The stage that the World Cup has currently reached is kind of like being half way through an absolutely brilliant novel. As the reader, you want to discover the ending. But at the same time, there is a little part of you that is kind of worried, because of the potential that the conclusion of a piece that had immense potential throughout is just not deserving of the buildup.
The group stage of Brazil 2014 was fantastic, that cannot be ignored. It made the portion of the tournament that can often be less than interesting compelling on all levels. There were incredible underdog narratives, played expertly by the Algerians and the Costa Ricans. Matches that were supposed to be disinteresting turned out to be anything but, as can be seen by Algeria v. South Korea and an Australia v. Netherlands match that was likely the best the tournament has had to offer so far. Not only this, but several of the giants of international football have already been eliminated: Italy, England and Spain.
On the pitch, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil has been a success of the highest level, containing some of the best international football, or football in general, that has been played in recent memory. However, despite the plotlines of the tournament so far it is still without structure if it does not have a compelling conclusion.
The knockout stage of the tournament is crucial to its legacy. If the way that it all ends is uninteresting then all of the plot that has predated it becomes pointless. It hardly matters who wins at this point, it is how they win that will be the truly memorable portion of this tournament.
Luckily, the deck is already stacked in favour of the knockout stages being a massive success. To begin with, there are two brilliant South American matches that are ideal for the location of the World Cup. In a rematch of when they met at this very same stage in the last edition of the tournament, the host Brazil take on Chile. Meanwhile, Columbia and Uruguay will meet in another clash of the host continent, both having impressed in the group stage.
The fun is hardly exclusive to South Americans either, the Netherlands and Mexico could be the most interesting of the round of 16 ties. Both are undefeated, and proved their worth in difficult groups against difficult opponents. USA and Belgium is a similarly tasteful matchup, pitting the tournament’s consensus “darkhorse” against an American team who surprised many by surviving the group of death.
A lack of well-known teams cripples the draw on the surface. Not have the Spanish or the Italians will be seen by many a detrimental to the quality of clubs in the knockout round. Removing England further hurts the classic narrative feel of this World Cup.
But this isn’t a bad thing, as new teams now have a chance to make their mark on the tournament. The Costa Ricans, Columbians, Nigerians, Algerians and Greeks have never won a knockout round match at the World Cup. That is going to change at this World Cup, as the Greeks and Costa Ricans meet. All of this gives a fresh feel and some new characters to the tournament’s rising action prior to the climax.
The superb lineup does not stop here, as depending upon results the next round will also offer up some brilliant matchups to further add quality to this tournament. A France v. German quarterfinal would be incredibly compelling considering the timeline for both of these teams at the tournament so far. But all of that remains up in the air, and can only be considered potential.
At this point in time, these World Cup finals have been some of the best ever. But they are meaningless, and cannot be truly contextualised or ranked, until it is clear that the conclusion matches the intricate plot that has already developed.
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