FIFA World Cup Perfect line-up
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 08 , 2014 -

The mighty Germans against the eternal contender Brazil; the Netherlands, the king of total football up against Latin American soccer giant Argentina.

These semi-finals line up of the 2014 FIFA World Cup is simply awesome and one cannot expect a better duel.

The battle line is already drawn. It’s ‘do or die’.

Each of the four teams is undoubtedly a favourite in their own rights. Yet there is no clear favourite.

Expectations are soaring higher and higher in each of the four countries and all the citizens are in a state of euphoria.

But the sad part is, there can be no two winners in the beautiful game of football.

From a total of 32 teams which got qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals after playing several rounds of qualifying matches, 16 were eliminated at the end of group stage.

How the former champion Spain was eliminated unceremoniously and how the European giant Italy crashed out of the championship would remain some interesting fact files of this edition of FIFA World Cup.

From 16, eight again got eliminated at the pre quarter finals. Now the number of teams has trimmed down to just four.

Two African teams Algeria and Nigeria reached pre quarter final stage and their performance was indeed spectacular.

They were knocked out by none other than Germany and France respectively.

Unfortunately, no teams from Asia could cross the first hurdle of group stage.

If one goes by the ever rising degree of competitiveness in the footballing world, qualification for the FIFA World Cup finals is no mean achievement.

Just look at India, with its one billion populations playing in FIFA World Cup finals only remains a pipedream.

Brazil FIFA World Cup has seen its own share of heartbreak, despair, agony, thrills, revenge, excitement and exuberance. Now only the best four footballing nations are left on the field.

Skill and stamina are not just enough for the beautiful game of football. Football is often said to be a game of five S’s; speed, skill, stamina, strength and strategy.

Brazil and Germany are the two most successful teams in terms of reaching the last four stage and lifting the coveted trophy.

Brazil and Germany have won eight of the last 19 World Cups at the ratio of 5:3. The two giants would battle digging into all their resources in the first semi-final.

What a thrilling and entertaining match it would be. The two teams’ rivalry on soccer field is not secret yet they seldom met in FIFA World Cups.

Last time they met was in the final of South Korea-Japan World Cup of 2002 where Brazil outplayed Germany 2-0. Given this history, Germany has a score to settle.

The second semi-final between the Netherlands and Argentina is equally promising and their rivalry runs even older.

When it comes to winning the World Cup, it was always ‘so near, yet so far’ for the Netherlands. They made it to the finals three times.

They lost to Germany in 1974. They were again beaten by Argentina in 1978 and they lost to Spain in 2010.

It seems the Orange Squad has cut their task this time. The two semi-finals will be all-out battles between European powerhouses and South American giants.

After this, the grand final could be either an all European affair or a battle of wits between two South American giants.

It all depends on the results of the semi-final matches. Whatever way the results go, the two semi-final matches would be thrilling and keep all football lovers spellbound till the final whistle is blown.

FIFA World Cup 2014 has three finals in store, two in the semi-final stage and one in the ultimate match of the quadrennial championship.