Fifa World Cup 2014 Brazil Column
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Messi to win against the machine / Messi to win against the machine
The moment has come. The moment is to decide who will take the World Cup home—Argentina or Germany? Who will have the final smile— team with a superstar or an all star team?
Goodbye, Big Phil / Goodbye, Big Phil
The Orange humiliation could have been harsher even. Thanks to the pulled-hamstring of Sneijder, Brazilians could get some sort of respite. The margin of defeat could have been more humiliating if not the No. 10 Dutch had to sit out the match.
Fifa gains in game of losers / Fifa gains in game of losers
Here comes a game that no one wants to be involved in. What glory two losers can achieve from a third-placing deciding game? For teams, nothing but the Cup matters. It’s just cruel to ask one of the losing semifinalists to lose again.
Shock bigger than Maracanazo / Shock bigger than Maracanazo
A tragedy, bigger than Maracanazo, has consumed Brazil Wednesday. Brazil were thrown out of the World Cup; a heart-break that the hosts could get over with. But a 7-1 thrashing by the Germans? No way! Brazil would never be able to swallow the insult.
Portugal missed an Eusebio
Christiano Ronaldo's World Cup is over as well Portugal's. His hands were on his hips, eyes a bit watery and lips quivering. His expressions said it all: the quest of the world's best footballer ended in a whimper. At 29, Ronaldo knew well that his best chance to win a World Cup for him and his country as well just slipped away.
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Messi relaxed, ominous for opponents
Lionel Messi is now relaxed. He is scoring and smiling, just the way he does those for his club Barcelona. This time at the World Cup, Argentina's jersey of white and light blue in vertical stripes agrees well with him. His nightmare with the national team seems to be over.
Will The Cannibal bite or score?
Luis Suarez does not bark; he bites. The Uruguay striker seems to have a clear hunger for goals and opponents. Banned or fined, Suarez keeps biting.
Italy tried not to win
Lots of inquests will follow, for sure, the defeat of the four-time winners. But seeing the match Tuesday, one can come only to one conclusion: Italy lost as they did not try to win.
Better, the best is yet to come
It’s incredibly unbelievable the way fortune fluctuated in the last eight minutes of the match between the Netherlands and Mexico. Sure winners turned losers. Happy faces suddenly became horrified with heart-breaks. What a turn of events! The World Cup certainly unfolded one of its best dramas in Brazil.
An advance goodbye to Ronaldo
Lionel Messi is now relaxed. He is scoring and smiling, just the way he does those for his club Barcelona. This time at the World Cup, Argentina's jersey of white and light blue in vertical stripes agrees well with him. His nightmare with the national team seems to be over.
Big guns, watch out!
Salute to minnows. Rank outsiders Iran and Ghana played like champions to offer football buffs a night to remember. Two nail-biting, grinding matches in which biggies nearly bit the dust! They gave their much vaunted opponents Argentina and Germany a good run for their money.
Costa Rica: Cameroon of 1990?
England tumbled out of the World Cup as Costa Rica turned the Group D upside down, beating four-time world champion Italy 1-0. The result causes double heartbreaks for two football giants.
Beware! Suarez to stay
Luis Suarez was an instant impact. Back from a surgery table four weeks ago and having trained with the team only for a day, Suarez appeared as lethal as before. He sat out the first match that Uruguay played against Costa Rica for not being fully fit.
Spain succumb to success fatigue!
Luis Suarez does not bark; he bites. The Uruguay striker seems to have a clear hunger for goals and opponents. Banned or fined, Suarez keeps biting.