You know how this works already. Every four years you talk yourself into thinking the country you root for has a chance in the FIFA World Cup. ‘If we could just make it out of the group stage,’ you tell yourself, thinking more with your heart than your brain. Hope is always great; it’s why we watch sports to begin with. In reality, though, only a handful of countries have a legitimate shot to win.
But success isn’t the same for every country. There are those who expect to win (Brazil, Spain and Germany), and others that have to make a deep run (Portugal, England, Argentina and Italy). It’s all about expectations and the standard to which you’re being held to. That’s how you gauge success in the World Cup. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at which countries and individual players have been the biggest surprises and disappointments so far.
Surprises
• CONCACAF: a consistent presence at the World Cup but never fully respected, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football made a giant impact this time around that hooked many to their TVs. Represented by four clubs (United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras), CONCACAF secured wins against Italy, Uruguay, Ghana, and Croatia, all clubs who are vastly superior in talent and skill. They also managed to tie Brazil, Portugal and England.
Three of the four (United States, Mexico and Costa Rica) made it out of the group stage and into the round of 16. Costa Rica remains the lone CONCACAF representative as the quarterfinal matches are beginning to take shape.
Whether it was a thrilling draw between Mexico and overwhelming favorite Brazil, or the United States defeating Ghana in the final minutes thanks to a late header from a reserve defender, CONCACAF’s impact on the World Cup was undeniable. Its run isn’t over, but all the hard work this year has set the foundation for Russia in 2018.
• James Rodriguez: The 22-year-old Colombian midfielder has quickly become the star of the World Cup. He leads all World Cup scorers with five goals, including two against Uruguay in the round of 16. Colombia was ranked in the top 10 coming into the tournament, though a large part of that had to do with superstar striker Radamel Falcao. But Falcao was ruled out before the tournament with an injury, leaving a scoring void for a country that had never made it past the group stage. Enter Rodriguez. The AS Monaco player wasn’t a big name heading into the World Cup. But he’s got everyone’s attention now, including his team’s next opponent, prohibitive favorite Brazil.
•France: Four years ago in South Africa, several players on the French national team decided to stage a mutiny against their manager Raymond Domenech in disagreement of the team’s strategy. Pictures were released of players leaving practice and hopping on a bus. They had no interest in playing. This was most certainly a low point for one of the most prestige clubs in the world. Just four years earlier, in the 2006 World Cup, they were in the World Cup Final against Italy. Now they were openly rebelling against the coach.
Fast-forward four years to now: Didier Deschamps is now in charge, and the French have an infusion of young talent to help restore the legacy of a once proud nation. Out are club stalwarts Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka. Frank Ribery, a cornerstone and leader for the French national team for over a decade, will miss the World Cup with an injury. In are Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and Paul Pogba. The results have been eye-turning. France easily demolished their competition in the group stage and then eliminated Nigeria 2-0 in the round of 16. They’ll now face Germany in quarterfinals, where they’ll look to solidify their status as one of the world’s elite.
Disappointments
• England: The country that invented fútbol seem to see the same fate every four years — disappointment, anger, and pretty soon, apathy. Again, England failed to make an impact in the World Cup, this time unable to make it out of the group stage. They have all the talent in the world, which is nothing new. Some viewed them as a dark horse to maybe win the whole thing, though it’s hard to believe a team as skilled as this could be viewed as an underdog. Changing the manager didn’t work, and more talent hasn’t necessarily been a solution. At least they’re not incredibly smug or anything.
• Diego Costa: It probably isn’t fair to just blame Diego Costa for Spain’s failure. Just about anyone from La Furia Roja could be named here. But it was Costa who made the extremely unpopular, and even controversial, decision to turn down the chance to play for Brazil in order to join Spain. Both are powerhouses with traditions few can match. On the outside there appeared to be no wrong answer, but the people of Brazil took it personally, going as far as calling Costa a traitor. Costa was going to have to have a huge World Cup if he wanted to silence his critics, and he failed miserably. Not only did he not score a goal, he didn’t even have a shot target. He botched opportunity after opportunity. The vicious boos from the Brazilian crowds got to him, and the rest of his teammates followed his demise.
• Luis Suarez: He did it again. He bit another player, the third time it’s been documented in his career. Suarez was coming off an incredible season with Liverpool in the English Premier League. He led the league in goals, but more importantly, he was starting to change the image that people had of him. Many thought, and sometimes justified, that he was lunatic. His behavior on and off the pitch was unsavory. But it was starting to change, and for while, many embraced his ferocious personality and deemed the past as the past, but not now, maybe not ever.
In the match against Italy, the Uruguayan striker bit Italian defenseman Giorgio Chiellini in the shoulder. No booking was given, just bite marks on Chiellini’s shoulder. Suarez was rightfully banned from the World Cup, suspended nine matches and four months from all fútbol activity. Maybe this will change Suarez for the better. The destructive path he’s on is robbing us of enjoying one of the best players in the world.
It’s been an incredibly entertaining World Cup so far, with matches going down to the final minutes. Several have already been determined by penalty kicks, and the current trend suggests we’ll have more close thrillers from here on out. Enjoy these moments, for we won’t get excitement like this for another four years.