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This article was first published 10 years ago

FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

July 16, 2014 08:01 IST

Image: Soccer fans gather to watch the World Cup final match between Germany and Argentina
Photographs: Eric Thayer/Getty Images

A new study has revealed three words that are most widely used by people around the world to describe each of the 32 teams in the ongoing World Cup.

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The study was conducted by Britain's CambridgeUniversity and based its finding on the analysis of several online sources, including a multi-billion-word database called the Cambridge English Corpus, reported news.com.au.

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Brazil fans react after the Netherlands scored to take a 3-0 lead in extra time on Copacabana Beach
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Words like, 'stunning', 'rampaging', 'thrilling', 'determined' were used to describe the teams that were admired by people on the internet. On the other hand, 'woeful', 'embarrassing' and 'failure' were some of the words that were used by football fans to voice their displeasure against individual teams.

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Tim Cahill, left, and Mark Milligan of Australia embrace after being defeated by Chile
Photographs: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Here is a look at how the teams fared on the popularity meter all over the world. They have been categorized into good, mixed, bad and awful depending on the three words that have been used the most to describe them.

GOOD

Australia

"Positive, effort, spirited."

Algeria

"Determined, pride, together."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Colombia's national soccer team players are greeted by fans, at their arrival in Bogota
Photographs: Jose Miguel Gomez/Reuters

Belgium

"Flair, dark horse, talent."

Chile

"Attacking, tactical, thrilling."

Colombia

"Unpredictable, exciting, attacking."

Costa Rica

"Dynamic, pace, battle."

Croatia

"Dangerous, tactical, competitive."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Manuel Neuer of Germany lifts the World Cup trophy with his team after defeating Argentina 1-0
Photographs: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

France

"Organised, defensive, exciting."

Germany

"Powerful, focused, committed."

Honduras

"Spirit, physical, robust."

Mexico

"Determined, tactical, talented."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Netherlands team pose after winning the 2014 World Cup third-place playoff against Brazil at the Brasilia national stadium
Photographs: Ruben Sprich/Reuters

Netherlands

"Rampaging, strategy, stunning."

Switzerland

"Pace, difficult, talented."

United States

"Determined, heroic, courageous."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Argentina players watch Germany players celebrate winning the 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro
Photographs: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

MIXED

Argentina

"Confident, flair, unconvincing."

Bosnia-Herzegovina

"Injustice, defensive, forceful."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Oscar of Brazil (center) reacts with teammates after being defeated 7-1 by Germany
Photographs: Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Brazil

"Emotional, popular, desperate."

Ecuador

"Inconsistent, strong, potential."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Steven Gerrard of England and Wayne Rooney acknowledge the fans after being defeated by Italy 2-1
Photographs: Adam Pretty/Getty Images

England

"Exciting, inexperienced, disappointing."

Ghana

"Money, strike, physical."

Iran

"Defend, hope, drought."

Ivory Coast

"Pace, physical, struggle."

Nigeria

"Inexperienced, speed, tough."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Costa Rica players celebrate after beating Italy
Photographs: Getty Images

BAD

Cameroon

"Hapless, battle, chaotic."

Greece

"Defensive, cautious, stubborn."

Italy

"Slow, vulnerable, pessimism."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after a missed chance
Photographs: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Japan

"Possession, disappointing, frustrated."

Portugal

"Frustration, ego, disappointing."

Russia

"Drab, error, mediocre."

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FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

Image: Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, left, and Sergio Ramos of Spain react after conceding a goal against Netherlands
Photographs: David Ramos/Getty Images

AWFUL

South Korea

"Woeful, failure, embarrassing."

Spain

"Defensive, poor, humiliation."

Uruguay

"Bite, disgrace, do-or-die."

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