What a difference two weeks make.We'veseen heads butted shoulders bitten bones cracked and bloodspilled all in the opening round. Cheers to what comes next because if the rest of World Cup is as entertaining as group play it s going to be a tournament for the books. For now here s a look back at the best moments so far.
Best Did That Just Happen Moment
It was the bite seen 'round the world
Mike Tyson is that you As the minutes ticked away and Uruguay's chances of advancing were slipping away Luis Suarez took matters into his own hand or rather his own mouth and bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. The craziest part This is the third time he's bit an opponent. The bite was so delicious for internet trolls that a Pac Man starring Suarez was created.
As for Suarez he'll miss Uruguay's round of 16 match against Colombia and the rest of the World Cup for that matter after FIFA banned him for nine games and four months.
Best Audition for Red Bull Gives You Wings Commercial
Mario Balotelli may have gotten his second yellow card of the Cup for this high flying foul that nearly decapitated Uruguay's Alvaro Pereira but we're pretty sure Red Bull will be calling him for sponsorship opportunities any day now. We wonder what the cheat code is to give Super Mario that advanced skill.
Best Coach Ever/Most Enthusiastic Goal Celebration
First Mexico Head Coach Miguel Herrera met Tom Brady called him a kid and claimed he did not know he was in the presence of an NFL all star. Then he completely lost it when Mexico went on a scoring rampage in the second half of its 3 1 win over Croatia leading to some of the greatest gifs of the Cup.
But wait ... there's more
And more
Worst Officiating/Most Dream Crushing Call
With his team on the brink of elimination Saturday Bosnian striker Edin D eko ran into an excellent through ball beating Nigeria's goalkeeper and burying a shot. Just as the goal celebration was getting under way however the offside flag went up and the goal was disallowed. Replays showed that Dzeko was in fact onside but FIFA refuses to overrule referee decisions and now Bosnia Herzegovina is on its way home.
Best Get Out Of Work Free Card
For their final matchup in the Group of Death the United States faced World Cup juggernaut Germany. In need of a draw or win to advance the country that doesn't care about soccer got so excited that USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann wrote a note asking bosses back in the U.S. to allow their employees to miss a few hours of work in order to cheer on the team. Even though the U.S. lost 1 0 to Germany they still advanced so thanks America.
An excuse from work letter tweeted by the U.S. Soccer team to watch Thursday's World Cup match against Germany U.S. Soccer ussoccer 23mMost Cringe Worthy Tackle
The foul was so ugly the player who got sent off with a red card didn't even complain. Ecuador's Antonio Valencia got tossed Wednesday after a dangerous studs up tackle to the leg of France's Lucas Digne. Valencia is now in his team's record book for all the wrong reasons being the only Ecuadorian player ever sent off during a Cup.
Strangest FIFA Investigation
We see London we see France we (apparently) see Neymar's underpants and that's a problem according to FIFA. The Brazilian striker is in hot water with soccer's governing body after images showing a shirtless Neymar following the 4 1 routing of Cameroon showed non FIFA approved boxers. Somehow this isn't even the first time Neymar's choice of undergarments has made the news.
ROBERT GHEMENT/EPA Be careful what boxer shorts you wear Neymar FIFA is watching.Best Group Stage Performance by a Player
Karim Benzema France had an impressive showing in the opening round of the Cup and no one stood out more for Les Bleus than Karim Benzema. The striker posted three goals and two assists helping France come out on top of Group E. His goals may not have had the Superman quality of the Netherland's Robin van Persie but he managed to keep himself on the pitch for all three matches.
FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images Job well done (so far) Karim Benzema. Job well done.Most Predictable Hooligan Display
As the group stage wound down and hopes of advancing diminished unhappy fans were bound to take out their aggression on someone. It appears that's what happened with some Croatia supporters who got into a massive brawl in the stands with Mexican fans during their team's 3 1 loss to El Tri. Fortunately officials were close by and no one got badly hurt.
Most Adorable Goal Celebration
Mathieu Valbuena of France's national team is a pretty small guy 5' 6 to be exact. During Les Bleus' 5 2 win over Switzerland Valbuena tapped in a nice shot before hopping onto the back of his teammate Olivier Giroud to celebrate. The result was epic.
DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images Mathieu Valbuena plays piggyback with French teammate Olivier Giroud after scoring against Switzerland.Most Surprising Team Advancement
Nigeria entered the World Cup with the fifth lowest FIFA ranking at 44 and made it out of group play. Meanwhile top 5 teams Portugal and Spain are both on their back to the Iberian Peninsula. We would be remiss to not mention that Group F included only one world class squad in Argentina but all the same you go Nigeria.
Paul Gilham/getty Images Congratulations Nigeria the round of 16 awaits.Best Group Stage Performance by a Team
Netherlands Three wins ten goals nine points. It was a fun opening round for fans of the Oranje. Starting with the most beautiful header of the Cup for The Flying Dutchman aka Robin Van Persie it became clear that Holland is capable of making a deep run in Brazil and maybe even improve on its runner up finish four years ago.
You Let the Whole Team Down
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid soccer player in the world. He is also the most famous and sought after at least by female fans. His home country of Portugal entered the World Cup ranked 4th in the FIFA standings and the pressure was on CR7 to carry the team on to the round of 16. Ronaldo mustered up a single goal for the cause in the final match against Ghana but it was too little too late.
DAVID GRAY/REUTERS It was that kind of a World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo.Best Wardrobe Malfunction
Portugal really wanted to beat Ghana so much so that defender William Carvalho grabbed the game by the shorts. Carvalho was dueling with Ghana s Jordan Ayew for the ball when he got a little handsy. For a good five seconds the world got a view of more than just Ayew s colorful underpants. We wonder if those briefs were FIFA approved.
Saddest End of an Era
Didier Drogba is by far the most beloved player in the history of Ivory Coast soccer. Despite starting the first two games of the tournament on the bench the ageless super sub provided a spark to the squad each time he stepped on the field but fell short of helping the Elephants advance to the knockout stage. Drogba is 36 so this is likely his final World Cup appearance.
Most Bandwagon Fans
Since when are people calling out of work to watch soccer in this country Everybody knows the United States is not known for diehard fans of the game but as Team USA did better than expected the number of Americans who claimed to be huge fans of the squad spiked. Around the city U.S. home jerseys are flying off the shelves and Clint Dempsey's is the third best selling kit of the Cup trailing only Neymar and Van Persie.
LOOKING AHEAD WEEK 3
Best Round of 16 Matchup
Brazil vs. Chile Few would have predicted that the most anticipated game of the second round would include Chile. But after an excellent showing in Group B including a 2 0 rout of defending champion Spain La Roja's matchup with five time champion Brazil promises to be a battle royale between two South American powerhouses.
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