By Artem Sokolov exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The final match of Germany and Argentina concluded the 20th FIFA World Cup at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro last week. The World Cup in Brazil is notable for high scores, the fourth victory of Germany, the sensational performance of Costa Rica, many individual and team records. This article concludes the cycle of materials about the World Cup.
The victory of Germany was the main event of the games. Beating Argentina, the German team became world champion for the fourth time and ended the tradition when none of the teams of the Old World could win the Cup in North or South America. The German team made it to the final for the 8th time and got into the quarterfinals for the fourth time in a row. Forward Miroslav Klose overtook Brazil's Ronaldo, scoring 16 goals in his world cup career.
Greece, U.S., Algeria, Mexico, Chili and Columbia showed great performances. But the main highlight was Costa Rica. The team had been an outsider but it managed to reach the quarter-finals, only losing to the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out.
Spain was the biggest disappointment, losing two points in the group with an overall score 1:7. England, Portugal and Italy didn't live up to expectations either, they could not make it to the playoffs. The crushing defeat of Brazil by the champion will certainly be one of the most memorable events of the championship. Not a single person could expect Brazil to let in seven goals and score only one.
Fans will doubtlessly remember the scandalous incident of Luis Suarez. Decades will pass, many game scores will be put out of mind, but the Uruguay player biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini will never be forgotten.
Goalkeepers did a tremendous job at the games. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich does not need introducing, but Keylor Navas (Costa Rica), Sergio Romero (Argentina), Claudio Bravo (Chili), Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico) and Tim Howard (U.S.) had not been very well-known before the World Cup. The latter saved 15 direct shots at goal in the match with Belgium.
Nonetheless, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove. James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot for scoring six goals. Lionel Messi was named the best player of the World Cup.
Columbian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, 43, entering the match with Japan, was the oldest player in the history of World Cups. Mexican player Rafael Marquez became the first player to be the team's captain in four World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014). Uzbek referee Ravshan Imatov set a record for the number of World Cup matches he refereed. The Netherlands vs. Costa Rica match was his 9th in the World Cup. Zead Kolasinac (Bosnia and Herzegovina) made the fastest own goal in the history of the games. He put the ball into his own goal on the 128th second. The teams beat the goal record. 171 goals were scored in 64 matches (about 2.67 goals per game).
Summarizing the event, it is obvious that Brazil succeeded in hosting the FIFA World Cup. It was the second most-attended World Cup since the 1994 Cup hosted by the U.S. Hopefully, Russia will not disappoint fans in 2018 and organize one of the most unforgettable and bright games in history.
