World Cup 2014 - 5 Things We Learned From The Opening Weekend

2. South American Sides Off To Flying Start

Six South American teams have played their opening group match to date, and with the exception of Ecuador and Uruguay all have emerged victorious. Wins from Argentina and Brazil were to be expected, but it has been the performances of Columbia and Chile that have caught the eye. Chile raced into a two goal lead against Australia with talisman Alexis Sanchez amongst the scorers and they look to have real quality going forward. Question marks remain about their defence but Spain will be fearful of succumbing to another upset when they face the Chileans in the second round of fixtures. There is a real possibility that Del Bosque's men will fail to emerge from the group stages. Columbia looked assured from start to finish against a poor Greek side when the two sides met on Saturday. Many thought that the much fancied Columbians would struggle after Falcao failed to recover in time for this summer's tournament but stand in striker Gutierrez led the line well, supported by the excellent James Rodriguez. In a group also containing Ivory Coast and Japan, Columbia will confident that they can finish on top and secure an easier draw in the second round.