World Cup 2014: Can the Underdogs Upstage the Big Guns?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 24, 2014

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The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes an "underdog" as "a person, team, etc. that is expected to lose a contest or battle" or as a "less powerful person or thing that struggles against a more powerful person or thing (such as a corporation)."

And as with every World Cup, there are plenty of them on show in Brazil. 

So far, there's been a glut of goals—as reported by the BBC, Neymar netted the 100th goal of this year's tournament against Cameroon on Monday—as well as a deluge of drama and a huge dollop of excitement, too.

But there's also been quite a few upsets along the way.

And with some of the so-called heavyweights already exiting earlier than expected, there remains quite a number of teams who've gratefully taken their place—but just how far can they go?

Before the large crowds swathed Sao Paolo and further afield ahead of Brazil's opening day 3-1 victory against Croatia, the bookmakers and the regular Joe in the street had labelled the likes of Brazil, Argentina and even the now-humbled Spain as the main favourites for this year's edition of the most prestigious tournament in world football. 

But so far things haven't gone according to plan or predictions. 

In particular, with Vicente Del Bosque's Spain and Roy Hodgson's England now both eliminated from the running after a series of underwhelming matches, we've already witnessed the untimely departure of two of the competition's most well-supported teams.

But what does it all mean?

Simply put, it means there's a gap in the market; a chance for football's underachievers to snag their big break.

Already, some teams have begun to churn out largely unexpected performances as the chaos and entertainment that seems to be prevailing at the moment has a visible effect on the full-time results.

A handful of teams such as Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile,...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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