2014 World Cup Recap: Week Two

In one wild week, the group stage came to a chaotic end and the knockout rounds have been set. We’ve seen former champs (Spain, Italy, England) go down and Cinderella teams (Costa Rica, Algeria, Greece) make a run to the round of sixteen. Let’s take a look at the events that transpired and what to expect in the coming week. Best goal(s): Leo Messi, all of them The best player in the world has lived up to his monstrous expectations so far with four goals, including three in the past week. All of the goals have been impressive, but with skill and timing factored in, his goal against Iran stands above the rest. Most heartbreaking elimination: Ivory Coast With a spot in the knockout round all but secured, “Les Elephants” were robbed of their first round of sixteen birth thanks to the most controversial penalty kick given out in the Cup so far. Greece made the kick and lived to play another day, while the best team in Africa was left to ponder what happened. The “Oh no, not again” award: Luis Suarez Most soccer fans, myself included, wanted to believe that Suarez had gotten past his early career antics. He was dominating games for Liverpool in the Premier League and for his national team, Uruguay. But then the Mr. Hyde side of Suarez flared up again. Now Italy is unfairly watching at home, and Uruguay is missing its best player. The “Too little too late” award: Spain With two games and some national embarrassment behind them, the Spanish national team finally decided to play like themselves in their...