2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

84Confederation analysisnext round ahead of Portugal thanks to theirsuperior goal difference. They were unable toovercome Belgium in the round of 16 though,as a hard-fought battle over 120 minutesultimately ended in a narrow victory for theRed Devils. Honduras proved themselves tobe committed and stubborn opponents, butin their first match against France, their hopestook a blow shortly before half-time whenPalacios saw red and Les Bleus took the leadfrom the penalty spot. Los Catrachos heldtheir own against Ecuador, only to be hit onthe counter-attack in the second half andagain left empty-handed, and an early Swissgoal in their third match set them on the roadto another defeat.Overall, CONCACAF teams have madeimpressive progress. Good developmentwork has seen the gap between the teamsnarrow, which automatically means thatthere is healthy competition and an improvedstandard of football.South AmericaAs the host confederation, South America hadset its sights on bringing the World Cup backto the region, especially as for the first timesince 1930 CONMEBOL had six representativesin the mix.Hosts Brazil were not entirely convincingwith their attacking game not quite clickinginto gear and some coordination problemsobvious in defence. Nevertheless, theysurvived the group stage without too manyproblems. The round of 16 saw them pittedagainst Chile, and the hosts needed somesteely nerves, as well as an outstandingperformance from goalkeeper Júlio César,before they prevailed on penalties. Theythen upped their game to see off Colombiain the quarter-final. The hosts’ win cameat a heavy cost, however, as they went intothe semi-final without two key players –Neymar and Thiago Silva – who were lostto injury and suspension respectively, withNeymar eventually sitting out the rest ofthe tournament. An incomprehensibly poorperformance against Germany meant thatBrazil did not have the chance to play forthe title on home soil, and they were alsounable to bounce back in the match for thirdplace. Chile were another of the surprises