Brazil 2014: Unforgettable moments

Before the world champions’ 5–1 humbling at the hands of the Netherlands, Spain actually led the match until the 44th minute. Then Daley Blind swung over a cross and the Dutch captain, Robin van Persie, improvised a spectacular diving header that looped over Iker Casillas and changed the character of the match. Van Persie’s “flying Dutchman” pose was much imitated in the ensuing days on social media and elsewhere. Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Luis Suárez worked hard to be fit after undergoing knee surgery shortly before the tournament. He made his comeback against England and scored two fine goals. But Suárez’s World Cup will be remembered for one thing: his decision to sink his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder. FIFA banned him for four months; Barcelona offered Liverpool $120M for his services. Daniel Garcia / AFP / Getty Images

Guillermo Ochoa’s jaw-dropping save from Neymar’s header in Mexico’s 0–0 draw with Brazil was crucial and drew comparisons with Gordon Banks’ famous denial of Pelé in the 1970 tournament. Goalkeeping heroics have been a feature of Brazil 2014. Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas, Colombia’s David Ospina, the USA's Tim Howard and Manuel Neuer of Germany, with his record 15 saves, were all singled out for praise. Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters

Spain had dominated world football like few other teams in history (only Uruguay in the 1920s could boast of winning three consecutive major titles). However, 45 minutes in Salvador saw Spanish supremacy reduced to ashes by devastating Dutch counterattacking. Chile completed the job five days later in Rio de Janeiro, where Iker Casillas cut a disconsolate figure, making Spain the first team to be sent home. Martin Bernetti / AFP / Getty Images

Tim Cahill’s volleyed goal to put his team 2–1 up against the Dutch was a thing of rare beauty, cannoning down off the crossbar for extra emphasis. Zinedine Zidane’s left-foot volley to win the 2002 Champions League final is rightly celebrated, so it is to be hoped that Cahill’s version, for Australia in a match they ultimately lost, also gets its due. The Australia captain has now scored at three World Cups. Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images

Wilson Palacios just couldn’t get enough of Paul Pogba. Twice in the space of a few first-half minutes he sent the French number 5 tumbling, and twice he was yellow-carded, meaning Honduras were reduced to 10 men. It didn’t get much better for Honduras, who lost all three of their games. The Catrachos’ reputation for roughhouse defending was put into perspective, though, by the Brazil-Colombia quarterfinal foul-fest. Luis Acosta / AFP / Getty Images

Edin Dzeko raced onto a through ball from Zvejzdan Misimovic and slotted the ball past the Nigerian goalkeeper to give Bosnia and Herzegovina a 1–0 lead over Nigeria. Or so he thought. An offside flag — wrongly — denied him. Moments later Nigeria scored after what the Bosnians claimed was a foul on their captain, Emir Spahic. It remained 1–0 to Nigeria, and Bosnia were out. On such margins can a World Cup campaign be decided.

The incident in the second half of Cameroon’s match against Croatia in which Benoît Assou-Ekotto, right, butted his teammate Ben Moukandjo, left — Alex Song had already been sent off for striking Mario Mandzukic — came to symbolize the African team’s unhappy World Cup. Their arrival in Brazil had been delayed by a row about bonuses, and they would later face accusations — so far unsubstantiated — that the Croatia game had been deliberately thrown. The heroics of 1990 seemed a long time ago. Murad Sezer / Reuters

Lionel Messi had previously failed to reproduce his stellar club displays in an Argentina shirt at a World Cup. But narrow victories sealed by moments of Messi magic, such as his curling strike against Iran, above, had observers recalling the way Diego Maradona twice hauled an average Argentina side to the World Cup final. Adrian Dennis / AFP / Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo was named World Player of the Year partly on the back of his starring role in getting Portugal to the World Cup via a playoff against Sweden. Brazil 2014 turned out to be a disappointment: Portugal departed with one win; Ronaldo with one goal. Messi, meanwhile, marched on. Gabriel Bouys / AFP / Getty Images

