The Round of Sixteen: Tension, Drama, And Penalties

As you’ve probably gathered by now, the round of sixteen is when things at the World Cup gets serious—deadly serious. The group stage is a festival. Nations from all over come together, and soccer fans, many of whom have saved up for years to make the trip, celebrate. Of course, the supporters want their teams to progress—they are desperate for them to progress—but being there and experiencing the tournament is the main thing.

With the host nation entirely given over to soccer for a month, it’s immersive experience, much like going away to camp—a camp that encompasses an entire country. You talk soccer, eat soccer, drink soccer, sleep soccer, and, in your odd free moments, do a bit of sight-seeing or sunbathing.

Once the group stage ends, some of the joy goes out of the World Cup. Traditionally, many of the smaller or less developed countries depart. This year, they included Australia, Cameroon, and Honduras. Inevitably, one or two of the big soccer powers also trip up and fail to progress. This year, there were four of them: England, Italy, Portugal, and, of course, Spain, the defending champions. Thus my college friend Dan Corry, an English economist with whom I travelled around Mexico when the tournament was last held in Latin America, in 1986, tweeted last week, “Our time in Brazil now over. World Cups are the best (despite England). Done every one since 82. On to Russia!” (The new Cold War permitting, World Cup 2018 will be held in the land of Vladimir Putin.)

But the distinguishing characteristic of the tournament’s later rounds isn’t who participates; it’s that the competition becomes a knockout one. Unlike the group stage, there are no second chances, and no prospect of advancing despite losing, which is what Team U.S.A. achieved. Every game is an elimination match, the equivalent of a Game Seven in a baseball or basketball playoff series. That makes things exciting, but it also tends to produce tense, low-scoring games, and misery for the fans. All too often, the games end in penalty shootouts, which, to any soccer purist, are coronary-inducing abominations. Of course, I may be only saying that because England’s record in these shootouts is so dismal. In the World Cups of 1990, 1998, and 2006, it was eliminated on penalties. So trauma-stricken was the team by this record that this year it hired a sports psychologist to help it cope with another shootout. With England’s early elimination, the shrink wasn’t needed.

On Saturday, as the round of sixteen began, we were treated—if that is the right word—to the spectacle of Brazil, a team historically associated with the beautiful game, kicking, complaining, and, ultimately, lucking its way into the quarterfinals. After the first twenty minutes, during which Brazil played with fluidity and pace, Chile was clearly the superior team. Their players passed better, looked more comfortable on the ball, and played as unit. Brazil’s play was disjointed and poor. At times, it looked like the sole objective was to lump the ball forward to Neymar, its star player and top scorer.

The first half contained more fouls than any other game of the tournament, and the second half wasn’t much better. Brazil was perhaps unfortunate to have a goal disallowed for a handball. But Chile created the better chances, and, in the last minute of extra time, it almost won the game when Mauricio Pinilla crashed the ball against the crossbar. That led to a penalty shootout, which Brazil won, 3-2, courtesy of Chile’s last effort hitting the post and rebounding out.

The second game of the day, between Colombia and Uruguay, was much better. For neutral fans, Colombia, which often fields a team that is talented and disappointing in equal measure, has emerged as one of the feel-good stories of the tournament. Its players attack, they overlap down the wings, and they score goals. Against Uruguay, which was minus Luis Suárez—he had been sent home for biting—Colombia dominated the first hour of the game, and James Rodriguez, a twenty-two-year-old striker who found the nets three times in the group stage, scored twice more to become the top scorer of the tournament. Uruguay came back strongly in the latter stages of the game, but they couldn’t prevent Colombia’s fans from having cause to celebrate. Next, Colombia will encounter Brazil.

At lunchtime on Sunday, in the sweltering heat of Fortaleza, the nation of Mexico suffered a trauma it will remember for decades. With just two minutes to go, its team was deservedly leading by one goal to nil over the formidable Netherlands, which beat Spain, 5-1, in the group stage. Mexico, who had been eliminated in the round of sixteen in four of the last five World Cups, appeared destined to progress to the quarterfinals. In the stands and back home, its fans were preparing for an enormous celebration.

It didn’t happen. Holland, which had been pressing throughout the second half, got an equalizer from a corner. Then, in the fourth minute of injury time, Arjen Robben, the wily Dutch winger, fell down in the penalty box under the lightest of challenges, and the referee called a penalty, which Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a substitute, blasted into the net. Exit Mexico, in the most heartbreaking fashion. On the field, several of its players wept openly.

That left the matchup between another mighty minnow, Costa Rica, and Greece, a well-organized team that is always tough to beat. Costa Rica, which advanced from the group stage by beating Italy and Uruguay, and tying with England, took the lead early in the second half and looked like it would hold on despite going down to ten men after one of its players was sent off for a second bad foul. Once again, though, a tense finish was in store for the fans of the Latin American team. In time added on for injuries and stoppages, Greece equalized.

Come overtime, it looked like Greece would prevail, but it couldn’t quite score a goal. The result was another penalty shootout, and two more groups of players clutching each other in the center circle as they watched five of their colleagues in turn make the lonely walk up to the penalty area to take a shot. On this occasion, the first seven spot kicks went in, an excellent strike rate. Then Theofanis Gekas, of Greece, missed; Michael Umaña, of Costa Rica, scored; and it was over. Costa Rica, for the first time in its history, had reached the quarterfinals.

After all that, we’ve still got two more days of the round of sixteen to go. On Monday, France takes on Nigeria, and Germany plays Algeria. Then, on Tuesday, it’s Argentina versus Switzerland followed by the United States against Belgium.

By the time Team U.S.A. takes the field at 4 P.M. EST, in the city of Salvador, there will be just one place left in the last eight. Can the United States snatch it? Judging by its play during the group stage, it’s got a fighting chance. But all that’s guaranteed is more tension, more drama, and more heartbreak.

[#image: /photos/59095114ebe912338a3726ac]See more of The New Yorker’s coverage of the 2014 World Cup.

Photograph by Ryan Pierse - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images.