In our final article of the World Cup, we bid farewell to the tournament by taking a look at the competition as a whole. Each of our team that have been involved in bringing you joint fan coverage with Baggies Facts have chosen to share their best moments.
A big thank you to Dan at Baggies Facts for agreeing to share the workload which has made our coverage so much more enjoyable and successful.
It was weeks in the planning as we kicked things off on 24 May 2014 so our coverage has lasted just over seven weeks. We do hope that you, the fans, have enjoyed it as much as we have. There are plans to do similar in two years time for the 2016 European Championships that are being held in France so watch this space.
Jay Crame – Editor and Tweeter
The best story to come out of the World Cup for me will be no suprise to anyone, especially those that listen regularly to the EPL Roundtable podcast. A BBC reporter arrived in Brazil to cover Spain without his luggage which had taken a different route. Palace manager Tony Pulis was in the same hotel and heard of his plight so off he went and brought back a selection of Palace kit. Not only does our Tony wear the club shop, he takes it away with him too!
There is so much to choose from this World Cup but you will not find any football fan that was not simply stunned at the German machine literally rolling over hosts Brazil in the semi-final. It was a result that will be looked back on in years to come. There has also got to be a worthy mention to Mile Jedinak, his penalty for Australia against the Netherlands was the first ever by a Palace player at the World Cup Finals.
Dan Watt – Editor (Baggies Facts)
Moment One – In terms of personal memorable moments one of them has to be thinking England had took an early lead against Italy through Sterling. The shot had in fact gone into the side netting but me and my friends (along with many people in public houses across the country) were too busy dancing around to notice. We were soon brought back down to earth!
Moment Two – Seeing Guillermo Ochoa keep out the Brazilians for Mexico. As a keen goalkeeper myself (more so as a youngster) I always look out for the top goalkeeping performances and this one was certainly up there. Some of the goalkeeping at this tournament has been superb. Enyeama, Bravo, Navas, Howard and of course Neuer have been the stand-outs along with Ochoa, who has always been a personal favourite of mine. I would love to see him join a Premier League club.
Jack Fitzgerald – Site Admin and Technical Support
The first choice has to be the sight of a distraught Brazilian fan with fake World Cup being held aloft in both hands and in floods of tears handing it over to a German fan nearby.
My second choice is the stunning goal from Tim Cahill. It was the equaliser against the Netherlands straight after they had taken the lead in their group game and it is up there among the goals of the tournament.
Paul Price – Writer and Tweeter
It simply has to be the semi-final between Brazil and Germany. The German master-class beating an over-rated Brazilian team easily.
The other one I will choose is the second period of the Belgium v USA game. A cracking performance by the Americans that ran the Belgians very close indeed. A special mention to Tim Howard’s amazing goalkeeping in the game where he achieved a record number of saves.
It was so tough to choose just two. My other favourite moments was the quality of goalkeeping, the Algerian performance against Germany, Colombia knocking out dirty Uruguay, Jedinak penalty being the first ever Palace goal at the World Cup, James Rodriguez, stunning header from RVP, Costa Rica reaching the quarter-finals, Colombian goal celebration, Spain being soundly beaten by the Dutch, passionate South American anthems and the sleazy cameramen finding cute girls in the crowd
To balance things out, my dislikes were the constant diving and play acting by Robben, the Suarez bite and too much poor refereeing.
Neil Carter – Writer
The fantastic Colombian striker James Rodriguez and his superb goal against Uruguay. Not only did it knock out a side that many fans really disliked, but you will struggle to see a goal better than that and if he did not have a name for himself before the World Cup he sure has one now.
And what will already be mentioned by many others is Germany’s four goals in six minutes against Brazil. Nobody expected anything like that and most fans will have been stunned like I was watching that first half hour unfold.
Adam Johnson – Writer
Netherlands 5-1 Spain – To witness the world champions demolished like that in their opening game and see all the hard work and dominance from South Africa and the European Championships in 2012 come undone in ninety minutes of football was simply amazing.
Belgium 2-1 USA – What an extraordinary game with two sides who really believed that they could find themselves going all the way. America, a nation with a huge following both English and American and the huge expectation on the talented Belgium side together produced one of the most enthralling games of football I have ever witnessed.
Dan Crame – Admin for Instagram and Facebook
Germany 2-1 Algeria – Before this match most people, including me, thought it was an easy German win considering the machine they had shown to be in the group stages. In fact, the game could have easily been Algeria’s after several chances but clinical finishing from the Germans got the better of them. This game was such a close result with end to end football. It is one of my favourite moments as it amazed me how some nations have developed enough to be able to challenge such big names.
Spain 1-5 Holland – This game was another favourite moment of mine as it literally stunned the football world. Everyone knew that the match would be close. The Spaniards got what turned out to be a consolation penalty early on making us all think Spain would be the team to beat in this tournament. The Dutch went on to obliterate the Spanish defence with a incredible five goal haul, one after the other. It was one of my best memories as I am not keen on the same team winning (unless it is Palace of course!). This result sunk Spain to the bottom of their group and out of the tournament before they knew it.
Paul Darville – Writer
The site of the Colombian striker James Rodriguez arriving on the international scene with his fantastic goal in the second round against Uruguay. The goal of the tournament for me.
Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul (and his antics) replacing Cillessen for the Dutch penalty shoot out against Costa Rica in the quarter-final. The outcry on Twitter that died the moment Krul won the game for the Dutch and with that making Van Gaal an absolute genius.
Kevin De Vries – Writer and podcast host
Netherlands 5-1 Spain – For the Netherlands, playing their first match against the team that so cruelly beat them in the 2010 final was a massive moment. If the Dutch could just manage a draw it would boost their chances of beating Chile to advance out of the group. After Diego Costa’s questionable penalty, the flying Dutchmen retaliated with one of the best halves of World Cup football netting five past the defending champions. This landmark win set the tone for Louis van Gaal’s side who finished the tournament in third place.
John Brooks header to beat Ghana – Nothing beats being in a country whose team does well at the World Cup. I was at the Black Horse in Brooklyn for the match and the atmosphere from the first minute was absolutely electric! From the national anthem to the chants of “I believe that we will win!” It was an incredible atmosphere and to score at the death against a very good Ghanaian side was a special moment I’ll never forget.