For many teams, particularly the Europeans, there was plenty of fretting beforehand about the Brazilian climate. Most of the attention was on the heat and humidity, but in a continent-sized country teams faced a huge variety of weather. For the Americans and Germans — and Jermaine Jones and Philipp Lahm — in Recife it was rain … lots of rain. Michael Steele / Getty Images

The dribbing of the Netherlands' Arjen Robben was a constant source of danger, creating chances and forcing defenders into mistakes. But his tumble in the dying moments of the second-round match against Mexico highlighted concerns about “simulation” that had dogged the tournament since Fred’s penalty-earning effort in the opening match between Brazil and Croatia. As for Robben’s plunge: a foul? a dive? both? The debate continues. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

Mexico played well, had a bit of bad luck and departed at their customary quarterfinal stage. The World Cup was a little poorer for the absence of their football, but a lot poorer for the absence of the explosive touchline presence of their voluble coach, Miguel Herrera. Dominic Ebenbichler / Reuters

Algeria became the first North African side to reach the quarterfinals, turning in some stylish performances and pushing Germany to the limit in going down to a 2–1 extra-time defeat. Thousands turned out in Algiers to welcome the team home. Ramzi Boudina / Reuters

Mauricio Pinilla came on as a substitute against Brazil and nearly won the game for Chile. His shot in the final minute of extra time shuddered the crossbar but bounced out. Chile lost on penalties. Pinilla wasted little time in having the whole incident inked into his flesh in the form of a tattoo, clearly taking the view that it was less a moment of failure than the highlight of his international career. Martin Meissner / AP

Thiago Silva, far left, is unable to watch during the penalty shootout against Chile. The captain's attitude, and the copious tears in evidence among his teammates, were a vivid sign of the pressure the hosts' squad was under and led commentators to question their mental fortitude. Paul Gilham / Getty Images

A World Cup needs a star, and Colombia’s James Rodríguez seemed determined to be that man. Taking on the goal-scoring mantle in the absence of the injured Radamel Falcao, the Monaco playmaker notched six goals in five games, including this spectacular volley against Uruguay. His departure at the quarterfinal stage came too soon. Julian Finney / Getty Images

The penalty shootout is a lottery, right? Not if you’re German. Nor, it turns out, if you are Costa Rican. The Central Americans confidently dispatched five out of five to defeat Greece and reach the quarterfinals for the first time. It was a feat they couldn’t match in their next match against the Netherlands. The Dutch too went out on penalties, in the semifinals. Yves Herman / Reuters

With the scores level after 120 minutes in the quarterfinal between the Netherlands and Costa Rica, the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal brought on a fresh goalkeeper, Tim Krul, for the penalty shootout. Krul’s penalty record wasn’t that great, but as a psychological move it appeared to work. Helped by some unappealing gamesmanship, Krul saved two spot-kicks and Van Gaal was hailed as a genius. In the semifinal against Argentina, Krul stayed on the bench and the Dutch lost the shootout. Paul Hanna / Reuters

The moment when a nation was forced to contemplate life without Neymar. The poster boy of the Brazil team fractured a vertebra against Colombia, ruling him out of the rest of the World Cup and provoking a national outpouring of grief, a lachrymose TV interview, a florid letter from President Dilma Rousseff and the all-too-predictable death threats against Juan Zúñiga, whose knee hade made contact with the Brazilian number 10’s back. Brazil outfouled Colombia in the game 31–23. Jamie McDonald / Getty Images

Germany's second goal against Brazil was Miroslav Klose's 16th at World Cup finals, taking him past Ronaldo's record. Klose, 36, has scored at four World Cups; his first came against Saudi Arabia in 2002. Marcos Brindicci / Reuters

Brazil's 7–1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup semifinal broke a number of records, but none fully reflected the scale of the humiliation inflicted on the hosts. It was a result that drew comparisons with Uruguay's stunning victory in the final game of the 1950 tournament — the “Maracanazo.” It is a match that no one who witnessed it will ever forget. Ruben Sprich / Reuters