It has probably been the greatest World Cup in the lifetime of most supporters. And, unless you have a very clear memory of 1966, there’s a very good chance that it’s been the best tournament you’ve ever seen. Of course we’re very nearly at the end, but not quite. Still to come we have Sunday, Rio de Janeiro, Germany vs Argentina, the final.
It’s a perfect time for reflection, a chance to bask in the glow of what has been a tremendous World Cup while speculating on the wonders that it is still to bring us. The first knock out round has passed and we are left with 8 teams. All of which have arrived at this stage on merit and all of which must now believe that, having reached the quarter finals they harbour at least a small chance of winning it.
The group stages of this summer’s world cup are done and dusted – effectively marking the halfway point of the greatest show on earth –and 16 teams remain for the knock-out stages.
The perceived wisdom among the football fraternity is that, so far, the extravaganza in Brazil has been highly (and perhaps refreshingly) entertaining.
By and large, the games have been relatively open affairs, with chances created and goals aplenty. (We currently stand at a fraction shy of an average of three goals per game, which is clearly testament to the attacking philosophy applied by most of the combatants.
T
he real World Cup experience can’t be found in Brazil, there I said it. Brazil seems to be hosting a fantastic tournament, don’t get me wrong. But this is just for a lucky minority. The real experience can be found in living rooms up and down the country and that is what I will be having this evening.
The real World Cup experience.Me, with an 11pm kick off while an early start at work waits for me tomorrow morning. It’s a 32inch TV, not the 52inch that everyone on the Curry’s adverts seems to be buying solely for the tournament. And joining me will be a few cans of Kopparberg (other fruity ciders are available) as all of my actual friends are far too sensible to stay up until 1am on a school night. And who could blame them?
At long last, it is finally here, the 2014 World Cup. The footballing feast that we won’t see again for four years has served up much to discuss so far and we’ve only just begun. Of course nothing can be perfect and this tournament is no exception…