WC14: Then They Were Four... by Odler Robert Jeanlouie

... and the last four are: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Holland.

Before the competition kicks off, the predicted likely winners were Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain, in that order. No one gave a bone of Holland's chances against Brazil in the first knockout phase.

Not much has changed since then, except that Spain unraveled in the first round and yielded its position to Holland. Holland will remain that fourth unforeseen knight that always come out of nowhere. A the end, the world order was preserved. Power to the powerhouses!

At the conclusion of the quarterfinals, the Old Continent and the New Continent have remained in parity: Americas: 2, Europe: 2... Which one will win?

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Exited: France, Colombia, Belgium, Costa Rica...

The amazing story of these quarterfinals remains the tale of Costa-Rica the Cinderella. Playing a non-scintillating football based on defensive pragmatism, with no recognizable star, Costa Rica held Holland for 120 minutes and was one penalty short of entering the last four, intead of Holland. THIS would have been a major surprise and a pride for the American Continent in its derby against Europe. These heroes from Costa Rica, akin of the 2010 Ghanaian avengers, played their luck, their heart, their soul, and their tears, and eventually lost... But no one will forget their feat of coming from nowhere.

It is unfortunate that we cannot have two or three Champions in the World Cup. Colombia should have been one of them; they deserve it. The only side in the tournament playing highly technical offensive Brazilian jogo bonito is out, after a high pace joust lost 1-2 to the host nation. They were deprived of Falcao; that was a blessing in disguise. A new star is born; his name is James Rodriguez; he has been the MVP of this tournament. This fresh, enthusiastic young team has a terrific future. After an absence of 26 years, is it only the beginning of the Colombian revival?

Belgium is another side with a bright future. They should continue their integration policy and come up with the most capable gladiators. With Courtois, Eden Hazard and Ogiri, they already have some glorious substrate for the 2016 Euro Cup that starts in two months and for the 2018 World Cup that begins in two years. Their unlucky quarterfinal against Argentina was a tactical masterpiece lost against Messi, arguably the best player in the world. It was a clean 0-1 in regulation that they could never find a equalizer for.

Shameful France! For the quarterfinal against Germany, their neighbor d'Outre Rhin, the African Team of the Republic of France did... nothing. Football fanatics, from the world at large, were anxiously awaiting a re-edition of the (3-3) 1986 classic, with maybe a different outcome.
What happened on Saturday was not even a bad sequel. Germany scored early (13th) with a Hummels' header. For 77 flat minutes, there was no response. Complete apathy on both sides. The Germans were happy to cruise into their record fourth consecutive qualification for the semis. The young French, who never read anything about WWI and WWII, were content to have made it to this unexpected far. Happy, happy...

The merry-go-round of top football nations has remained unbroken. Pick your tune: Brazil cannot beat France, France cannot beat Germany, Germany cannot beat Italy, Italy cannot beat Brazil. Ole! Now repeat...


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The sideshow of these quarterfinals has been mostly sad.

Neymar, the Brazilian wunderkind whose shoulders carry the hope of an entire nation of 201 million Brazilians is out. The Barcelona player was carried off the field after a shock with Camilo Zuniga, the Colombian full-back of Napoli.

Intentional or not, the shock was violent enough to cause a fracture of Neymar's third lumbar vertebra. It should not be. Though the injury does not require surgery, Neymar is out for four weeks, and thereby will miss the reminder of the Cup. Zumiga has received death threats and FIFA is looking into the incident for a possible lengthy sanction.

The captain of Paris Saint Germain and of the Brazilian national team, Thiago Silva, will miss the semi final against Germany, after two cumulative yellow cards...

Argentina, a serious contender among the last four, has also lost a major piece of its wonder machine finally tuned in Brazil. Di Maria, the Real Madrid play maker who plays so much like Oswaldo Ardiles, is out of the semis due to a hamstring sprain.

With two matches remaining, German veteran Miroslav Klose has been, since last June 21, a co-record man, with Brazilian great Ronaldo. They both scored the most World Cup goals. Klose, 36, is at his fourth World Cup, and his 15th goal was scored against Ghana. He has feverishly looked for his 16th against France. It never came; he was substituted.

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Brazil-Germany (2002) and Argentina-Holland (1978) were historical World Cup finals. This year, they are obligated path to the finals.

Will the absence of Neymar, Thiago and Di Maria affect the performance of their respective team? Being locker room leaders and key players in the tactical scheme hatched out by their coaches, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. But the history of the World Cup is fraught with precedents that brings a different answer: probably not.

In 1962, in Chile, Pele was injured during the first round of the competition. He was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Garrincha (Manuel Francisco dos Santos) rose to the challenge and delivered. Brazil became the second and last country to win two successive World Cup titles.

In 2010, Michael Ballack, the German star, beau garcon, and play-maker, was ruled out for the World Cup. A young Turkish-German, Mesut Ozil, was called to replace him. Germany reached the semi finals with brio. With Ozil a new star, on his way to Real Madrid, was born.

In 2014, Radamel Falcao, 28-year old, who scored 9 of the 16 goals of the Colombian qualification campaign sustained an ACL injury a few months before the Cup. Despite efforts of national dimensions and prayers of national intensity, Falcao could not recover on time. A 22-year young man, James Rodriguez, stepped up to the plate, scored six goals in five games and took Colombia to the edge of the semifinals. Falcao was forgotten.

For Argentina, Maxi Rodriguez will replace Angel Di Maria. Argentina will be just fine.

Dante Bomfin, born in Salvador da Bahia, a center back for Bayern Munich, will replace Thiago Silva, with honor and efficacy.
In the shadow of Neymar, strikers such as Willian, Jo and Bernard are waiting for their moment. It may be their golden opportunity to shine on the grandest stage of them all, watched and adulated in an intercontinental deflagration watched by 3.5 billion emotional Earthlings....

What about Willian (Manchester City) scoring twice in the final and giving the Sexta (the sixth World Cup) to Brazil?

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(TheTraveller,  Tuesday, June 24, 2014)