Keylor Navas – Costa Rica – Average rating 80.31
Rank: No.8 In the World Cup 2014
الثلاثاء، 15 سبتمبر 2015
Xherdan Shaqiri
Xherdan Shaqiri – Switzerland – Average rating 81.50
Rank: No.5 In the World Cup 2014
Shaqiri v Honduras
Shaqiri v Honduras
Switzerland’s star man waited until his side’s crucial final group game to act as match-winner. Shaqiri scored the tournament’s second hat-trick, with his first goal the pick of the three. In the sixth minute of the game, the Bayern Munich man held off one Honduran player before
launching a 25-yard left footed strike that arrowed into the far roof of the net.
launching a 25-yard left footed strike that arrowed into the far roof of the net.
Messi v Iran
Messi v Iran
Lionel Messi deprived Iran of what would have been their greatest World Cup point with an injury-time winner that guaranteed his side a place in the knockout stages. The playmaker tripled his World Cup goal tally with his second of the tournament. It came after a determined Iran had looked close to winning the game. But Messi struck with 90 minutes on the clock with a stunning individual effort that broke Iranian hearts but marked his arrival at Brazil 2014.
Luiz v Colombia
Luiz v Colombia
In a World Cup strangely devoid of brilliant free-kicks, David Luiz’s rocket against Colombia stands out as the best of them. His 35-yard bullet doubled his side’s lead, but will be remembered as much for the defender’s unadulteratedly joyous celebration. Luiz later put his dead-ball ability down to a peculiarity in
his DNA: “‘I think it was genetic, my legs were born like this.”
his DNA: “‘I think it was genetic, my legs were born like this.”
Jermaine Jones v Portugal
Jermaine Jones v Portugal
Jermaine Jones’ wonder strike of an equaliser against Portugal was one of the most unexpected, but brilliant goals of the tournament. The midfielder shifted the ball on to his right foot before hitting an unsaveable shot that arrowed into the corner of the net, leaving Portuguese stopper Beto planted. It was a goal that sent the Yankees and many of their new
adopted fans, into rapture.
adopted fans, into rapture.
Tim Cahill's volley
The former Millwall and Everton man’s howitzer against Holland was one of the best strikes of the tournament. Cahill, who seemed to watch the ball coming over his head for an age, allowed it to land on his left foot, smacking his volley into the underside of the crossbar. It was a goal with echoes of Marco van Basten and according to Brazilian goal-scoring legend Ronaldo, is one of the best goal’s
ever scored in a World Cup.
ever scored in a World Cup.
Neymar's side foot v Cameroon
Neymar's side foot v Cameroon
The 100th goal scored in the World Cup was a Neymar special. The 22-year-old talisman put his side in front with a touch of genius, getting on the end of a Luiz
Gustavo cross and cushioning the ball, with his side-foot, into the corner of the goal.
Gustavo cross and cushioning the ball, with his side-foot, into the corner of the goal.
Rodriguez v Uruguay
Rodriguez v Uruguay
Colombia’s James Rodriguez registered an impressive haul of six goals at the World Cup. All six were significant in their own way, but none will stick in the memory more than his chest trap, swivel, and left-footed dipping volley that looked like it had come straight from a Fifa
video game simulation.
video game simulation.
Van Persie v Spain
Van Persie v Spain
Robin van Persie scored the first headed goal of the World Cup. It’s unlikely that a header of such sinew-busting gravity-defying magnificence will ever be scored again.
Van Persie’s moment of inspired improvisation to get on the end of a 60-yard ball from Daley Blind had reminisces of Dennis Bergkamp against Argentina at France 1998. That single touch has already led to thousands of grass-eating imitations, the issuance of a Dutch commemorative coin, and it’s own noun: ‘Persieing’.
Kick-off Date
The 2014 World Cup officially gets underway on Thursday, 12 June, at 5 p.m. local time.
Brazil, as hosts, will open the World Cup against one of their group opponents, as is customary.
The match will take place in Sao Paolo.
The Brazuca Ball
The official ball to be used at the 2014 World Cup is the adidas Brazuca.
You can see it here—though the actual ball is still being developed.
Like the mascot, the ball was named by public vote and will only feature for the finals.
Brazil's 2014 Mascot
Who doesn't love a photo of an armadillo with Ronaldo?
The 2014 FIFA World Cup mascot is named "Fuleco," as voted for by the Brazilian public.
