We are just four days into the tournament, but there has been no shortage of talking points at Brazil 2014 both on and off the pitch. wholesale jerseys . The goals have been flowing with 37 scored through the first 11 matches, making it the highest scoring World Cup since 1958. Here are the top five things that caught my attention in the tournament so far. 1. Pain for Spain There really was no bigger story for me during the opening days of the tournament than the remarkable fall of the defending Champions Spain at the hands of the Netherlands. It wasnt just the size of the win by the Dutch in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup Final, it was the manner of the victory that shook the soccer world. Four goals is the biggest margin of defeat for a defending Champion in World Cup history. From Robin Van Persies stunning diving header, to Arjen Robbens exceptional two-goal performance it was an incredible, clinical display from the Netherlands, and they could have finished with more goals. All of this came after Spain had taken the lead, and almost went 2-0 up just before RVPs equalizer. However, as impressive as the Dutch were, much of the surprise was about how Spain crumbled. In the second half, the defending World and European Champions looked anything but. The performance of the normally reliable Iker Casillas was just one black mark on a bad afternoon at the office for the Spaniards, and a late miss from close range by Fernando Torres summed up a bleak afternoon. Spain lost their first match in 2010 and went on to win the World Cup. It will be fascinating to see how they respond this time around. 2. Magical Messi There was much talk heading into the tournament about Lionel Messis status as one of the true soccer greats. Can he be on a pedestal alongside the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona if he doesnt win a World Cup? Messi showed on Sunday night what we have seen many times before for Barcelona. Whatever the game, whoever is around him, he has the ability to single-handedly influence the outcome. Argentina were not at their best against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and neither was Messi, but with his team holding a slender one goal advantage against the World Cup newcomers, Messi scored a fantastic goal, leaving defenders trailing in his wake. It was a piece of individual brilliance that provided a spark needed by his team. Whether Messi wins the tournament or not is irrelevant to me - he has already shown plenty for both club and country to be classed as one of the Worlds elite players of all time. 3. Young Lions I didnt expect much from England heading into the tournament, but I was pleasantly surprised by their performance in the 2-1 defeat to Italy on Saturday night. With young attacking flair, they looked dangerous going forward, and despite losing the match showed there is much to look forward to in the future. Raheem Sterling certainly repaid the faith shown by England boss Roy Hodgson with the Liverpool teenager putting in an excellent performance. One of the big debates afterwards was the performance of Wayne Rooney. He missed an excellent chance with England down 2-1 but struggled to influence the game from an unfamiliar position wide on the left. If England are to be successful, they need to get the best out of Rooney, and Im not sure that position will enable that to happen. With Costa Ricas surprise victory over Uruguay, it leaves the group wide open. Italy will be favourites to advance in first place. England will need to tighten up defensively but if they can produce similar attack-minded performances in their next two matches, I think they have a good chance to advance. 4. Croatia Robbed After all the build up to the World Cup, when the action finally began, it was a massive letdown that the post-game talking point was about refereeing and a controversial penalty. Neymar and Oscar produced star performances as the host nation got off to a winning start, but the game really turned Brazils way when Dejan Lovren was judged to have fouled Fred in the box. It should never have been a penalty. The contact was minimal, and Fred flopped like an Olympic diver, but Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot and the penalty gave Brazil the lead they needed to settle some nerves. It was a very poor decision, but fortunately in the days that followed, the action has been so good that the officials have not been the centre if attention. However, Croatian fans will find it difficult to forgive and forget as they were in the game until the referee changed the course of the match. 5. Ouch! Poor old Gary Lewin. Immediately after Daniel Sturridge scored Englands levelling goal in the first half against Italy on Saturday night, cameras zoomed in on the touch line near the England bench. A crowd of people, including medics, were huddled around someone who was lying flat out on the floor. At first there was confusion. Who was it? What had gone wrong? Turns out the man down injured was actually the England physio! Gary Lewin had hurt himself while celebrating Englands goal. He jumped up, landed on a water bottle and dislocated his ankle. It was an embarrassing situation at the time, but it will leave Lewin with a good story in years to come of how he injured himself during a World Cup match and had to be stretchered off! Roy Hodgson confirmed the injury after the match and also that Lewins World Cup is over. A disappointing end for the physio, but at least he will have expert help on