The Final Four
And then there were four…
After three and a half weeks of early starts, tight finishes and stellar goals we are closing in on the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Four teams remain, all with a genuine shot at taking home the trophy.
Regardless of what happens over the next week, this year’s tournament will go down in the history books as one of the most spectacular world cups of all time. Whether the results have gone your way or not, we should all feel lucky to have been able to witness the football spectacle that was Brazil 2014.
Let’s take a quick look at the final four teams left standing and how they rate heading into the semifinals.
Argentina
Strangely this is Argentina’s first semifinal appearance since 1990 in Italy. The South Americans made the final four courtesy of a 1-0 win over Belgium in the quarterfinals. Lionel Messi continues to be the main man for the Argentines, who is hoping to claim the World Cup title to go with his four FIFA player of the year awards. Of concern will be the withdrawal of playmaker Angel di Maria, who is likely to miss the rest of the tournament with a thigh injury.
Brazil
The host country edged past Colombia 2-1 to book their place in the final four. However the pre-tournament favourites have not looked as dominant as they were expected to be in the early stages, relying on penalties to see them through the round of sixteen over Chile. Obviously the major issue is can the team quickly get over the loss of local superstar Neymar, who will miss their match with Germany after badly injuring his back in their clash with Colombia.
Germany
Germany overcame a determined French side to make their fourth consecutive semifinal appearance. SInce their opening match 4-0 thumping of Portugal the Germans have looked destined to go far in this tournament. Thomas Muller will be the key man for Germany as they enter their match with Brazil. The Bayern Munich frontman remains in contention for the golden boot award having scored four times so far this tournament.
The Netherlands
Beaten finalists in 2010 are looking to go one better this time round. They narrowly made the semifinals after beating a spirited Costa Rican side on penalties. The Netherlands have scored more goals than any other team in this world cup and boast a frontline which any nation would be jealous of. Special mention must go to Arjen Robben, who is having a stellar world cup despite admitting he may take the occasional tumble to win free kicks for his team.
Fixtures….
Brazil vs Germany (Belo Horizonte)
Thursday 6am (AEST)
Argentina vs The Netherlands (Sao Paulo)
Friday 6am (AEST)
