Beautiful game blossoms at WC carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 14 (AFP): Wonderful goals, gripping drama, shock results, new heroes, old villains: the World Cup played out like the gripping blockbuster tournament its organisers always dreamed it would be.
Long before the curtain came down on the month-long footballing carnival with Germany's victory on Sunday, many had already decided it deserved to be remembered as the greatest in the event's 84-year history.
Others argued that the absence of truly memorable matches in the knockout rounds -- Germany's astonishing 7-1 semi-final walloping of Brazil the obvious exception -- should preclude 2014 from 'greatest ever' status.
But whether the best, or merely one of the best, what is undeniable is that the 2014 World Cup saw a dramatic spike in entertainment, ending a run of four consecutive tournaments where the goals-per-game average had shrunk.
Mario Goetze's extra-time winner to sink Argentina in the Maracana on Sunday provided a glorious, emphatic full-stop to a tournament punctuated by riveting entertainment -- and goals.
Goetze's strike was the 171st of the finals, equalling the record tally achieved in a 32-team World Cup at the 1998 finals in France.
The tone was set early in the tournament, with the Netherlands' stunning 5-1 thrashing of defending champions Spain in Salvador notable for both the quantity and quality of goals scored.