2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

10
Story of the tournament
STORY OF THE TOURNAMENT
Group stage
Group A: Brazil advance as expected
Hosts Brazil started strongly with a 3-1
win over Croatia while Mexico overcame
Cameroon 1-0 in the opening round. After
being held to a goalless draw against Mexico
in their second match, Brazil had to wait until
their last match to ensure their passage to
the round of 16, which they did with a 4-1
victory over Cameroon. Meanwhile, Mexico
put in a rousing second-half performance to
beat Croatia 3-1 and advance with the hosts.
Cameroon lost all their matches, including 4-0
to Croatia, who finished in third place.
Group B: an early exit for the defending
champions
The Netherlands cruised into the knockout
stage on the back of three victories in the
group stage: a 5-1 demolition of reigning
world champions Spain, followed by a 3-2
win over Australia and a hard-fought 2-0 win
in the final group clash with Chile. La Roja’s
early departure was confirmed after they lost
2-0 to Chile in the second game, though they
took away a 3-0 consolation victory against
the Socceroos in their final match. Chile joined
the Oranje in the next round by overcoming
Australia 3-1, with six points proving enough
to advance. Australia suffered three defeats
but put in a memorable performance against
the Netherlands as they went down 3-2.
Group C: teams on equal footing
South American hopefuls Colombia made
a good start by beating Greece 3-0 in the
opening match and went on to win their
other games: 2-1 against Côte d’Ivoire and
4-1 against Asian champions Japan to march
convincingly into the second round. Greece