Power rankings: Every World Cup game in order of entertainment value

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64. Iran 0-0 Nigeria

Fresh off the back of a 'heroic' defeat to Argentina, Iran were decidedly less impressive in handing Bosnia their first ever World Cup win. Safet Susic’s side finally showed the promise many had heralded pre-tournament, while Iran’s goal not only ensured that every team in the tournament scored, but also meant that Reza Ghoochannejhad became the first Charlton player to score at a World Cup – Charlton!

Peter Odemwingie scored the only goal of the game against Stoke City team-mate Asmir Begovic as dark horses Bosnia were dumped out after having an early goal controversially ruled out. Only twice before had a player scored a World Cup goal past a club team-mate, and the two pairs in question played for Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Stoke being added to that list is enough to merit a place in the top 45 games of any tournament.

A game mostly notable for Jonathan Pearce’s odd confusion about goal-line technology saw French run out comfortable winners. It was a real clash of styles as the French tried their best to kick the ball into the goal and the Hondurans tried to kick the French into the air. In the end, two Karim Benzema goals settled the game. He could have had a third but it was eventually awarded to the back of Honduras goalkeeper, Noel Valladares’ head.

This game had a little bit of everything – two teams going all-out for a win, some odd goalkeeping, a comedy own goal courtesy of Ghana’s John Boye (the only World Cup player named after a character from The Waltons), and even some genuine effort from Cristiano Ronaldo. When Asamoah Gyan nodded in Kwadwo Asamoah’s other-worldly cross, it looked like Ghana might find a way to qualify, but Ronaldo’s late winner ruined it for everyone (apart from the USA, who went through at the expense of both teams).

Three goals in nine second-half minutes made this game look far more exciting than the first half had any right to be. Sure, it was watchable, but until the 60th minute, not a lot happened. Then Ivory Coast brought on Didier Drogba in order to continue their record of only scoring when Le Drog (as no one calls him) was on the pitch, and stuff happened, the most notable of which being the Colombian dancing celebration.

Not the best game of football, but plucky Algeria digging in to knock out Fabio Capello's Russia was pretty fun. The Russians struck early to give hope to giant empires seeking to crush any uprisings worldwide, but Capello’s Algeria (a 21st century Achilles’ heel) struck again as Islam Slimani headed home a corner while Igor Akinfeev was distracted by a flashing light elsewhere in the stadium like an over-excited puppy. We cannot confirm whether or not Akinfeev was put down after the game.

This game saw the start of a crucial World Cup trend – the worst player on the pitch scoring a crucial goal (the other two to join that club were Di Maria and Ozil). Wesley Sneijder’s performance was forgettable, but his 88th-minute equaliser set up a finish no one saw coming. Robben was felled in the box (and despite tabloid hysteria, it was a foul) and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar took Seferovic’s two-week-old record (see No.38) from the spot.

The first taste of the excitement Chile brought to the competition and the first sign that Australia were at least going to make things interesting. Chile’s two early goals suggested they might match the day’s earlier Group B rout (see No.3), but Tim Cahill got one back and Australia threatened to get back into the game. And then, moment of moments, joy of joys, former Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic wide-man Jean Beausejour scored a crucial World Cup goal! Beausejour!

Two of the pre-tournament favourites played out a one-sided affair, decided by German efficiency and a moment of Pepe stupidity – exactly what you’d expect. Thomas Muller scored his sixth, seventh and eighth World Cup goals with his sixth, seventh and ninth World Cup shots, while also winding up Pepe enough to drive the Portuguese defender to headbutt the Bayern forward and subsequently be sent off.

The goal of the tournament from James ‘Don’t call me James’ Rodriguez bumps this game higher that the other 89 minutes and 57 seconds merited. Rodriguez’s much-heralded look over the shoulder, touch and sumptuous volley drew the headlines, but the Monaco star's second goal, at the end of a brilliant team move, was glorious for different reasons. Uruguay, in a post-Suarez malaise, offered little and the Colombians danced on.

