The setting of a World Cup obviously and inevitably goes a long way towards establishing its tone.
In South Africa four years ago, for example, the tone was quite easy to identify—the annoying drone of vuvuzelas hovered as the background noise to the foreground of shimmering, artificial, FIFA-imported fun. It was all a little off.
In Brazil, a better arrangement has been negotiated. The tone has been one of sun-drenched excitement, with the fun feeling far less artificial and Brazil’s powerful football culture ensuring that the FIFA brand hasn’t been as overpowering to viewer as in other recent World Cups—even if it has still been equally as corrosive underneath. (See this and this).
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The atmosphere created by the Brazilians and football fans from across the world has been—and I don’t say this lightly—completely ace. Epic stadiums such as the 79,000 capacity Maracana in Rio have added weight to matches already full of tension and footballing excellence, with every game played in them feeling like it’s somehow of historic significance. On top of that, this time, the only empty seats have come when it was simply too hot to continue watching, which hardly counts.
So Brazil has set a great tone and created the right mood, it’s fair to say. But geography has meant more than that at this World Cup. Because World Cups are often spoken of and thought about in continental terms—European teams vs. Everyone Else, for example—and in Brazil 2014 teams from the Americas have also gone and made the actual football tournament all about them so far, too.
Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina all qualified for the knockout rounds—seven teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL against six from UEFA, which has supplied all four of the last four finalists. Teams from the Americas are just doing better right now. So far, in matches between teams from the Americas and Europe, the “Americans” have won 10, drawn three and lost five, knocking out Italy, Spain, England, Portugal, Russia and Croatia in the act of creating those statistics.
In the knockout rounds, the trend set in the group stages has broadly continued. Mexico was knocked out by the Netherlands, just about, but Argentina got past Switzerland eventually and Costa Rica deserved its victory over Greece.
While the likes of Spain looked to sneak all of their biggest names into a starting 11 that didn’t ever look like thinking about considering working well together, Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile put out brilliantly cohesive teams with individuals who have worked sensationally well for each other. Think of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, huge—and correctly identified—stars running around like two people having a bet who as to who can sprint for the longest without stopping.
Whether it’s tactical, or temperature, or it’s cyclical, or it’s that “It’s not easy playing in Latin America and now people are realizing that” as Javier Mascherano put it, the Americas are in the process of making this World Cup theirs.
It’s felt like they’ve had it their way right up to the top end—the properly enjoyable competition to be the best player at this World Cup. Arjen Robben aside, as we enter the quarterfinal stage, three of the four main contenders for this one are from the Americas. For anyone who needs reminding, they are: Robben, James Rodriguez, Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Europe has room still to turn this around—you’d think the Netherlands, Germany and France all have something kind of special in them. But it’s not happened for them yet, individually, collectively or continentally.
And, you know, the teams from the Americas haven’t merely been successful. Results and statistics are a significant part of World Cups, but creating big moments is too, and in this area the American teams have excelled as well.
Every Chile game was a major occasion—it’s high pace football intersected the twin peaks of being exhausting and mesmeric to watch. James Rodriguez scored the goal of the tournament for the best team of the tournament to this point, Colombia. Lionel Messi’s goal against Iran was a brilliant flash of class, from a player demanding that he be counted as a World Cup great.
The USA’s determined performances to get out of one of the hardest groups going were stirring stuff. And Costa Rica’s three goals against Uruguay had England fans celebrating until it did the same to Italy and put both of those teams out. All before we get to the Brazil games—low on outstanding quality, but so high on meaning as to be overflowing with the stuff. That penalty shootout against Chile was as dramatic as it gets—and by “it” I mean life.
These are the bits you remember of a World Cup. Up until now, the only outstanding contender Europe has had for this list is the Netherland’s rubbing-out of Spain in the first game—with that Van Persie header as the catalyst. In short, the Americas have had the best of it, no doubt.
Obviously Brazil will hope to make it a more specific success; not an American one, not a South American one, just a Brazilian one. But that’s an ongoing issue. For now, the Americas have owned this tournament.
Ethan Dean-Richards is a London-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.