2014fwc_tsg_report_15082014_neutral

86Confederation analysisArgentinians also found it hard to breakdown Switzerland in the round of 16 despitedominating possession, but they scored deepinto extra time to take their place in the lasteight. An early Higuaín goal was enough tosee off Belgium in the quarter-final, and inthe semi-final two penalty shoot-out savesfrom Romero secured their place in the final.Argentina went toe-to-toe with Germanyfor the whole 120 minutes of the showpiecegame, but the two-time world champions’hearts were broken shortly before the finalwhistle.Five of the six South American teams reachedthe round of 16, where there were two all-CONMEBOL clashes. All in all, the 2014 WorldCup was the confederation’s best returnfor many a year, with a beaten finalist andanother semi-finalist. Although the SouthAmericans were ultimately unable to claimthe trophy, teams such as Chile and Colombiashowed the world just how far they haveprogressed, which gives South Americanfootball hope for an even brighter future.EuropeAs at South Africa 2010, seven Europeanteams bowed out at the end of the groupstage. A victory over Cameroon was notenough for Croatia to reach the knockoutstages. Spain suffered the same fate as Italyfour years earlier, with the defending worldchampions also knocked out in the groupstage. There were shocks in store for Italyand England too, with both failing to getpast Uruguay and Costa Rica. World Cupdebutants Bosnia and Herzegovina defeatedIran but failed to make it out of their group,and Portugal came up short in their race withthe USA due to their inferior goal difference.Finally, Russia failed to live up to expectationsand were eliminated with two points.The Netherlands, however, stunned Spainin their opening match and marched all theway to the semi-finals on the back of victoriesover Australia, Chile, Mexico and Costa Ricabefore Argentina brought their run to an endin a penalty shoot-out. The Oranje performedexcellently as a unit throughout, with Robbenand Van Persie coming to the fore, and theycrowned their impressive tournament withvictory over Brazil in the match for third place.Greece surprised many observers with a brandof football that was more attacking than inprevious years, and they were rewarded witha place in the round of 16 after a late penaltysaw off Côte d’Ivoire. Their round-of-16 clashwith Costa Rica was a tight encounter over120 minutes that ended in a penalty shootout,with the Greeks ultimately missing out.Honduras, Switzerland and Ecuador posedfew problems in the group stage for France,who also overcame Nigeria in the round of16 with two second-half goals from set piecesbefore Germany again ended their dreamsof a place in the last four. Having successfullyblooded a number of promising young players,Les Bleus can now look forward to EURO2016 on home soil with renewed confidence.Switzerland also went into the tournamentwith justified hopes of doing well, and theygot off to a dream start with a fortunate lastgaspwin over Ecuador. A devastating defeat