‘I believe that we will win’. Despite the omnipresence of this chant, this was the only game that the United States’ Men’s National Team (USMNT!) won the whole tournament, and they did it in super-fun, super-American circumstances. Clint Dempsey gave his side the lead inside the first 30 seconds only for Ghana’s speed and inventiveness to bring an 81st-minute equaliser. However, World Cups are a time for heroes, and American comic book hero of the future, John Brooks, stepped forward to head home the winner before channeling the spirit of Tardelli, Schillaci and Grosso to give win the award for ‘Overly passionate celebration of the tournament’.

A weirdly muted, yet still exciting 3-2, with both teams pretty much assured of last-16 qualification before kick-off. Two moments of Lionel Messi magic were matched by Ahmed Musa in a back-and-forth game, before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner. The real winner was Vincent Enyeama, who appealed to the officials to stop awarding Argentina free-kicks because he wasn’t good enough to stop Messi scoring. We like to think he was only half joking.

A game that will ultimately be remembered for fouls, injuries and FREAKISHLY GIANT GRASSHOPPERS was actually quite a decent football match too. Brazil’s tactics to deal with James Rodriguez may have been questionable, but the hosts produced their best 45 minutes of the tournament in the first half. The second half got pretty weird as Brazil panicked, David Luiz scored a worldy, Neymar broke both his body and a country’s collective heart, before Rodriguez created an exciting last 10 minutes during which he was attacked by a FREAKISHLY GIANT GRASSHOPPER.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ 91st-minute equaliser was the least popular goal of the competition, preventing people across Europe going to bed and subjecting them to an extra 30 minutes of Greece. As it was, the Greeks piled on the pressure in an entertaining extra period against Costa Rica’s 10 men. Jorge Luis Pinto’s side held on for penalties, allowing Keylor Navas to build on his in-game heroics by taking his side to a most unlikely quarter-final appearance.

A stroke of genius from Lionel Messi prevented Iran from picking up one of the greatest points in World Cup history. An immaculate defensive performance from Carlos Queiroz’s men came so close to earning them an amazing draw against the eventual finalists/winners, yet the 91 minutes they held out weren’t quite enough, as Messi needed just a yard of space to curl home a spectacular winner and break Iranian hearts.

Another knockout game, another disappointing 90 minutes before a pulsating, end-to-end, extra period. Costa Rica’s defensive prowess showed no signs of abating as they kept out Arjen Robben and company to take the game to penalties. The real drama came immediately before the shootout, as Louis van Gaal replaced goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen with Newcastle's Tim Krul in one of the most extraordinary substitutions in footballing history. Whether it was psychology or penalty prowess, it did the trick as Krul made two saves to help the Dutch into the semis.

The hipster derby saw the Colombians crowned Group C champions against the already-eliminated Japanese. After a quiet first half, the rested James Rodriguez was introduced at the break, setting up two before chipping home a delightful third goal of the tournament after a jinking run. If that wasn’t enough, Colombia brought on Faryd Mondragon for this first competitive international game in nine years, making him the oldest player in World Cup history aged 43.

The first sign that there was something special about this Costa Rican team. After going behind to an Edinson Cavani penalty, an extraordinary second-half performance secured three points for the underdogs. Joel Campbell delighted and confused Arsenal fans with a superb lone-striker performance, scoring the equaliser before Oscar Duarte’s brave diving header and Marcos Urena’s clipped finished secured the three points. To compound Uruguay’s misery, Maxi Pereira saw red for a churlish kickout in injury time. Surely their competition couldn’t get any worse…?

…it could. This winner-takes-all Group D clash was decided by a late header from Diego Godin, as Italy failed to hold on with 10 men following Claudio Marchisio's earlier red card. That was a sideshow to the real story, however, as Luis Suarez grabbed the headlines with a frankly unbelievable bite of Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder. This resulted in a four-month ban, a listless Uruguayan second-round performance and a transfer to Barcelona. We should point that Suarez has yet to admit any intent, and has claimed that his teeth fell onto Chiellini’s shoulder.

