The 2014 World Cup is taking place in Brazil this year, and is now in the knockout stage – which is the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage.
The group stage began on June 12th with a very exciting first match between Brazil and Croatia.
The group stage produced a total of 136 goals – only 9 goals fewer than what was scored during the entire 2010 World Cup tournament. The 2014 group stage had the largest number of goals in the group stage since the 32-team system was implemented in 1998.
On June 14th, the group D match between Italy and England took place, and Italy finished on top with an extra goal. The Taste of Little Italy Festival was also held on the same day, in downtown Toronto, which transformed College Street, from Bathurst to Shaw, into an Italian Piazza. The Italian fans were able to celebrate the team’s victory among lots of great food, music and activities.
On June 17th a very close match in group H took place between Russia and South Korea. Hundreds of Korean fans gathered at the Korean Canadian Cultural Association, filled with hope and optimism for their team.
In the second half of the game, Korea was able to score the first goal, which had Korean fans on the edge of their seats. The Korean goal was soon followed by a goal by Russia, and the game ended in a draw.
The World Cup highlights the multicultural fabric of Toronto, as people take pride and cheer on for their roots and heritage.
On June 22nd Korea faced Algeria and lost with a score of 2-4.
The last of the group matches took place on June 26th, with Korea facing Belgium. Despite their efforts, Korea was unable to score, losing again with a score of 0-1.
Teams from Asia put up their worst performance since 1990, all finishing at the bottom of their groups without winning any games. 8 of 10 teams from the Americas were able to advance to the knockout stage, and Spain, the defending champions, were eliminated after losing their first 2 matches. Former champions England and Italy were also unable to advance.
The groups that have advanced to the round of 16 matches include:
Brazil and Mexico from group A, Netherlands and Chile from group B, Colombia and Greece from group C, Costa Rica and Uruguay from group D, France and Switzerland from group E, Argentina and Nigeria from group F, Germany and the United States from group G, and Belgium and Alergia from group H.
The knockout stage consists of 4 rounds which include the round of 16 matches, the quarter finals, semi finals and the final match that will determine the 2014 World Cup champions. The knockout stage began on June 28th and ends on July 13th.
