The first knockout round is over and whilst all the big boys got through, it wasn't easy. Extra time and penalties were the name of the game. Here's a look at ten things we learnt in the first set of knockout games.
Twitter virals galore – From #TheGreatWallofOchoa to #ThingsTimHowardcansave (Titanic, Twin Towers, Luis Saurez) there has never been a better time for sport fans to get involved with the game through social media. From celebrities such as Timberland branding Tim Howard as ‘dope’ and Joe Biden, America's Vice President, tweeting to congratulate him, everyone seems to be getting in on the act!
0-0 is the new 3-2 - The likes of Belgium v USA showed us just how exciting a 0-0 draw can be, and despite it being the late kick off (in the UK at least), the majority of people watching were begging for extra time and even penalties just to get an extra half hour of viewing. It was survival of the fittest this round with late goals popping up like there is no tomorrow. Heaven for some, heartbreak for others.
Win your group at all costs – All eight group winners have gone though. Therefore it is probably a wise move to make sure you top the group. Not only do you get an extra days rest, you get the so called ‘easier' draw. Not that the eight runners up would agree though, taking it down to the wire and making sure they gave their victors a real run for their money.
Goalkeepers galore – From Julio Cesar to Keylor Navas, Memo Ochoa and Tim Howard, it seems the spotlight this World Cup is firmly planted on goalkeepers, not forwards and given the sublime performances from all four mentioned above, so it should be. With penalty shootouts and knockout rounds giving them the chance to shine, the bar has well and truly been raised.
James Rodriguez – The kid is world class. The Monaco forward looks like lifting the Golden Boot and getting his dream move to Real Madrid, and on his displays so far, we don’t blame the Champions League winners for closing in on the Columbia star. Against Brazil, Columbia will need all their stars to shine, but none will be brighter than Rodriguez.
'Get' and 'Deserve' are totally different things in football – Teams like Chile, Mexico and the USA deserved far more than they got in the knockout rounds and won the hearts of the public. Of course, it is little consolation to them for us to say that, they would much rather be the ones in the next round of the World Cup!
The other Flying Dutchman – Arjen Robben is back up to his old tricks and has come in for a fair amount of stick because of it. The Dutch winger even admitted to diving, although not to win the penalty that sent his country through, and has once again sparked a debate over whether it's part of the modern game or not. Mexico may have gone mad, but you can bet anything they would have been happy to win a contentious penalty and go through themselves!
Not so big boys – Both Argentina and Brazil edged through their group and will have to improve if they want to get further in the competition. There are no easy games at this stage and another moment of Messi magic was enough to see Argentina through. Holland and Germany were no better with both teams lucky to get through to the quarter finals.
Drama, drama and more drama – Costa Rica v Greece may have been panned on twitter for consisting of mainly misplaced passes, fouls, yellow cards and more misplaced passes, but the game still produced drama. A late goal again from Greece against 10 man Costa Rica was enough to take it to extra time and penalties. Both teams had clearly been practicing and Keylor Navas was the hero of the hour sending Costa Rica through.
Go hard or go home – Heroes are emerging and whilst Neymar may not have had the best game of his life against Chile, to step up and take the most pressured penalty of recent times and score speaks volumes about the Barcelona star. Angel Di Maria was panned through Argentina’s game but managed to last through extra time and score the winning goal. Those who want to hide and bottle it have no place at this World Cup.
What did the first knockout round teach you? Let us know in the comments below.
