As the first round of matches of the group stage come to a close we take a look at the stars who were supposed to dazzle in Brazil.
Neymar:
He is one of the most exciting young footballers in the world, and at the age of 22, has already become somewhat of an icon in Brazil.
With 33 goals under his belt, Neymar carries the hopes of the hosts on his shoulders but in the two group stage matches, Neymar has failed to match his own lofty standards.
Against Mexico, he did get a brace but it was hardly a convincing performance. The first goal, a tentative shot from outside the box, which just managed to evade the stretched hands of Pletikosa.
The other- a dubious penalty which never should have been. But strikers make their own luck so Neymar does deserve some credit for helping Brazil take all three points.
In the second game against Mexico, Neymar was shut down. He was given no space and the Mexican midfield kept him at bay all evening. It was a frustrating match for the Brazilian who was unable to go on that trademark, weaving, dazzling runs as the Mexicans roughed him up.
Overall performance rating: 3/5
Robin van Persie:
The 30-year-old Manchester United striker came to Brazil on the back of a lackluster, injury plagued season but he has taken the world cup by storm. RvP's lob header for the first goal went viral and has become the subject for memes and has earned him the nicknames 'Batman' and the 'Flying Dutchman'.
Overall performance rating: 5/5
Diego Costa:
The Brazilian in the Spanish squad generated a lot of buzz with his performances for Athletico Madrid in their odds defying title winning season. Costa however failed to impress, and only added to the woes of Vicente Del Bosque. Costa's physical style of play went completely against the possession based tiki-taka that the Armada enjoys.
Overall performance rating: 1/5
Yaya Toure:
The midfield marshal from Manchester, Toure would be hoping to lead the elephants to the second round. While Ivory Coast came from being one goal down against Japan to win 2-1 on the day, Toure failed to leave his mark on the match raising doubts over his fitness. Playing a more advanced midfield role than what he is used to at City, Toure was often found stranded watching the match from the sidelines, so to speak. Toure remains one of the best box-to-box midfielder in the world, but seems ill suited as a number 10.
Overall performance rating 3/5
Balotelli:
'Madman Mario' is a maverick. On a given day he can change the course of a match in a single moment and on another he can self-destruct.
Against England, to Prandelli's relief, the good guy showed up. Balotelli scored the winner and put the Azzuri in charge of the group.
Overall performance rating 4/5
Wayne Rooney:
Nobody divides England like Rooney does. Sections of the English press love to berate him over his fitness and many think he is past his prime. Roy Hodgson meanwhile, has faith in him, but he played him out wide on the left. While Rooney got an assist for the lone goal for England, but he remained a peripheral figure for most of the match.
However, Rooney is expected to return to his favoured number 10 position against Uruguay.
Overall performance rating: 2/5
Karim Benzema:
The Real Madrid striker could have had the first hat-trick of the 2014 World Cup if it wasn't for the goal-line technology. France have a really exciting young squad with a very talented midfield. With Honduras down to 10-men, Benzema wreaked havoc at the Estádio Beira-Rio notching up two goals.
Overall performance rating 5/5
Lionel Messi:
The god of football, the genius from Barcelona, according to many experts, will be the key man at the world cup. Argentina have a star studded squad and fans hope that Messi will be able to finally bury his world cup hoodoo. Messi did score the winner against Bosnia and Herzegovina, his first in a world cup in eight long years, but he hardly put in a commanding performance.
Overall performance rating 3/5
Thomas Muller:
The golden boot winner from 2010, Thomas Muller scored the first hat-trick of 2014 world cup. In a scintillating performance Germany completely humiliated Portugal and Muller was in the thick of the action. His vision, and knack of finding spaces in the defense line rattled the Portuguese and allowed the German midfield take control in a completely one sided contest.
Overall performance rating 5/5
Cristiano Ronaldo:
The world footballer of the year looked like a child who had lost his favourite toy. Ronaldo started the match well, and then disappeared from the field. Portugal were at sixes-and-sevens against Der Mannschaft. Before the game Ronaldo had declared himself fit but he looked completely out-of-it as Portugal had a nightmare of an opening game. With Pepe sent off, and Coentrao ruled out of the tournament with a thigh injury Paulo Bento would be hoping for a miracle if Portugal have to qualify from the group.
Overall performance rating 1/5
Eden Hazard:
The Chelsea winger is seen as one the young stars who will take the world cup by storm. With a sensational run up to Brazil, Belgium have got lots of critics excited with their attacking football. Against the lowly Algeria however, Belgium, and Eden Hazard, left it late. After going a goal down in the first half hour thanks to a penalty, Belgium scored two goals in the space of ten minutes in the second half to take all three points. The second goal saw the Red Devils mount a stunning counter attack with Hazard running through the Algerian midfield. He set up Mertens with a defense splitting pass. Hazard made some nice runs down the left wing, but struggled to find an opening till the 80th minute.
Overall performance rating: 4/5
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