijder showed up. .
. Imagine the frustration for Mexico! Were minutes away from qualifying… but it got worse: 2-1, and the Netherlands advanced to the quarter-finals!
Mexico ELIMINATED And their next opponent was gonna be the winner of the match between Costa Rica and Greece, which was another crazy game! Costa Rica took the lead, but at 90+1 Greece EQUALIZED! 1-1, and there was ANOTHER penalty shootout!
But Costa Rica had Keylor Navas Costa Rica came out of the toughest group and now made it to the top eight, a historic campaign! Four teams were already through, it was time to know the other four, and France faced Nigeria! This time, it was more "normal," where France with Pogba and Griezmann won 2-0!
Nigeria was eliminated, and France qualified This team managed by Didier Deschamps was a real title contender! Besides Pogba and Griezmann, they also had Benzema, Giroud, Patrice Evra, Varane, and others And France’s next opponent would be the winner of the match between Germany and Algeria! Just imagine, everyone expected Germany to qualify easily!
But when the game started, everyone was shocked: ‘cause Algeria started playing BETTER! They dominated the attacks, and still in the first half, they SCORED! But it was offside Germany was completely disorganized and couldn't score!
So time passed, and the game remained 0-0! It was another game going to extra time! Germany wasn't playing well.
. . It looked like it was going to penalties But early in extra time.
. . Germany took the lead!
Then Algeria continued having some attacks, but at the 120th minute Germany SCORED AGAIN! Minutes later Algeria finally scored, but it was too late, and Germany ADVANCED to the quarter-finals! It was gonna be Germany vs France So now there were only two teams left to qualify!
Argentina against Switzerland and Belgium against the United States! And if we saw intense games, these were no different Argentina, with Messi, faced Switzerland, and even though Argentina had a stronger team, the match was very balanced Switzerland even could’ve scored the opener, but he did THIS! Dude… what’s this Both keepers were playing very well and didn't let the ball pass!
Even though Argentina started dominating more, the Swiss keeper was saving everything, and the match went to extra time! The game seemed to be going to penalties! But Di Maria wouldn’t let that happen, so in the 117th minute.
. . Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals!
And now there was only ONE more country to qualify: Belgium or the United States. . .
Belgium had several good players, but the United States had a keeper named Tim Howard… Howard didn't let Belgium score, and the match went to extra time! Yes, they HELD the tie for 90 minutes! Just a little more, and it would go to penalties!
But Howard was finally defeated. . .
1-0! And Howard continued making saves! But minutes later, Lukaku scored!
At least in the end, the US scored, but they were ELIMINATED, and Belgium went to the quarter-finals! But in this game, Howard entered history: he broke a RECORD for the MOST saves in a single match in World Cup history (Escrever: 16 SAVES) So now, from the 32 teams, 24 were ELIMINATED! EIGHT still standing!
Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, France, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica… eight teams for only 4 spots, teams that would do everything they can to be in the final 4 So the first quarter-finals match finally came: France against Germany! Two giant european teams! On one side, Didier Deschamps' France with Griezmann, Pogba, Benzema, Lloris, and on the other, Joachim Low's Germany with Klose, Ozil, Muller, Phillip Lahm, Neuer, Kroos, and many others And because of Germany’s match against Algeria, everyone saw that France had a lot of chances of qualifying!
And early in the game Benzema already missed a good chance! But at the 12th minute… Germany scored the opener! Now the pressure was on France, who went all in to try to equalize!
But there was Manuel Neuer So, with that only goal scored by Hummels, Germany was the first to qualify for the SEMIFINALS! France eliminated And their opponent in the semifinal, would be the winner of the match between Brazil and Colombia! Against Colombia, Brazil was undefeated in the last 12 matches!
It was an opponent they were used to play against, Brazil was confident So the match began, and in just 6 minutes the favoritism was confirmed: Brazil started strong and after the goal continued attacking! But early in the second half the first loss came: Thiago Silva received a yellow card! It seemed normal, but the problem was that with this yellow card, he was OUT of the semifinal!
Brazil was gonna LOSE their captain for the most important match And after that, Brazil's presence in the semifinal was confirmed: What a goal! Then Colombia scored from a penalty, but couldn't do anything more and the brazilians were already celebrating! But then… Neymar suffered a knee to the back and fractured a VERTEBRA, so he was officially OUT of the World Cup!
In the semifinal, Brazil would be without their number 10 and without their captain… So now Brazil and Germany qualified, and the next match was between Argentina and Belgium! Two teams that hadn't reached a semifinal in over two decades… it was gonna be a huge match! And Belgium had a solid defense!
But just 8 minutes in… Higuaín scores the opener, Argentina takes the lead! After that, they didn't let Belgium pose much of a threat, they only shot from outside the box, and in the second half, Higuaín ALMOST scored again but hit the crossbar So Belgium couldn't score, and by just 1-0 Argentina advanced to the SEMIFINALS! Belgium eliminated!
