Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan, left, tries to get past United States’ John Brooks during the group G World Cup soccer match between Ghana and the United States at the Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, Monday, June 16, 2014.NATAL, Brazil – In the buildup to the World Cup, the Brazilian football catchphrase of “Jogo Bonito” – The Beautiful Game – was drowned out by the bangs of frantic construction work and the shouts of angry protesters. Not now.
The football – it’s been open, attacking and packed full of goals and great moments – is doing all the talking.
Neymar kicked Brazil into gear, Robin van Persie soared and scored with one of the most spectacular headers you’ll see, and Argentina wizard Lionel Messi conjured up a little left-footed magic at the Maracana. On Monday, it kept coming: Thomas Mueller scored a hat-trick for Germany in a shock 4-0 rout of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Clint Dempsey hit the net just half a minute into the United States’ World Cup in an end-to-end 2-1 win over Ghana. The first round of group games isn’t even done yet.
It’s not just the big-name teams either. There was Costa Rica’s pulsating comeback to sweep past a highly-rated Uruguay and Switzerland’s last-gasp winner over Ecuador.
“All the games we’re watching, there’s a lot of open play, there’s a lot of beautiful goals. It’s just wonderful to be here, isn’t it?” Netherlands fan Paul Rolleman said as he walked – with a party-inspired hangover, he confessed – under perfect blue skies along Rio’s famed Copacabana beach.