After their early shellacking at the hands of the Dutch (see No.3), Spain headed to Rio knowing they needed a result against Chile to stay in the tournament. And despite Vicente del Bosque making changes, his side crashed out as Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz goals gave the Chileans three points. Chile’s brilliant performance was lost in the hysteria of Spain’s defeat and exit, with Gary Medel putting in what we feel safe calling ‘the best performance from a Cardiff City player in World Cup history’. Very much the end of an era (that’s Spain’s exit, not Cardiff's relevance).

An extraordinary finish to Group C as Georgios Samaras’s 90th-minute penalty put Greece through to the knockout stages at the expense of Ivory Coast. Wilfried Bony cancelled out Andreas Samaris’s opener with just 15 minutes left to spark wild Ivory Coast celebrations, but it wasn’t enough. Deep into injury time, Samaras shaped to shoot, but his leg was caught from behind, causing him to kick the turf and fall to the ground. The Celtic forward was nerveless from the spot, securing the Greek’s an unlikely second-round berth.

Julio Cesar was the host’s hero as they overcame a brilliant Chile performance to progress. David Luiz turned in Neymar’s corner to give Brazil the lead but Alexis Sanchez took advantage of some confusion in the Brazil defense to equalise. From then on, either team could have snatched it. Howard Webb ruled out Hulk’s volley for offside before Mauricio Pinilla smashed against the bar at the end of extra time. From then on it was Cesar’s moment. The QPR keeper saved from Sanchez and Pinilla (he had no chance with the below Aranguiz effort), before Gonzalo Jara hit the inside of the post to send Brazil through.

A game nobody had circled in their diaries ended up one of the most enjoyable of the tournament. The Algerians' pace and power was too much for a lacklustre South Korean side, as first-half goals from Slimani, Halliche and Djabou put them in control. South Korea rallied in the second half, threatening to make the game competitive, but they never got closer than two goals as the Desert Foxes impressed all the neutral onlookers with an thumping win.

This one was as entertaining as one-sided games get. A gloriously dynamic French performance saw them race into a five-goal lead, despite Karim Benzema’s missed penalty and Yohan Cabaye’s hilarious miss from the rebound. Goals from Giroud, Matuidi, Valbuena, Benzema and Sissoko torched a Swiss defence lumbered with Philippe Senderos, before two late goals in reply gave an air of respectability. There was still time for Benzema to have a goal disallowed by a referee blowing up just as he curled up home a 20-yard screamer. A glorious thrashing in Salvador – the city of goals.

The first match of the tournament to pit two of the game's 'big hitters' against one another, in a fixture only ruined by the conditions in Manaus, which caused a laboured last 20 minutes. England’s performance was one that gave hope, yet the class of the Italians showed. Andrea Pirlo’s stepover from a short corner led to Claudio Marchisio sweeping home from 25 yards, but England responded immediately as Daniel Sturridge finished at the back post from Wayne Rooney’s fine run and cross. Both teams had chances but it was Mario Balotelli who made the telling contribution, heading home at the back post for the winner.

As good and competitive an opening game as the World Cup had seen in many years. After the opening ceremony, the tone was set with the extraordinary accapella version of Brazili’s anthem, sending goosebumps all over Sao Paulo. Marcelo’s own goal shocked the world, but then came the Neymar show. The face of the tournament fired in from 25 yards to equalise, but his second was to come in controversial circumstances. There was minimal contact between Dejan Lovren and Fred, but as the striker flung himself to the ground, the ref awarded the penalty (below) which Neymar converted. Croatia then had more reasons to complain as they had an equaliser harshly disallowed before Oscar’s toe poke caught Pletikosa in the Croatian goal by surprise to secure the win.

The Boateng Derby ended in a pulsating draw between two teams who either couldn’t be bothered or completely forgot how to defend. All four goals games in 22 second-half minutes as the Ghanaians came from 1-0 down (Mario Gotze heading the ball in via his knee) to take a 2-1 lead with goals from Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan. Miroslav Klose then equalised in the most ‘Klose’ of fashions, prodding home at the back post. Both sides had chances to win it late on but it wasn’t to be.