Now there was just one more quarterfinal match: Netherlands against Costa Rica! The winner would face Argentina in the semifinal And if Keylor Navas had been a hero until then, in this match he played even better And if Navas didn't save, the post helped So, even with 20 shots, the Netherlands DIDN'T score, and the match went to PENALTIES! What a pressure, Costa Rica was just one penalty shootout away from the semifinals And the dutch manager decided to make an odd decision: he brought another keeper just for the penalty shootout!
So the keeper Tim Krul had one task: put the Netherlands in the semifinal! It was literally the only time he was having a chance in the World Cup And he didn’t let the dutch fans down… Then everyone kept scoring, until the last penalty… After topping the Group of Death and reaching the quarter-finals, Costa Rica was finally ELIMINATED! So now from 32 teams, only FOUR remained!
Brazil, Argentina, Germany, and Netherlands! 4 teams for 2 spots, and the semifinals began! With the first match being the home team against Germany… It was July 8th, 2014, and two of the biggest national teams would be competing for a spot in the FINAL!
On one side, the five-time champion Brazil playing at home, but without its captain and without its number 10! On the other, a strong Germany that struggled in some matches So Neymar would be replaced by Bernard, and Thiago Silva by Dante, who was playing in the Bundesliga and it was said that he "knew" the Germans So the match began! And it was Brazil who started attacking!
Had the first corner and even the first shot! Started really well! But just 11 minutes in, Germany had its first corner….
Muller was alone in the middle of the box and Germany scored the opener! But what nobody imagined was that soon after, Brazil would have the WORST 6 minutes of its history. .
. . Between the 23rd and 29th minute, Brazil suffered FOUR GOALS!
It was FOUR goals in six minutes, something simply unimaginable Brazil was virtually eliminated in the first half, 5 - 0! All of the 50 thousand fans couldn't believe what was happening And for the second half, Scolari made changes that improved them, but in Germany’s goal was Manuel Neuer Brazil simply couldn't score, and with Schurrle Germany humiliated even more 7-0! At least in the end, Brazil SCORED the so-called consolation goal to end the game 7-1 Germany was in the World Cup FINAL!
But they had the least-celebrated qualification ever! Knowing the humiliation just made, they were only consoling the Brazilian players After all, this was simply the biggest defeat in the history of the Brazil national team, the biggest defeat in a World Cup semifinal, and the biggest defeat of a host country, a match that will never be forgotten So Germany was in the FINAL! And in the last match they would face either the Netherlands or Argentina!
So they entered the field and, knowing what just happened in the other match, they were more careful, defending more than attacking! Argentina had better chances, but nothing that posed much of a threat! So NO ONE scored, the match went to extra time, and remained 0-0!
It was gonna be decided on PENALTIES! The second penalty shootout for the dutch, and now it was the argentine keeper who had his best night Romero saved TWICE, and the Dutch keeper this time was Cillessen who didn't save ANY! So on the last shot… Argentina qualified!
Now from 32 countries, only 2 remained and the World Cup FINAL was set: ARGENTINA against GERMANY! The last time Argentina had won the World Cup, was precisely AGAINST Germany; and the last time Germany won, it was against Argentina! This was gonna be the THIRD final between them, the first was won by Argentina, the second by Germany, and now they were heading to the Maracanã Stadium to compete for the greatest trophy Oh, and many people don't even remember, but before that, there was the third-place playoff and Brazil lost 3-0 to the Netherlands!
The dutch got the bronze medal! Now it was time to determine the CHAMPION. .
. Germany hadn't won a World Cup in 24 years and Argentina in 28 years! But more than that, both teams were trophyless since the 90s!
Germany's last title was Euros 96 and Argentina was Copa America 1993 But now, on July 13th, 2014, one of them would win the greatest title So the match began, and Argentina started attacking more! And there was a moment that could’ve changed the entire history of the tournament A missed shot that would stay forever in the minds of the Argentinians! But later, Higuaín didn't miss: Offside!
That was the second big chance and at any moment Argentina could score the opener! But Germany also had a big chance, hitting the CROSSBAR! The ball didn't wanna go in!
So the first half ended, and as soon as the match resumed Messi now had the chance of his life, it was time to score the opener! . .
. WHAT a MISS! So the draw continued, and the chances became less and less often.
. . So the manager Joachim Low made his first tactical substitution, taking off Klose to put in the young Mario Götze and the match went to extra time!
And again both teams had good chances, but they MISSED! Nobody was able to score, and in a matter of minutes the World Cup would be decided on PENALTIES! But at the 112th minute the young player that was subbed in made history Mario Gotze scored the most important goal in Germany’s history, and it was too late for Argentina to equalize!
Messi tried in a freekick but missed it! So the referee blew the final whistle 1954, 1974, 1990 and by just 1-0 over Argentina, Germany WON the 2014 World Cup! Messi won the best player award, but finished with a bitter second place and Philip Lahm lifted the greatest trophy crowning an incredible campaign!
And besides Germany, a team that didn’t win but will be remembered forever was Costa Rica! They were really the biggest surprise!
