Well, we're approaching week four of the 2014 Fifa World Cup and I think it's safe to say that we've pretty much seen it all at this point.
We've been entertained, we've been surprised and, this past week especially, we've been disgusted. As much as that final statement could be attributed to the English national team's performance in Brazil, I think we all know what it is I'm referring to.
For the third time in his career, yes ladies and gentlemen third time, Liverpool and Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has found himself embroiled in a biting scandal. Yes guys, you did read that right, a biting scandal. As the minutes ticked down in Uruguay's do or die match-up with Italy June 24, Suarez decided he would take a chunk out of the unfortunate Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder as they collided inside the penalty area.
The incident was missed by the match officials (not surprising considering the shambolic refereeing performances thus far), but Suarez has since been fined $120,000, kicked out of the World Cup and banned from all football, including training and playing for his club team, for four months.
This comes almost 18 months to the day since Suarez lunged teeth first at Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in a Premier League game, and four years after the Dutch Football Association banned him for seven games for biting an opponent in an Eredivisie match.
Even though they went on to secure a 1-0 win over Italy in Group D, the suspension of Suarez left Uruguay without its talisman as the knockout stages of the competition kicked off this past weekend, and the team would suffer as a result, losing 2-0 to a James Rodriguez inspired Colombia to end their tournament.
This round of 16 has certainly been one to remember so far, with several dramatic late twists and turns leaving football fanatics around the world glued to their television sets. Saturday morning, Brazil overcame Chile on penalty shots after the two teams had played out an entertaining 1-1 tie after extra-time before Colombia dispatched of Uruguay later that afternoon.
Sunday saw the Netherlands and Mexico clash in what may very well have been the comeback of the tournament thus far. Trailing by a goal to nil heading into the last five minutes, Wesley Sneijder and a late Klaas-Jan Huntelaar penalty for the Dutch brought them back from the brink to secure a 2-1 victory over a plucky Mexican outfit.
The fairytale story of the tournament so far still has a page or two left to go as Costa Rica edged past Greece on penalty shots despite playing for nearly an hour with ten men after Oscar Duarte received his marching orders midway through the second half.
With four games down, there's still four to go! By the time you are all reading this, you will likely know who will have joined Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Netherlands in the quarter-finals with France versus Nigeria and Germany versus Algeria taking place Monday.
Argentina – Switzerland and the highly anticipated Belgium – USA games will have been played early on Tuesday.
Since I had a better outing last week with my predictions, I'll give it another shot this time around. I'm thinking Germany, France, Argentina and Belgium will advance to the quarters to set up some blockbuster matches later this week.
It's been a fantastic tournament so far and it's only going to get better from here on out. Make sure you're somewhere near a TV to catch this week's games – you won't want to miss them.
