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Argentina’s
national soccer team players stretch during a training session at the
team’s training center in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on July 2, 2014.
(Reuters Photo/Ivan Alvarado)
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Rio De Janeiro. After three weeks of unrelenting
drama and excitement, the World Cup took a rare time-out on Wednesday as
the eight surviving teams tried to catch their breath before the
quarter-finals kick off on Friday.
A tournament which was derided as a disaster waiting to happen, has
captivated the world, proved all the doom-mongers wrong and has already
been declared as one of the greatest World Cups ever.
The tardy preparations which plagued the build-up have long been
forgotten with supporters in Brazil and around the planet still gasping
at the astonishing quality of play and heart-stopping tension.
“This has been the best one in terms of quality of football and
entertainment,” said Gerard Houllier, the most experienced member of
FIFA’s Technical Study Group which analyses tactics, trends and all
aspects of technical play in the tournament. “There has been top quality
drama right from the start of the group phase.”
The on-field drama has succeeded in overshadowing any off-field scandals that threatened to tarnish the event but still linger.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter praised Uruguay striker Luis Suarez after
he apologized for biting an Italian defender during the World Cup while
FIFA also addressed claims that matches had been rigged, but said there
was no supporting evidence.
Suarez was banned for nine competitive internationals and cannot take
part in any soccer activities for four months after he sank his teeth
into the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat of
the Italians on June 24.
It took the forward nearly a week to confess that he had bitten his
opponent, after protesting his innocence when the furor surrounding the
incident first broke.
“He said ‘I’m sorry’ to the soccer family, and that’s fair play too,”
Blatter told reporters. “That shows he’s a great player and I hope he
can have his soccer career back.”
Ralf Mutschke, FIFA’s head of security, cast doubt on reported claims
that convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal had correctly predicted
Cameroon’s result against Croatia before the game.
Perumal has denied making the predictions himself, which were
reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel and Mutschke said FIFA had
“substantial doubts about the allegations published by Der Spiegel” and
had asked the magazine for some proof.
“This article has put the integrity of the FIFA World Cup matches in
question which is a serious allegation,” he said. “We have carefully
monitored all 56 games to date and we will continue to monitor the
remaining eight matches. So far we have found no indication of any
manipulation on the betting market of any World Cup matches.”
Exhaustion point
The incredible pace of the matches has even prompted discussion about
changing the rules on substitutions after watching players run
themselves to the point of exhaustion with four of the eight last-16
matches going to extra time.
Under the current rules, teams are only permitted to use three
replacements in a match but Houllier said consideration should be given
for allowing a fourth substitute in extra time in the future.
“I personally think it’s time,” he said. “You have probably noticed
at this World Cup everything is so quick, the tempo has been so high and
we have seen 29 goals scored by substitutes, a record.”
“But among the technicians, we think we should have the possibility of another substitution.”
Although 24 of the original 32 finalists are now out of the
tournament, there is no respite for the remaining teams with the stakes
about to get even higher.
The teams will have another day off before the quarterfinals get
underway when France tackle Germany in Rio de Janeiro and hosts Brazil
face Colombia in Fortaleza.
On Saturday, Argentina meet Belgium in Brasilia before the last
quarter-final between the Netherlands and Costa Rica in Salvador.
The eight remaining teams all won their groups and the line-up offers
a tantalizing clash between styles, with four teams each from Europe
and the Americas.
No European team has ever won a World Cup played in the Americas but
at least one is assured of making the semis with Germany and France
meeting in the last eight.
Germany received a timely boost when defender Mats Hummels and winger
Lukas Podolski both took part in training after battling with health
issues.
“Everyone was in training today and ready for action,” assistant coach Andreas Koepke said.
Brazil striker Neymar is still nursing a thigh injury picked up in
the second-round match against Chile but looks certain to start.
Reuters
By Julian Linden on 09:08 am Jul 03, 2014
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