Accepted wisdom has it that this is the World Cup of the individual. Perhaps more than any previous tournament – certainly in recent times – a raft of the contending nations have seen a leading light eclipse the team effort.
While his teammates have provided all the perspiration, Lionel Messi, for example, has claimed a string of man-of-the-match awards in taking Argentina to the semi-finals.
Maybe Messi’s pre-eminence was predictable enough, but the trend has swept the board. Neymar did similar for Brazil, before his untimely back injury in the host nation’s quarter-final success over Colombia.
James Rodriguez, Arjen Robben, Karim Benzema and Thomas Muller have all monopolised the limelight ahead of their colleagues.
So where in the world was Eden Hazard all this time? He was supposed to be the brightest star in an enviable constellation Belgium had taken with them to Brazil.
Yet the only impression he ended up making was on the shin of Lucas Biglia, his limpet-like marker from Argentina yesterday.
Had Hazard been shown red rather than yellow for his over-the-top tackle in the second half of their quarter-final in Brasilia, it would have been a fitting indignity for his tour of Brazil.
At the end of the last domestic season, Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, forecast Hazard being the next player to rival Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as leading forces in the sport.
Wenger is supposedly a good judge, but this tournament proved to be a poor advertisement for his wares. Hazard was the ghost at the feast of this World Cup.
pradley@thenational.ae
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