Nick Butler: A modern and thrilling World Cup uniting the world in a divided age

Not many people could have foreseen that one of the knockout matches of the FIFA World Cup would feature Greece, pitting their wits against the supposed minnows of Group D of Death, Costa Rica.

Even fewer would have predicted that the final hour of the contest would have gripped the world, as the heroic ten-men of Central America resisted the Balkan surge before triumphing in a penalty shootout of breathtaking quality.

And while many of the 41,000 fans who piled into the Arena Pernambuco in Recife may have been disappointed not to have been watching the likes of Italy or Uruguay or, dare I say it, England, in action, they did not show it.

Indeed, the local population were enraptured as they have been during every match of what has so far been a pulsating tournament.

While journalists descended on Brazil expecting to prise open various controversies spanning popular discontent, inadequate stadiums and FIFA corruption allegations, the worst scandal they have found is diving, dodgy refereeing decisions and a certain Uruguayan striker who bit off more than he could chew.

By common consent it has been the best supported, most entertaining and highest quality World Cup in many a generation.

Costa Rica's footballers brilliantly held their nerve to win one of many engrossing encounters in the World Cup so far ©AFP/Getty Images

After a year in which the conflict sweeping the world has ramped up a notch, from the fundamentalism advancing through the Middle East and much of Africa to the disorder in Ukraine, football is a way in which the world can be brought back together.

The internet has been awash with photos of world leaders watching the action, from Barack Obama on Air Force One to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sitting in tracksuit trousers celebrating a 0-0 draw with Nigeria, and football is a way to unite countries with little else in common, such as Greece and Costa Rica.

Football, like all sport but more so than any other, is also a way for a nation to project soft power. In a more subtle but arguably effective way than through "hard" military or economic means, it can illustrate the strengths and attractions of a country and give it more of a voice on the international stage.

There are obviously limitations to this, with the corruption and inequality still engulfing Brazil obscured rather than extinguished by the success of the football. But the World Cup has shown many good sides of South America's largest country: from the vitality of its culture, to the beauty of its geographical landmarks, and to the genuine sporting passion of its people.

I challenge anyone to watch the national anthems ahead of the Brazilian clash with Chile, a terrific advert for the game from start to finish, and not be impressed by the show of unity and national pride from both teams.

A less expected example of a country using the World Cup to boost its international image is Iran.

At a time when the nation is attempting to resolve its differences with the West to combat the common problem of the radical Islamic advance in neighbouring Iraq, the World Cup has been rightly hailed as Iran's coming-out party to the world. As well as the image of Rouhani, thought to be the first time the President has been publicly pictured out of clerical garb since being elected a year ago, their matches were littered with male and female fans embracing the World Cup spirit in a show of patriotism like any other.

It is hoped that the lifting of a ban on women attending football matches in Iran will soon follow.

The picture posted by President Rouhani on Twitter epitomised Iran's attempt to use the World Cup to present a modern face to the world ©Twitter

Football still has a long way to go to completely take over the world. It remains a minority sport in the United States, Japan and China, and an even more peripheral one in India. But the fact that viewing figures in the US for the clash with Portugal peaked at 24.7 million, the highest ever for a "soccer" match and more than tuned in for either the baseball World Series or the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals, suggests the influence is greater than ever before.

When the standard of the football is so thrilling, this is not too much of a surprise.

The World Cup has perfectly illustrated the evolution of the modern game, where technical prowess and the "tika-taka" style perfected by Spain remains important, but along with a more direct and physical approach illustrated by the likes of Colombia, Germany and The Netherlands.

But the greatest aspect has been the way most of the biggest names in the sport have very much come to the party. From Neymar to Messi and Rodríguez to Robben, rarely have so many great players shone on a World Cup stage at the same time.

Yet while these individuals have prospered, the importance of having a strong team has also been striking. Unlike at Barcelona, the Brazilian team has been perfectly honed to bring the best out of Neymar, who works best off a striker, such as Fred, who holds up the ball for him.

Likewise, while Messi was ineffective in the first half of Argentina's opening game with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the decision to bring on Gonzalo Higuaín and drop Messi back into a deeper role "in the pocket" has given the Argentinian maestro the space he needs to wreak havoc.

Colombian playmaker James Rodríguez is one of many superstars to have lit up the World Cup so far, along with Neymar and Messi ©Getty Images

But the case of Spain, where the core of a team which have prospered for so long appeared to grow old together during their nightmarish pounding at the feet of the Dutch, illustrates the importance of keeping a team evolving and bringing new talent through.

A comparison can be drawn here with the England cricket team, with Pietersen, Swann, Prior and co being found out by the Australians in the Ashes Series earlier this year rather like Casillas, Xavi, Ramos and co were in Brazil.

That brings us on to England. Page after page has been written suggesting why England are unable to prosper as their wait for a first trophy since 1966 appears further away than ever after Roy Hodgson's team failed to get out of a World Cup Finals group stage for the first time since 1958.

But rather than any deep-lying failure within the Premier League or with the fundamental footballing culture in the country that founded the game, I feel the problem is a simpler question of why talented English players are unable to perform at their best on the biggest stage?

Some teams prospered in Brazil while others, like England and Spain, did not
©AFP/Getty Images

Although it seemed a misguided rant at the time and was slightly flawed by the subsequent failure of his Italian team, the words of Gianluca Vialli before the Azzurri's 2-1 victory over England were particularly poignant.

While the Italians, the 49-year-old former striker turned Chelsea and Watford manager claimed, eat "pressure for breakfast", the English players are unable to deal with expectation and scrutiny on a totally different level to what they encounter in the Premier League.

"I think it's quite funny with England," he said. "Because, for about four years, all the England fans and the players feel a bit depressed and disillusioned when it comes to the England side and then, one month before the World Cup starts, everybody sort of starts feeling that they [will] naturally win it and everybody feels super-confident.

"I think the England players find it quite difficult when they play in the World Cup because they are not used to the pressure."

If you compare the stilted English performances with the cool composure shown by Costa Rica during their penalty shootout last night, there certainly seems something in this.

But while the next four years will see plenty of appraisals over what has gone wrong, in England, Italy and elsewhere, it is now time to focus on the teams who are doing well as the tournament enters its final phase.

And the greatest thing is that so far, Brazil and football as a whole is rising to the pressure and creating a World Cup fit for a so-called beautiful game that is bringing a figment of unity to a divided and tumultuous world.

Nick Butler is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here