He is an armadillo who can curl up into a (foot)ball and, according to his own website, he will be 14 years old at the time of the World Cup. He is a Brazilian three-banded Armadillo, apparently.
The blue shell represents Brazil's fertility and landscape, the skies and the water.
Who knew?
Set That Alarm Clock
OK, firstly, kick-off times on the FIFA website are in local timezones.
Group games generally kick off at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., but there is plenty of variation along the way. Knock-out ties are at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., with the final kicking off at 4 p.m. just to be awkward.
If you're based in central Europe, you'll need to add five hours on for your kick-off times. If the UK is your home, add only four. For Stateside folk on Pacific time, Brazil is six hours ahead. For Eastern time, that's just three hours ahead.
I think.
You best check.
How the Groups Are Organised
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With the emphasis of the World Cup being to pit the best of each continent against each other, it is natural that FIFA would want to limit the occurrences where nations from the same zone face off.
As such, the group stages of the World Cup will not feature any two nations from the same qualifying zone in the same quartet, with the exception of European teams. Up to two European teams can be in the same group.
For example, in with Brazil (CONMEBOL) in Group A could be Japan (AFC), England (UEFA) and United States (CONCACAF)—but not Uruguay or Chile, who are also from the CONMEBOL zone.
A UEFA-based seed such as Spain could end up with an additional European team, however.
The Big Draw
December 6.
Mark that date in your calendar, for that is when the draw for the group stages of the World Cup will be made.
Everybody will naturally be on the lookout for a so-called Group of Death, pitting four relatively big, hopeful nations against each other, while for the neutral, looking to see who gets to face Brazil is always exciting to anticipate.
The draw will take place in Bahia.
Previous Winners Taking Part
There are no less than eight previous winners of the FIFA World Cup set to take part in Brazil 2014.
One of those, of course, is the host nation; Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, the last of which came in 2002.
Italy (four wins), Germany (three), Uruguay, Argentina (twice each), England, France and Spain (once each) are the others.
Winners in South America
The World Cup might only be in Brazil for the second time, but this will be the fifth time overall that it has been hosted on South American soil—and the first time since 1978.
On that occasion, Argentina won the tournament in their own country in front of their own fans.
Previous to that, Chile hosted the '62 final, won by Brazil; Uruguay, of course, won in Brazil in 1950; and the first-ever World Cup finals, held in 1930, took place in Uruguay. The host nation also won on that occasion.
In short, no nation from outside South America has ever won the World Cup on South American soil.
Extend that into North and Central America and the same pattern emerges, with only Brazil and Argentina winning tournaments hosted in Mexico (twice) and the United States.
2nd Time Brazil Has Hosted World Cup
Considering Brazil is seen by many as the spiritual home of football, it is perhaps surprising that this is just the second time that the World Cup will be staged in the country.
The fourth World Cup, in 1950, was held in Brazil, with Uruguay beating the hosts 2-1 in the last final group game to win the trophy.
The winning goal in that game, scored by Alcides Ghiggia, came just 10 minutes from the end of the game, where a draw would have seen Brazil lift the trophy on home soil instead.
Now, 64 years later, they will hope to amend that record.
Fans Breakdown so Far
It's completely impossible to know how many fans each nation will bring, since many travel to the World Cup merely for the atmosphere, the celebration and to witness the tournament at close quarters without actually entering the stadium for a game.
However, FIFA have released a breakdown of which nations have bought the most tickets so far.
Naturally, Brazil have the lion's share, with around 62 percent of all tickets so far going to Brazilian residents.
The United States snapped up more than 65,000 tickets, England around 22,000 of the initial allocation and Germany 18,000. Australia, Canada, France and Colombia also all picked up more than 10,000 each, with Switzerland, Japan and Argentina further down the order
Tickets and Prices
How's your luck?
Following reports of more than six million requests for tickets for the World Cup next summer, FIFA announced in November that around 1.1 million tickets had been allocated to fans.
A further batch of tickets will be made available for sale on December 8 after the group stage draw has been made. In total, around three million tickets will be available for purchase for the entirety of the World Cup.
Prices vary depending on whether fans are overseas or Brazilian residents and, of course, depending on the stage of the competition and demographic of the purchaser. Group stage games start at €69 for overseas buyers and €11 for local residents, as reported by Henry Jackson of Goal.com.
