Brazil 2014 packed drama, flair and a lot of yellow shirts in the stands. Germany lifted the FIFA World Cup after extra time against Argentina thanks to Mario Götze’s cool finish. Yet the tournament’s brightest individual spark was a 22-year-old James Rodríguez, Golden Boot winner with 6 goals. Using performance data and match context available on Sofascore, here is our Team of the Tournament and why it still holds up.

Team of the Tournament: 4-1-3-2

Our XI lines up in a 4-1-3-2. Keylor Navas is in goal after a sensational run with Costa Rica that ended on penalties against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The back four features Philipp Lahm, Daniel Van Buyten, Giancarlo González and Marcos Rojo. Lahm’s positional intelligence set Germany’s tone, while Van Buyten and González were aerial anchors and Rojo balanced aggression with steady distribution on the left.

Ahead of them sits Toni Kroos as the single pivot. He controlled games with metronomic passing and set-piece quality, a key cog in the champions’ midfield. The attacking trio is Arjen Robben, James Rodríguez and Thomas Müller. Robben terrorized defenses en route to the Netherlands’ bronze, Müller pressed and scored with his usual efficiency, and James tied it all together with goals and creativity. Up front are Neymar and Lionel Messi, two leaders who carried heavy national expectations. Neymar’s tournament ended early due to injury in the quarterfinal vs Colombia, while Messi guided Argentina to the final with chance creation and control between the lines.

James Rodríguez, Sofascore MVP of Brazil 2014

James produced a complete scoring profile and the numbers back it up. On Sofascore, his World Cup 2014 campaign finished with an average Sofascore Rating of 8.16 on a 10 scale. Across five appearances he delivered 6 goals and 2 assists, taking 3.2 shots per match and hitting the target 1.6 times on average. His goal conversion sat at 38%, boosted by that chest-and-volley classic against Uruguay and a calm spot-kick against Brazil.

He also created as well as he finished. James averaged 2.6 key passes per game and two big chances created, with accurate passing in the opposition half at 71%. The heatmap shows constant movement between the left half-space and central pockets, which kept Colombia unpredictable. He won the Golden Boot and the official Player of the Tournament, and he is also our MVP pick here. If you want to revisit each match timeline and the underlying events, Sofascore has them match by match for easy scouting nostalgia.

Neymar, Robben and Messi: the stars who shaped Brazil 2014

Neymar’s four goals and relentless carrying pushed Brazil to the semifinals before his back injury in the quarterfinal ruled him out. The 1-7 against Germany came without him, which says a lot about how much he meant to the hosts. His tournament average on Sofascore settled at 8.14, a reflection of end product and ball progression.

Robben was the Netherlands’ engine, sprinting into space and slicing open lines as they beat Brazil for third place. He posted an 8.14 Sofascore Rating as well, with elite ball carrying and chance creation. Messi, meanwhile, steered Argentina to the Maracanã showpiece. He created 4 big chances and averaged 3.4 key passes per match, but the finishing around him wavered. Gonzalo Higuaín had the most big chances missed at the tournament with 7, a stat that underlines how fine the margins were in that 120-minute final.

Germany’s winners, the Bayern thread and the back-line heroes

Three Germans make this XI: Lahm, Kroos and Müller. Their blend of control, pressing and timing framed Germany’s entire run before Götze’s extra-time volley sealed a fourth world title. Their tournament Sofascore Ratings underline the consistency, with Kroos at 7.89 and Müller at 7.74 leading the output line after line.

There is also a club connection that fans will enjoy. Six players in this lineup wore Bayern Munich colors at some point in their careers: Robben, Müller, James, Kroos, Van Buyten and Lahm. And while our winners hog headlines, the tournament’s best underdog tale belonged to Costa Rica. Navas’ reflex saves and calm box management carried Los Ticos out of a group with Uruguay, Italy and England, and into that penalty shootout against the Dutch. Add in solid tournaments from Rojo and González, and you have a back line that mixed star quality with surprise stories, just like Brazil 2014 itself.

For more of these numbers, match events and historical lineups, Sofascore remains the best companion for reliving a classic World Cup.