Like the dark clouds giving way to bright sunshine, the FIFA World Cup has moved from the phase of criticisms and pessimism to the best of football action, as the recent past has already become a forgotten chapter, and the future is the eager wait to know who will rise to become the football power of the world!

Visa restrictions, high ticketing rates, and weary travels were what initially flooded the media attention. Why, the Somali referee Omar Artan, who had made history as the first official from his country to be selected for the FIFA World Cup, was denied entry into the US, and there ended a short-lived World Cup dream! There were roadblocks like that to instil a sense of seeming disinterest in what was always considered the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. With an enlarged field of 48 teams and action spread over three countries—the USA, Mexico, and Canada—for the first time, this edition was expected to give a new dimension to the beautiful game they call jogo bonito.

The Action Begins: The Rise of Cabo Verde

Thankfully, all was not lost, and once the ball started rolling and action started growing on the fields in the three countries in the fabulous stadium settings, the atmosphere of the true World Cup had begun. True, a few centres had less than capacity crowds initially, but as the days went by, the swaying of the crowd matched familiar sights of the past, and the focus began on the greats of the current game and also the possible new stars of countries which........

© Mathrubhumi English