A seat at the World Cup final itself will set you back a minimum of €335, with the highest cost reported at a staggering €755.
Ready on Time?
The stadium works can't be talked about without acknowledging the unfortunate and indeed tragic accident that occurred recently in Sao Paolo.
Two workers died when a crane fell and destroyed part of the stadium as it was putting up a section of a roof.
That stadium in particular will now have its deadline for completion put back until around February, but it is not the only one that is yet to be finished.
BBC News' Wyre Davies reported recently that up to half of the 12 stadiums are not yet complete and are potentially struggling to meet the deadline for being finished.
Sustainability Long Term
With that in mind, FIFA's constant message is that bringing a World Cup to a nation, or indeed a continent, can have long-term benefits.
Their Sustainable Strategy document, viewable online, details how the World Cup can have benefits in the future on both society and the environment.
Ethics, anti-corruption, transparency and accountability all figure prominently as keywords for FIFA's commitment to the country and the people within it, phrases and words that could come as quite a surprise (or an irony) to those who oppose or criticise the organisation for a distinct lack of every one.
Still, football is a massive pull to the youth of Brazil, and it would be hoped that the social impact can be a lasting (and positive) one.
Civil Unrest?
As football-mad a country as it is, not everybody in Brazil is happy about the World Cup.
Not the tournament itself, but the vast sums of money being spent on it.
The protests from civilians, seen during the Confederations Cup during the summer of 2013, are expected to go on up to the World Cup and perhaps even during it. As per BBC News, activists are reported as saying:
We're not against the World Cup itself, but how the process of the World Cup has been made here. The public haven't been involved in any of the decisions.
Another stated:
I think people are angry because of this huge investment [in the stadium] that won't really be useful after the World Cup. They could have done better things with the money, like investing in health and education which are bigger problems here now.
There shouldn't be any real reason to think that the population of Brazil will not be welcoming to visitors and be a big part of the tournament atmosphere while the World Cup takes place, but it is certainly worth remembering that the World Cup effects must linger on after the tournament is over with.
The Stadia
The stadia themselves are an array of the new and old, revamped and redesigned, the inner-town and the close-to-coast.
B/R's Christopher Atkins has put together a comprehensive stadium guide, starting with Belo Horizonte, which you can check out for further details.
In full, the list comprises the following grounds:
Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte
Estadio Nacional de Brasilia, Brasilia
Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba
Arena da Baixada, Curitiba
Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza
Arena Amazonia, Manaus
Estadio das Dunas, Natal
Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
Arena Pernambuco, Recife
Estadio Do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro
Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
Arena de Sao Paolo, Sao Paolo.
The smallest, by capacity, is Arena da Baixada, which holds around 28,000, while the Maracana will seat up to 89,000.
More Cities Than Ever Before
The 2014 World Cup will see matches take place in 12 different cities, more than any other finals on record.
From north to south, there will be games in Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Cuiaba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre.
Twelve cities, 12 stadiums and some very distinct and different landscapes in the surrounding areas; the World Cup in Brazil will be a showpiece in a diverse country indeed.
Temperatures, Humidity, Conditions
As such a large country, it shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that temperatures, humidity and all-round conditions can vary hugely in Brazil when comparing, for example, Fortaleza (north) to Porto Alegre (most southern city).
B/R's Christopher Atkins provides a comprehensive rundown of how the different cities will compare here.
Manaus in the northwest is likely where humidity will be highest, and the temperatures there could be around the mid-30s Celsius, he reports.
European nations, on the other hand, might prefer Porto Alegre, where the average June temperature is around 19 degrees.
One Single World Cup Debutant
The World Cup being held every four years usually allows a few nations to experience the event for the first time, through the natural cycle of improvement and decline of different countries. Of course, the more first-timers there are, the fewer there are left, too.
This time around, Brazil 2014 will witness just a single new nation at the finals, with Bosnia-Herzegovina ready to feature at their first major tournament.
They won the UEFA zone Group G to take their place in Brazil next year.
The Nations Taking Part i World Cup 2014
Most important of all to know, of course, is the full list of 32 nations taking part.
So here they are, broken down by zones:
Hosts: Brazil
South America: Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay
North/Central America and Caribbean: United States, Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico
Asia: Japan, Australia, Iran and South Korea
Africa: Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Algeria
Europe: Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Croatia and France.
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