TBT: Everything to remember about the 2014 World Cup
By Orri Benatar
Round of 16: Extra time for everyone (well, almost everyone)
The knockout round began with Brazil barely beating Chile in a penalty shootout. The Brazilians were outshined by Colombia on that day. Los Cafeteros beat Uruguay 2-0 with a brace from James Rodriguez, which he scored the goal of the tournament.
Day 2 of the Round of 16 was a mixed bag of emotions for CONCACAF. Mexico squandered a 1-0 lead going into the end of the match and lost 2-1 to the Netherlands. Costa Rica continued to shock the world by winning a penalty shootout against Greece and advancing to the quarterfinals. Costa Rica was the first CONCACAF team in the quarters since the US in 2002.
France and Germany took care of business in the Round of 16, knocking out the last two African nations. France won 2-0 against Nigeria and Algeria took Germany into extra-time, losing only 2-1. The last day of the Round of 16 had two more extra time games, making it five for the round.
Lionel Messi provided the 118th minute assist to Angel Di Maria to beat Switzerland in Sao Paulo. Belgium had 38 shots against the United States in 120 minutes, winning 2-1. The match was mainly remembered for Tim Howard’s record-breaking 16-save performance.
Quarterfinals: Brazil, Germany, Holland, and Argentina advance
Brazil stopped the red-hot James Rodriguez in the quarterfinals by winning 2-1. Rodriguez scored a late penalty giving him six goals for the tournament, which won him the Golden Boot. The highlight was a rocket free-kick from David Luiz.
Germany played dominant against France in a 1-0 win. Mats Hummels early header was the lone highlight from that game. The other two quarterfinal matches only had one goal. Gonzalo Higuain scored in the ninth minute to beat Belgium. Keylor Navas and Jasper Cillessen were saving shots for 120+ minutes in the Netherlands-Costa Rica quarterfinal.
The match went to penalties and before it started, Louis van Gaal had one last sub. He put on then Newcastle goalie Tim Krul, who saved two penalties and sent the Netherlands to the semifinals.