Battle for the Top: Week Three of the World Cup

As excitement grew around the World Cup, so did social engagement. And no match was more talked about than Brazil's nail-biting finale with Chile. Cesar ultimately became the host country's hero:







More than 16.4 million tweets were sent during the match, making it the most tweeted game from the World Cup so far. Twitter noted the moment that Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara missed the crucial penalty to put Brazil through, triggered 389,000 tweets per minute — beating the previous record-holder (The Superbowl 48 at 382,000 tweets per minute) as the most tweeted sporting event to date.

On the same day, Colombia made history on the pitch, with their first ever World Cup Quarterfinal appearance after James put in an amazing hip/chest volley.



The next day, it was all about Suarez's ban and Mexico.



While the world debated the fairness of Suarez's ban, the Internet mourned the exit of Mexican coach, Herrera -- and skewered Robben for pushing him out.





Another airline (who shall remain nameless) misstepped and quickly apologized for social insensitivity as they celebrated their country's victory -- all while @MenInBlazers continued to show the world how you own social during the World Cup.

As the matches continued, so did the memes. Germany's Neuer won respect by not just playing an outstanding keeping game against Algeria but also by playing in a great fullback position.







While Suarez issued what many felt was a non-pology:



The USA lit up the online conversation in one of the more entertaining matches, despite the goal-less score throughout regulation time. Early in the match, an enthusiastic fan jumped onto the pitch, sparking great commentary:







And then, Tim Howard quickly became the new Internet sensation, even fueling #ThingsTimHowardCanSave and a short-lived Wikipedia change to US Secretary of Defense:













As the semi-finals and quarterfinals cleared the competition, Brazil and Colombia was one for the books. It was one of the most physical, free-flowing games of the tournament, with over 53 fouls committed and no yellow cards until the 40th foul. All of which ultimately led to Neymar’s exit.







With the finals starting to heat up, we know the rest of the matches will only bring more banter, conversation and stats for us to enjoy, as best expressed by @MenInBlazers:



Published on 2014-07-07 00:39:20

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