The 2014 World Cup ended yesterday with Germany, widely regarded as the best team in the tournament, defeated Argentina to win its first World Cup since 1990. Overall, it was a great tournament that drew the attention of people all over the world. There were plenty of storylines throughout the tournament, including the U.S.'s surprising run, Ghana's players demanding payment, poor officiating, possible corruption by FIFA, and Brazil's surprisingly poor performances in its last two games. In this article however, we'll be looking at individual efforts, ten of them to be specific. They may not have had the best stats during the tournament, but they made their presence felt nonetheless. All ten of these players can definitely be considered stars of the World Cup.
1. Miroslav Klose- With his two goals in this Cup, Klose now has scored 16 World Cup goals, an all-time record. He may not have been a big name at the start of this tournament, but he is certainly a notable name now.
2. Tim Howard- The U.S.'s goalkeeper was easily the team's biggest star. While he gave good performances in the group stage, his performance against Belgium in the knockout round was simply amazing. Even though he let in two goals and the Americans lost, Howard had sixteen saves, tying the all-time American World Cup record.
3. Arjen Robben- The Dutch winger was an integral part of his team earning third place. Not only did he record two goals against Spain in the first match (arguably the best individual performance of the tournament), he was a huge part of the Dutch offense. He's easily one of the biggest stars on the international stage.
4. Lionel Messi- The Barcelona star led his team to the finals, but couldn't win the big one. It would have been a big boost to his legacy had he won, but he still had a great tournament. Not only did he win the Golden Ball, he recorded four goals in the group stage.
5. James Rodriguez- One of the biggest surprising stars of the tournament, Rodriguez led Colombia to the quarterfinals. He won the Golden Boot award as the best scorer in the tournament by recording six goals. He also had two assists. He may not have been popular before, but he's now very popular with fans. Look for him to be a big star on the world stage next Cup.
6. Robin van Persie- The forward was an integral part of the Dutch campaign. He scored the first goal against Brzail and recorded three in the group stage. He also scored in the penalty kick round against Costa Rica.
7. Tim Krul- On the surface, it looks like he had a very unordinary World Cup. After all, he only played in one game, and that wasn't even during normal game time. But that one appearance was in penalty kicks against Costa Rica in the second round, and that was a great appearance. He saved two shots to seal the deal for the Dutch.
8. Sergio Romero- One of the finalists for the Golden Glove, the Argentinian goalie let in only four goals throughout the entire tournament. His best performance came against the Dutch in the semi-finals, where he had a shut-out (in fact, he had a shut-out in the first and second rounds as well) and was named Man of the Match.
9.Guillermo Ochoa- One of the best goalies in the tournament, Ochoa became a big fan favorite. His best performance came against Brazil in the group stage, where he had five saves and let in zero goals. He let in only one goal in the group round and two in the first round against the Netherlands.
10. Manuel Neuer- The German Neuer was the best goalie of the tournament. Not only did he win the Golden Glove, but he let in only four goals and posted four shut-outs, including one in the finals against Argentina.
Of course, there are plenty of other stars, including Paul Pogba, Neymar, and Clint Dempsey, but I couldn't everyone in this article. Please comment and tell me who your favorite players of the World Cup were.
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