The American odyssey continued in a fine draw against Cristiano Ronaldo and 'friends'. Nani fired Portugal ahead following Geoff Cameron's sliced clearance, but from then on in, America more than merited their point, testing the favourites time and time again on the counter attack. Michael Bradley missed a good chance to level the scores before Jermaine Jones curled in a thunderous 20-yard equaliser. Clint ‘Captain America’ Dempsey guided the ball home off his midriff in the last 10 minutes to seemingly seal all three points, only for Ronaldo to provide Silvestre Varela with a headed opportunity he couldn’t miss. Despite America’s heartbreak, they would still qualify at Portugal’s expense.

One of the most surprisingly entertaining games of the group stage saw the Aussies stand toe-to-toe with the eventual semi-finalists. Arjen Robben’s run and shot gave the Dutch the lead but the Socceroos responded immediately as Tim Cahill scored one of the goals of the tournament with a Van Basten-esque volley (below). Mile Jedinak then gave his side a shock lead from the spot, but Robin van Persie levelled the scores again, smashing home from inside the box. Mathew Leckie’s gilt-edged miss proved costly. The striker attempted to chest home into an open goal, yet he failed to get enough power from his torso. The Netherlands went straight up the other end and Matthew Ryan couldn’t keep out Memphis Depay’s winner, putting Australia out of the tournament despite a heroic effort. Strewth indeed.

Algeria threatened to pull off an incredible upset and exact revenge for 1982 for much of this game. A languid performance from the Germans was almost punished by the Algerians’ threat on the counter attack, as the African side wasted a glut of opportunities. When extra time arrived, though, the Germans' class told. Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle’s improvised finish early in extra time settled German nerves before Mesut Ozil broke Algerian hearts. A late Abdelmoumene Djabou volley ensured a frantic finish but the Germans cruelly held on.

It wasn't the greatest game of football, but it was arguably the best final since 1986. It had been billed as the man (Lionel Messi) against the machine (Germany), but the script was flipped as the disciplined Argentinians frustrated the Germans before a moment of individual magic from Mario Gotze (also a man) proved the difference. Argentina missed numerous chances but could never test Manuel Neuer as Germany won their fourth World Cup.

Perhaps the most competitive match of the tournament, as everyone’s pre-tournament 'dark horses' held off everyone’s new darlings in a thrilling encounter. A goalless 90 minutes was not without incident, as Tim Howard seemingly kept Marc Wilmots’ side out single-handedly (replays later showed he was, in fact, using both hands), yet the best chance fell to Chris Wondolowski at the death. Romelu Lukaku’s introduction at the start of extra time made the difference as the striker set up Kevin De Bruyne to open the scoring, before doubling the lead himself. Julian Green’s wonderful volley set up the grandest of grandstand finishes, but the USMNT couldn’t make the breakthrough.

In any other tournament, this would be the best and most memorable game by an absolute mile: defending champions and most dominant team of this (or almost any) era were taken apart in an extraordinary second half. What’s easy to forget is that not only did the Spanish take the lead, but David Silva missed a simple chance to put them two up – how different might the tournament have been had he scored? There were no ifs and buts after that, however. Robin van Persie’s memorable diving header levelled the scores before RVP and Arjen Robben tore the Spanish apart in an incredible second 45 minutes. Spain looked staggeringly short of ideas as the Dutch ran wild; in the end it could have been six or seven. The death of an all-time great side?

Perhaps the most memorable game in any World Cup. In the biggest win ever seen in a World Cup semi, the hosts and pre-tournament favourites were blown away in an almost unbelievable opening 30 minutes. Four goals in six minutes did the damage as Brazil, playing without Thiago Silva and Neymar, looked shell-shocked from the off. The German performance was one for the ages, as Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos dominated the midfield, while the front three of Ozil, Muller and Klose tore the David Luiz-led defence apart. Klose rubbed further salt in the gaping Brazilian wounds by taking Ronaldo’s record as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup finals, but even that was lost in the extraordinary result. So much of Brazil’s footballing identity is based around their loss to Uruguay in 1950 – this tournament was seen as their chance for redemption. As it was, this defeat may go down as their worst in history, a result that sheds different light on the last 30 years of Brazilian football and one that will shape them going forward. Yet let’s not let context overshadow what was an extraordinary 90 minutes of football; a German performance for the ages. SEVEN-ONE!

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