A week may be a long time in politics, but Germany needed only six minutes to seal the fate of Brazil in their 7-1 rout of the World Cup hosts earlier this week. The lifeless semi-final which followed showed that both the Netherlands and Argentina were so scared by Brazil’s unprecedented concession of four goals in less time than it takes to boil an egg that they preferred to settle for penalty kicks after two hours of monotonous defence. These disappointments leave the hosts facing unexpectedly stiff competition for third place, while enduring the humiliation of watching the hated Argentines chase the top honours, somewhat undeservedly.
This may well have been the most exciting World Cup, largely because national reputations have counted for little. Spain’s tiki-taka play dominated for all of 44 minutes, before Robin Van Persie’s aerobatic header consigned it, and its most accomplished practitioners, to the dustbin of history. Costa Rica, the designated ‘also-rans’ of the Group of Death swept all before them, even after falling behind to Uruguay. Mexico came within two minutes of defeating the Dutch, and would probably have managed to see them off but for a penalty earned by one of the tournament’s most shameful dives. Even Iran held Argentina to a stalemate for 90 minutes, and only the woodwork kept Brazil alive against Chile. Algeria, Belgium and Switzerland also showed that they could hold their own against countries with more distinguished footballing reputations.
Although the refereeing at the tournament has been as inconsistent as ever, despite the vanishing foam and goal-line technology, some of the worst lapses have been offset by postmodern flashes of humour. When, for example, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez bit an Italian defender, the Twitter feed for several well-known brands seized their opportunity. Tweeting in Spanish, McDonald’s told Suarez to bite a BigMac if he was still hungry, while Listerine recommended “a good swish after grabbing a bite of Italian.” It is truly a sign of the times that neither of these remarks was as fatuous as Suarez’ formal explanation of the incident, or Uruguay’s official response to the FIFA investigation that followed.
Several of the biggest stories occurred off the pitch. When Italy was beaten by Costa Rica, FIFA decided to test 7 of the players from the Central American squad instead of the customary two. Understandably incensed, Diego Maradona suggested that Los Ticos had been placed under the microscope because FIFA’s sponsors didn’t like it when the big teams failed to progress. (A FIFA statement later explained the five extra players had been screened after the match because they had not been available for pre-tournament testing.)
FIFA itself faced increasingly embarrassing allegations of corruption. Shortly after the tournament started, the iconic German player Franz Beckenbauer was banned from attending matches after refusing to cooperate with a bribery probe into the vote that awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Later on a director of FIFA’s hospitality provider was arrested by Brazilian police for his involvement in an alleged £200 million ticket scam. On the eve of the finals, even stranger news broke of several hundred Ghanaian fans seeking asylum in Brazil after travelling there to watch the World Cup, claiming to be “fleeing the violent conflicts between different Muslim groups,” according to the local police chief.
Football has always brought out the best and worst in nations that compete at the highest levels, but it can also transcend these boundaries. Footage of the Brazilian crowd applauding Germany’s second half goals against their own team capture this spirit perfectly. As the tournament reaches its climax, the stage is set for two final confrontations between the ruthless efficiency of the European squads and the inconsistent brilliance that is the hallmark of so many South American sides. Brazil may yet salvage some pride from their match against the Netherlands, and Argentina, collectively holding its breath for the sublime Lionel Messi to recover from his recent slump, may somehow prevail against Germany.
