This article was first published 11 years ago

FIFA World Cup teams' performance in three words

July 16, 2014 08:01 IST

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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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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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Image: Tim Cahill, left, and Mark Milligan of Australia embrace after being defeated by Chile
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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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GOOD FIFA Algeria Australia

Image: Colombia's national soccer team players are greeted by fans, at their arrival in Bogota
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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 Costa Rica Croatia Belgium Colombia

Image: Manuel Neuer of Germany lifts the World Cup trophy with his team after defeating Argentina 1-0
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France

"Organised, defensive, exciting."

Germany

"Powerful, focused, committed."

Honduras

"Spirit, physical, robust."

Mexico

"Determined, tactical, talented."

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FIFA France Mexico Germany Honduras

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

"Rampaging, strategy, stunning."

Switzerland

"Pace, difficult, talented."

United States

"Determined, heroic, courageous."

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FIFA United States Switzerland Netherlands

Image: Argentina players watch Germany players celebrate winning the 2014 World Cup final at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro
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MIXED

Argentina

"Confident, flair, unconvincing."

Bosnia-Herzegovina

"Injustice, defensive, forceful."

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MIXED FIFA Bosnia-Herzegovina Argentina

Image: Oscar of Brazil (center) reacts with teammates after being defeated 7-1 by Germany
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Brazil

"Emotional, popular, desperate."

Ecuador

"Inconsistent, strong, potential."

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FIFA Ecuador Brazil

Image: Steven Gerrard of England and Wayne Rooney acknowledge the fans after being defeated by Italy 2-1
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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 Ivory Coast Nigeria Iran England

Image: Costa Rica players celebrate after beating Italy
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BAD

Cameroon

"Hapless, battle, chaotic."

Greece

"Defensive, cautious, stubborn."

Italy

"Slow, vulnerable, pessimism."

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FIFA BAD Greece Italy Cameroon

Image: Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after a missed chance
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Japan

"Possession, disappointing, frustrated."

Portugal

"Frustration, ego, disappointing."

Russia

"Drab, error, mediocre."

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FIFA Portugal Russia Japan

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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AWFUL FIFA South Korea Uruguay Spain

AGENCIES