hand throughout his recovery. jerseys cheap nfl . -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis. cheap nfl jerseys . - The Abbotsford Heat hope a last-minute goal keeps their season alive for more than one extra game. FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Miroslav Klose rescued a point for Germany, and equaled the World Cup scoring record in the process. Germany was held to an entertaining 2-2 draw by Ghana on Saturday and needed Kloses second-half equalizer to avoid another second-game letdown that has plagued the team in recent tournaments. Klose now has 15 career World Cup goals, equaling the mark set by former Brazil star Ronaldo. He celebrated the goal with his trademark somersault. "It wasnt perfect, but I cant remember the last time I did it," Klose said. "Still, 15 goals in 20 matches, thats not bad." Just like in 2010, Germany won its opening game of the World Cup 4-0 but struggled in its second game. Four years ago, it was beaten 1-0 by Serbia, and the Germans were on the verge of losing again on Saturday. The draw was good news for the United States, however, as the Americans would advance from the group if they beats Portugal on Sunday. "Ghana really threw everything they had at us. It was a very animated match. Both teams had many chances, and many counterattacks," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "Thats not how the match was planned, but thats how it turned out." Klose scored the equalizer in the 71st minute, less than two minutes after coming on as a substitute, when a corner by Toni Kroos was flicked to the far post by Benedikt Hoewedes and the striker slid in to knock the ball into the roof of the net. Ronaldo reacted with a tweet: "Welcome to the club (hashtag)klose. I can imagine your happiness!!!! What a great Cup!!!?" Mario Goetze had put Germany ahead in the 51st, but Ghana equalized three minutes later through Andre Ayew. Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan then put the Africans ahead in the 63rd, only to see Klose cancel out his goal. The 36-year-old Klose is in his fourth World Cup and had been level with former Germany striker Gerd Mueller on 14 goals. Ronaldo also scored his 15th against Ghana, in a 3-0 win in 2006 in Germany. With coach Joachim Loew preferring to play with a "false nine" system without a striker, Klose sat out Germanys opening 4-0 rout of Portugal. But with Ghana threatening to put a damper on Germanys hope of winning the group, Loew turned to his veteran, who delivered again. "I am very happy for Klose. He was on the pitch for two minutes and he scored. Its sensational for his career," Loew said. "He is a player who can come on and have a decisive impact. Thats great for me, for the team, and for him." Still, the result revived Ghanas hopes of progressing aftter its opening 2-1 loss to the United States. cheap jerseys. "It was a good competitive game. We did our best and we had many other chances that could have produced goals," Ghana coach James Appiah said. "Ghanaians have a strong mentality when it comes to football, to fight to the end to matter what is happening. Playing against Germany is difficult especially when you are a goal down. So you have to have the right players with the right mentality on the pitch." Germany took the lead when Thomas Mueller sent a dipping cross toward Goetze, who attempted a header but the ball bounced off his left knee into the net. Germanys lead lasted only three minutes. Ayew rose between Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi to head the equalizer inside the far post from a cross from Harrison Affu. With the non-German side of crowd loudly behind the Ghana team, the African side kept putting pressure on the favoured Germans. Gyan beat an offside trap by Mats Hummels and Mertesacker in the 63rd, ran into space and fired the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into the far corner to raise Ghanas hopes of an upset. In between the first two goals, a fan ran onto the pitch waving his shirt. He did not threaten any players but shook hands with Ghanas Sully Muntari, who escorted him off the field before he was picked up by a security official. Ushers then moved to block stairwells leading to the pitch. Both teams had late chances to grab the winner but Neuer and his Ghana counterpart Fatawu Dauda produced good saves. Muntari picked up a late yellow card late in the match for his second booking and will miss his teams final group game against Portugal. Schalke forward Kevin-Prince Boateng played from the start for Ghana, pitting him against half-brother Jerome Boateng, a Germany defender. There was little contact between the two and Jerome was substituted at halftime with a hip injury. Mueller, who scored a hat trick against Portugal, had to be helped off the pitch after the match with a bloodied face after colliding with John Boye. -------- Lineups: Germany: Manuel Neuer; Jerome Boateng (Shkodran Mustafi, 46th), Per Mertesacker, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Howedes; Sami Khedira (Bastian Schweinsteiger, 70th), Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil; Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze (Miroslav Klose, 69th). Ghana: Fatau Dauda; Harrison Afful, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah; Kwadwo Asamoah, Sulley Muntari, Mohammed Rabiu (Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, 78th), Christian Atsu (Mubarak Wakaso, 72nd), Andre Ayew; Kevin-Prince Boateng (Jordan Ayew, 52nd), Asamoah Gyan. cheap jerseys ' ' '
