Top 5 Underdog teams at the 2014 World Cup

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil has seen the underdogs take centrestage and the apparent big-wigs fall by the wayside.Past winners of the coveted trophy Spain, England and Italy have exited the tournament while teams like Costa Rica and Algeria have shown the world they belong to the biggest stage.We take a look at the underdog teams that did well at the World Cup.

#1 Nigeria

Nigeria’s 2014 World Cup campaign ended with a spirited 2-0 loss to France but the African side can be proud of themselves for their performance. Put in a group alongside former champions Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who are known for punching above their weight, and Asian team Iran, it was evident from the start that was a three-way battle for a place in the next round with Argentina favourites to top the group.

Nigeria came through the group stage scarred but not beaten. They gave Argentina a run for their money with Lionel Messi’s brilliance the only difference between the two sides while they beat Bosnia in a crucial encounter.

Jon Obi Mikel and his teammates played their hearts out to secure a place in the Round of 16, only to beaten by a Pogba header and an unfortunate own goal against France.

Nigeria was one of only two African teams to make it to the last 16.

#2 Costa Rica

The country from the CONCACAF has played beyond anybody’s expectations and not even the most optimistic of Costa Rica fans would have predicted such a performance when there were three former champions in the same group – Italy, Uruguay and England.

Costa Rica were expected to be the punching bag in the Group of Death, but the young side’s tenacity and team effort helped them beat European powerhouse Italy and South American champions Uruguay relatively easily without any so called superstar in their ranks.

They topped the group with 7 points and beat Greece on penalties in the last-16 stage with a ruthless display of penalty taking. Netherlands should hope they get the winner well within the normal time as penalties don’t seem to bother Costa Rica that much.

#3 Greece

One of the few European teams to still be in the competition after the group stages, Greece have been nothing less than a breath of fresh air not seen since the miraculous EURO victory in 2004. The team lifted the gloom surrounding the nation’s economy with their entry into the knockout stages for the first time.

Greece’s tactics of sitting behind and hitting on the counter has reaped rich dividends. Their crucial victory against Ivory Coast in injury time was the result of the same. However, they unfortunately lost to one more upcoming team Costa Rica on penalties after keeping the adventurous North American side at bay in normal time.

Greece sure have won many hearts at the World Cup with their spirited display and could pose a threat in the years to come.

#4 Algeria

The African side gave World Cup favourites Germany a run for the money in their Round of 16 encounter, but lost out in extra-time. Algeria can keep their heads held high for such a display and if they had converted any one of the numerous chances, they would have been in the quarter-finals instead of Germany.

Algeria were put in a group where every side had more or less the same strength and coming through that unscathed took a huge effort. Russia, who were the favourites alongside Belgium, were eliminated. Algeria qualified even though they lost to table-toppers Belgium, thanks to their huge win against South Korea

Algeria’s first time entry into the knockout should herald a new dawn in the underachieving African footballing nations.

#5 Iran

The team from Asia impressed their fans back home for the mettle they showed in the World Cup even though they did not qualify for the knockout stages.

Iran, a lowly ranked team, kept a clean sheet against Nigeria in a must win game for the Africans and almost did the same to the South American powerhouse Argentina before a superb late goal by Messi set the teams apart.

Iran was not expected to show much fight against superior opponents but they displayed their feisty character in the goalless draw against Nigeria and in the 1-0 loss against Argentina. They bowed out from the tournament early but they represented Asia quite well and were the best Asian team by far.