Best player not always a World Cup winner – Mendieta

It’s hard to pick the best player of the tournament sometimes. The award is usually given to someone in the Final – but this could be unfair this time.

Arjen Robben has played at a high level Netherlands, like James Rodriguez with Colombia. For Germany, Toni Kroos makes everything so simple and Thomas Müller has again proven his value. Goalkeepers have also had a good World Cup; Neuer, Ochoa, Navas … choosing one is hard.

It might have been a disaster for Brazil but there was no doubting the merit of Germany’s margin of victory and superiority. They had possession, won the ball back and made everything easy.

However, Brazil have not convinced in this tournament. In the first game, they were lucky with the penalty, they drew against Mexico, suffered too much against Chile. Against Colombia they had intensity and the desire to win. But in the second half, Colombia could have scored more.

When you play against Germany, you need to be strong and Brazil showed they were not defensively strong.