By Adejumo Oluwasegun Okay, it's certainly justifiable to say that the ongoing World Cup in Brazil has lived up to expectations in the f...
By Adejumo Oluwasegun
Okay, it's certainly justifiable to say that the ongoing World Cup in Brazil has lived up to expectations in the footballing aspect of it.
Lots of goals has been scored, oh yes! Loads of strikes has hit the back of the net. Most teams have employed some highly rewarding tactics and the star players that football fans expected a lot from have performed in mouth-gaping ways.
Lots of goals has been scored, oh yes! Loads of strikes has hit the back of the net. Most teams have employed some highly rewarding tactics and the star players that football fans expected a lot from have performed in mouth-gaping ways.
Here's a look at the star players that has lit up the stage and those that have performed below par after the first round of matches.
Neymar Da Silva Jnr.
The man on whom shoulders the hope of a nation rests on has not fallen short of expectation, he was in scintillating form for the selecao when they took on Croatia.
His brace; a well taken shot and a penalty completed Brazil's comeback from a goal down.
His brace; a well taken shot and a penalty completed Brazil's comeback from a goal down.
Emboaba Oscar
The small, intelligent and skillful midfielder was a seven star performer for the selecao in their opening game, He was almost everywhere on the field.
He capped a wonderful evening with a cheeky goal, after hitting the ball with the outside of his foot. Oscar has in no doubt performed well.
Rakitic and Modric
The midfield duo of Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric had a great first outing despite the fact that Croatia suffered a 3-1 loss. They were brilliant with the ball and caused a stir in the midfield for Brazil.
Robin Van Persie
Coming from the back of a dismal season with his cubside.the flying Dutchman showed his class to the world, grabbing a brace in the 5-1 routing of Spain - one of which is a contender for goalof the tournament, a superbly converted flying header.
Arjen Robben
2014 has been fantastic for Robben, he continued his excellent form in the Dutch's opening game, scoring two exquisite goals in the process. He was just extraordinary on the night, accelerating to a world recordbreaking speed when scoring his second and fifth Oranje goal.
Rodriguez and Cuadrado
The midfield pair of James Rodriguez and Juan cuadrado were almost unstoppable in Colombia's three nil thrashing of greece. In the absence of talismanic forward Radamel falcao, colombia thrived on the creativity of both men.
Joel Campbell
Prior to the world cup, many fans had few knowledge about the star players of the Costa Rican squad. Joel campbell was the mastermind of the shocking 3-1 defeat of Uruguay, the young Arsenal striker on loan with Olympiakos scored a fantastic goal and also created one, he was top notch all evening.
Karim Benzema
He came close to scoring an hat-trick, after his second effort was awarded to the Honduras keeper. Benzema was vital in France 3-0 Victory, proving why he is still one of the best.
Lionel Messi
Finally relieved to score for Argentina in the world cup, the four times ballon D'or winner sparkled to life for the Albeceleste against Bosnia, converting a brilliant drive from the edge of the box.
Andrea Pirlo
It's impossible to talk about Italy's win over England without saluting the veteran midfield maestro, he was exceptional has the Azzuri claimed an hard earned 2-1 win.
Thomas Muller
Muller scored the first World Cup hat-trick during the game against Portugal, he was a perfect outlet during German attacks and he scored three important goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo
He was a peripheral figure in his side 4-0 loss tor Germany. The current ballon D'or holder was not inspiring during the game as he fired blank.
Pepe
Showed lack of Discipline throughout the encounter and was sent of later in the game for shoving an opposition ayer.
Iker Casillas
The spain No. 1 had a night to forget, conceding five goals on the night, two of which were errors from the goalie. Iker casillas was very poor and disappointing.
Samuel Eto'o
The veteran captain could not lead his side to even a fair result, cameroon were poor in their opebing game as they slumped to a one nil defeat against Mexico.
Emenike, Moses And Musa
Nigeria failed to produce even a fair display in their opening match, which showed in their lacklustre perfomance.
The forward trio of Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses struggled to live up to expectation.
The forward trio of Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses struggled to live up to expectation.
Tim Cahill
It is surprising that lowly Australia are standing their own at the ongoing World Cup. Many predicted that the socceroos would be blown away by their opposition. Behind this is veteran striker Tim Cahill, though they have lost their two games but he has been able to score two goals at this tournament.
Alexis Sanchez
Chile has qualified for the knockout round after successfully knocking out defending champion spain from this year's showpiece. Star striker Alexis Sanchez has been exceptional for the chilean side, scoring a vital goal, creating chances and contributing to the collective play.
Silva, Ramos and Pique
The trio of David silva, Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos had a bad outing against Netherland, they could do nothing to stop La Roja from conceding an embarrassing defeat
Other players worthy of mention are Mario Balotelli, Thiago Silva, Young Raheem Sterling, Belgium trio of Eden Hazard, Moussa Dembele and Dries Mertens all performed well.
The likes of Igor Akinfeev, Wilson Palacios and Shinji Kagawa performed below par.
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