This year’s FIFA World Cup tournament was full of huge moments and even bigger surprises. Despite any emotional turmoil you may have faced during these last few weeks, the World Cup captured the attention of million of fans all over the world. Here’s a quick roundup of some of the tournament’s most jaw-dropping, awe-inducing, tear-jerking moments.
World Cup Firsts
- This year’s competition should’ve been called the Underdog Cup, because overlooked teams got their opportunity to shine. One of those teams was Costa Rica, who was able to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in their nation’s history!
- Starting soccer players rarely get breaks, if any at all, so viewers at home knew the weather must have been unbearable if the scorching temperatures forced the first water break in World Cup history. With the next upcoming games in Russia, the weather will at least be more favorable.
- In the 113th minute of the final match between Argentina and Germany, Mario Götze scored and brought home Germany’s fourth World Cup title as they were the first European country to win in a North or South American-hosted tournament.
Team USA
- Sometimes it seems that nothing brings together a country more than sports, and Team USA undoubtedly became #1Team1Nation. During our match against Ghana, half of the nation probably missed the first goal scored by Clint Dempsey. With the score 1-0 just 32 seconds into the game, it became the fifth-fastest goal in World Cup history.
- At halftime during the Ghana match, John Brooks was substituted in and, admittedly, it didn’t seem anyone was paying him much attention. That all changed when he scored the winning goal to victory that sent the country into a frenzy!
- As America made it to the quarterfinals, we all watch Tim Howard carry the team as far as he could with a World Cup record of 16 saves against Belgium.
Biggest Surprises
- None of us expected the defending champion of Spain to be eliminated so early from the competition after just two matches against the Netherlands and Chile.
- Tragedy struck for the host team of Brazil as star player Neymar suffered from a fractured vertebra. Unfortunately, neither Neymar nor the Brazil team could recover from his absence and were eliminated within the next two games.
- Speaking of star players, many soccer fans were surprised at Christiano Ronaldo’s performance, or what some considered a lack thereof. Scoring only one goal during his time in the tournament, many expected a much more fiery on-field presence.
As “football” aka soccer becomes more and more popular in America, we are excited to see how the World Cup culture continues to change within our country. Until the summer of 2018 in Russia, we’ll be getting our fix through Philadelphia Union games.
What were your favorite memories from World Cup 2014?
