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World Cup flops

Jonathan HardingJuly 16, 2014

Brazil was a place for footballing heroes in 2014, particularly if you were German, but it also turned out to be a forgettable journey for some players who just couldn't stand the heat - noteably captains.

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WM 2014 Gruppe B 2. Spieltag Spanien Chile
Image: Reuters

There were some major upsets in the 2014 World Cup, perhaps none greater than the whimpering exit of defending champions Spain. At the heart of their disappointment was captain Iker Casillas.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper showed all the signs of a man rushing towards the end of his career rather than approaching it and was left orange-faced by the Dutch. He lacked command of his area, looked completely short of confidence and that seemed to spread amongst his team.

On the whole, it was an excellent tournament for goalkeepers, but Russia's Igor Akinfeev is another that will want to forget his time in Brazil as two huge errors helped Russia leave the competition early.

Exposed defenses was the name of the game at the 2014 tournament, but in truth only a few stood out as being notable poorer than expected. Sadly for the hosts, David Luiz looked far from his best. His poor positional discipline and awareness left Brazil exposed far too often.

WM 2014 Spiel um Platz drei Brasilien Niederlande
Brazil looked unusure in defense throughout the tournamentImage: Reuters

In turn, captain Thiago Silva also looked shaky. Silva, whose absence was hailed as the reason for Brazil's historically porous defeat to Germany, returned against the Dutch to prove that theory wrong. With the pair both at Paris Saint-Germain next season, it won't just be the Brazilians who are concerned.

Portugal's Pepe followed up an encouraging club season with a petulant and disappointing performance in Brazil, aiding his side to an early exit. The same could be said for bite-victim Giorgio Chiellini, who couldn't marshal the Italian back line as he had in years before.

For all of the midfield magic on display in the 2014 World Cup, there were also some quieter displays. England were never expected to progress, but even their attempted challenge fell short. As much as their collective issues were prominent, the performance of captain Steven Gerrard was noticeably disappointing as the 34-year-old looked as though he pushed himself one tournament too far.

Fifa WM 2014 Uruguay England
Steven Gerrard and England suffered an abysmal tournament in BrazilImage: Getty Images

Spain's Andreas Iniesta was another who couldn't burst out of a struggling team, and was accompanied by David Silva. Spain's collective failing was the biggest surprise and the midfield pair couldn't stop the rot.

Elsewhere, the new-look Luka Modric couldn't transfer his fine European form to the red and white of Croatia, while Belgium's Eden Hazard showed none of the beneficial signs that were expected after allegedly slowing down towards the end of Chelsea' s season. Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure was also noticeable in his absence.

Strikers did disappointment in Brazil, and perhaps none more than Diego Costa. The Atletico Madrid striker had a sensational domestic season but looked constantly out of place in international colors. Having changed allegiance from Brazil to Spain beforehand, Costa was set to add a new dimension to Spain's dominant passing style, but in the end he, like the team, fell very short of expectation.

Elsewhere in attack, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo had a trip to forget, summarized by his free kick against Germany striking the one man wall. Portugal's team didn't do much better either and once again Ronaldo struggled to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders.

Diego Costa
Diego Costa couldn't replicate his club formImage: Reuters

Italy's Mario Balotelli might have scored against England, but he fluffed his lines when it really mattered and Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o looked like a man who had finally run his footballing race.

Belgium's Romelu Lukaku was another who couldn't follow up a strong domestic season with an impressive international display, while Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain had a World Cup of what ifs.