Every tournament is filled with a plethora of beautiful moments as well as woeful forgettable ones, and this World Cup was no different.

Here is a look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the 2014 FIFA World Cup:

The Good

The starting point has to be the champions. The Germans, while not always in optimal form, managed to make the most of their tournament by playing with a variety of styles. They obviously enjoyed playing with possession, as they did in the final, but the team also figured out a means of maintaining a speedy counter against Brazil and Portugal. That they scored as much as they did only emphasized their meriting the big trophy at the end of the road.

Colombia was another major highlight of the World Cup with its enjoyable swashbuckling attack. At the center of it all was the unreal James Rodriguez and his six goals and two assists; he scored in all five Colombia games. But a lot of credit must also be given to the team's solid defense, Juan Cuadrado and goalie David Ospina.

Chile was another team that deserved credit for a terrific display. After dismantling Spain in the second group game, the team took Brazil to the limits and almost won; Alexis Sanchez was a monster in that game, but unfortunately failed to score his penalty. Despite the disappointment, Chile deserved a lot of props for its fast paced and frenetic play.

Algeria, Nigeria and Ghana should all get props for terrific displays. Ghana fell apart at the end of the group round, but was consistently solid against the USA and Germany. Nigeria managed to get out of the group stage and then battled to the end with the French. Algeria was undoubtedly the most impressive of African nations as the team dominated South Korea in the group before pushing the Germans to extra time and eventually scoring a goal.

Other major highlights of this tournament include the performances of the Dutch, particularly Arjen Robben, France, Mexico and coach Miguel Herrera, Costa Rica's domination of Group D and Tim Howard's epic 15-save performance against Belgium.

The goal of the tournament is a three-way tie between James Rodriguez's strike against Uruguay, Robin van Persie's diving header versus Spain and Tim Cahill's majestic volley against the Dutch.

The Bad

Argentina got to the final with surprisingly solid defense and goaltending, but woeful offense. The goals never really came as the Albiceleste, which was touted for its Fantastic Four of Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero, failed to generate the exciting offense everyone expected. Messi scored four goals in the group stage, but disappeared when it mattered most. The worst of it is that he won the Golden Ball despite not scoring in any knockout game and being a non-entity in the final two games of the tournament.

The Asian nations have nothing to be proud of after a rough showing in Brazil. Japan, Korea Republic, Iran and Australia all walked away from the tournament without a single win.

Cristiano Ronaldo might take some solace from the fact that his great rival did not lift the trophy, but Ronaldo never got his tournament going, either. He had one goal and played like a man that was in the worst physical state of his life. His weak Portugal side did not help, either.

The knockout games also produced a source of frustration, as most lacked the intensity of the group games. The goals dried up as the team's took more cautious stances. It certainly worked strategically, but it sacrificed the attacking flair of the initial hurdle and thus made the viewing experience less enjoyable.

A word must also be made for the referees who did a poor job throughout the tournament. The opening game witnessed a penalty that never should have been while Mexico's encounter with Cameroon saw El Tri get robbed of two fair goals. The questionable cards and mediocre calls kept coming as the tournament wore on, leaving many unsatisfied.

The Ugly

Spain's 5-1 loss against the Dutch is as ugly as it got in the early stages of the tournament and the team's historic elimination only added salt to a gaping wound. It was painful way to see arguably the greatest team of all time leave the stage.

But even that humiliation was not as bad as the one endured by host nation Brazil. After a mediocre performance through its first five games (which was heavily aided by the refereeing), Brazil was destroyed in its final two matches. First came the shocking 7-1 annihilation at the hands of Germany. Then came a 3-0 loss against the Dutch in a "meaningless" game. Brazil left the tournament in ignominy.

Remaining on the subject of Brazil, their game against Colombia was easily the ugliest of the tournament. The Brazilians kicked Colombia out of the tournament with vicious fouls that would eventually hurt them when Neymar's back was broken by a questionable foul from Juan Zuniga. The goal that was taken away from Colombia was another embarrassing moment in the low point of the tournament.

Or maybe not quite the low point because that undoubtedly goes to Luis Suarez's bite. The superstar is a top player in the world, but when he chooses to indulge in the sideshows that have plagued his career, he becomes an embarrassment for the sport. His action may no longer be the defining moment of the tournament (that goes to Germany's 7-1 win) but it threatened to destroy the image of the game.

Cameroon also slots in here as well for being the worst team in the entire tournament. The African nation was brutal during its three games and it was rather woeful to see teammates fighting among themselves during a 4-0 loss against Croatia. Rumors of foul play among the team's players has only added to the ugliness of the whole situation.