Every World Cup brings its share of surprises and disappointments and the 2014 edition was no exception. If anything it was one of the most surprising of all time with a plethora of major storylines dominating headlines.

Here are the most shocking stories from the group round.

1. Spain's Disastrous Run

It ended with some degree of dignity, but arguably the biggest shock was the defending champion's early exit.

No defending champ had ever been eliminated in its first two games, and no defending champion had ever been defeated by more than three goals. Spain, which had made history throughout its dominant run, made the ignominious kind of history in this tournament by faltering after two games and being blown out 5-1 in its opener.

The team never played like the Spain everyone had come to expect: The passing was horrid, the intensity was gone and the fitness was no longer at its peak. Moreover, Coach Vicente del Bosque, who was known for his brilliance throughout the years, made one poor coaching decision after another. Fortunately the team saved face with a dominant 3-0 win over Australia, but it ultimately meant little to a team that had already been eliminated.

2. Costa Rica Is Death

Group D was widely known as one of the groups of death heading into the tournament. It featured three former champions in England, Italy and Uruguay and everyone knew that one of those former titans would be heading home.

What no one knew was that two of those teams would be eliminated at the first hurdle because Costa Rica refused to play the role of the whipping boy. In fact, Costa Rica won the group with dominant displays against Uruguay and Italy before shutting down England in a 0-0 draw. What makes this story even better? Costa Rica may be staring at a quarterfinals berth if they can take down an admittedly weak Greece side in the round of 16.

3. Brazil Is Not a Good Team

Entering the tournament, many figured that Brazil was the runaway favorite to win it all. And who could fault them?

Brazil was the host nation, had comprehensively destroyed Spain in the Confederations Cup final last summer and had Neymar leading the way. Moreover, Group A was far from difficult, and many figured that the team would stroll through the tournament with relative ease. And while the group standings show seven points in three games, including a 4-1 beating on Cameroon, the results do not explain the whole story.

This has not been a dominant Brazilian side. The midfield has gotten worse from game to game, and the backline is showing more and more crack with every passing minute. Oscar, who dominated Croatia in the opener, has become increasingly invisible with each passing game, and Fred continues to prove that he is a disastrous choice to lead the line. The silver lining? Neymar has lived up to top billing and could win the tournament on his own.

4. No Falcao? No Problem

Colombia was certainly one of the more exciting teams heading into the tournament. Their fast paced attack led by Radamel Falcao made them a fearsome group that could make some waves in Group C. But then Falcao was left out of the tournament because of a lingering knee injury and the entire world started to questioned the team's chances. But then a savior appeared in the form of James Rodriguez.

The youngster has been arguably the best player in the tournament (aside from Neymar and Arjen Robben) and has been a major reason behind Colombia's current status as a tournament favorite. His performance against Japan (and his absence in the first half) showed that, with him on the pitch, Colombia is not only dynamic but unstoppable.

Colombia is no longer a perennial underachiever but a potent contender to lift the trophy on July 13.

5. No Messi? Huge Problem

Fortunately Argentina does not have to contemplate playing without its talisman yet. But the 30 minutes against Nigeria on Wednesday emphatically confirmed what the other two group games had already shown: Argentina's attack is nothing without Lionel Messi.

It might seem a bit harsh, but when your squad includes Angel Di Maria, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain, the goals should be coming from all over the place. The fact that four of five goals have come from Messi (he has essentially created all of them on his own as well) highlight the fact that the rest of the team is underperforming massively. The backline is weak and easily exposable making Argentina's path to the final all the more difficult.

Like Brazil, the pre-tournament favorites have looked anything but top contenders.

6. Luis Suarez Never Learns

Of course, one would be remiss not to include this major storyline.

Luis Suarez is undeniably one of the greatest players in the world and definitely the best player currently competing in England. But he is also a hugely polarizing figure that always has a knack for controversy.

His latest act, biting Giorgio Chiellini on the neck during Uruguay and Italy's fateful group game, was not only shocking but massively disappointing. Here is a player with everything going his way, and he continues to show not only a lack of composure but also serious psychological issues. He will now miss nine games with his country and will be banned for four months from play. Some might argue that it is unfair, but the reality is that Suarez now has three strikes and his legacy is one of infamy.