South America Dominates the World Cup Thus Far

While it is no surprise that Brazil and Argentina finished 1st in their respective groups, the continent of South America can be heard chanting a collective “OLE!” to celebrate the region’s dominance in the tournament thus far.

Of the 5 groups in this summer’s World Cup that include South American sides, those teams have finished top four times – Uruguay in Group A, Argentina in Group B, Paraguay in Group F, and Brazil in Group G.  Only Germany and the Netherlands were able to escape the wrath of these Latin powerhouses, through a favourable draw. With the USA winning Group C, and Mexico taking 2nd in Group A… the New World nations have collectively flipped the bird to Europe and Africa this tournament. What would Christopher Columbus say?!

What’s to account for this? Who knows… you could point to the fact that the South Americans did not have to acclimatize to the Winter season, since they stayed on their side of the Equator. But at the end of the day, these teams are just great. Can Europe roar back in the knockout rounds? We’ll see. Most of the European sides actually face off against one another in the first Knockout Stage, so we’ll have to wait until the Quarterfinals to see if Europe can take revenge.

On a side note, two Asian teams – South Korea and Japan - have advanced and must take on South American teams. Can Asia crack the South American nut?

Back to border control for the North Korea National Football Team

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We at Footy Factor would like to thank Andy Taylor from Washington DC for submitting this article.