Gary Meenaghan was in Brazil for all of the World Cup 2014 action and picks his five disappointing flops of the tournament.
Igor Akinfeev (Russia) The CSKA Moscow stopper produced the howler of the tournament when he spilled a relatively straightforward save to give South Korea the lead in Russia's opening match.
In Russia’s final match, against Algeria, he was at fault again, charging out to collect a free-kick, but missing it and allowing a free header at an empty goal. The goal ended his side’s hopes of progress.
Want pictures? Click here to see a photo gallery of the top XI flops of the World Cup 2014
Pepe (Portugal) The Portuguese defender was shown a straight red card for an avoidable clash of heads in the 37th minute of his country's opening game, which Germany went on to win 4-0.
Not only did it rule Pepe out of the next match, but they never recovered from the heavy defeat, eventually being eliminated on goal difference.
Alex Song (Cameroon) A host of Cameroon players could have made the Flop Five, but Song takes top spot courtesy of one of the most ridiculous expulsions in recent memory.
The Barcelona midfielder lost his head and forced his elbow viciously into the back of Mario Manduzukic, in front of the referee, as his country lost 4-0.
Diego Costa (Spain) Born in Brazil, Costa opted to instead represent Spain, but he never looked comfortable at the focal point of the Spanish attack.
Noticeably off the pace compared to his tiki-taka teammates, Costa’s physical presence was not enough to stop the world champions from being eliminated and he was dropped for the 3-0 win over Australia.
Fred (Brazil) Booed by his countrymen against Germany, Fred came to represent the under-performing Brazil side.
He failed to score in six matches, never looked a genuine danger and was totally incapable of stepping up when Neymar was injured.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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