Realising they cannot compete with the world's best players by playing a passing game, less-heralded teams such as Costa Rica's Ticos are choosing instead to focus on tight defence and taking their chances when they get them.
Faced with the attacking might of former World Cup winners Uruguay and Italy, the Costa Ricans have started both of their Group D games with five at the back and two hard-working central midfielders in Celso Borges and Yeltsin Tejeda.
Their job is to close down attacks before they begin and win the ball back. Against Italy they gave Andrea Pirlo a torrid time, limiting him to a handful of forward passes and often taking the ball off his toe before he could gain possession.
When the Costa Ricans do win the ball, they do not just lump it forward either. They seek to keep possession in tight passing triangles while still looking for a quick ball forward to Joel Campbell, Bryan Ruiz or Christian Bolanos.
When called upon, their fullbacks have no problems pushing on and joining the attack, and it was left back Junior Diaz who provided the pinpoint cross for Ruiz to power home a header off the underside of the crossbar in the 1-0 victory against Italy.
NO SURPRISE
Only once was the hard-working defensive system exposed against the Italians. With the Costa Ricans caught high up the field, the ball was quickly worked to playmaker Pirlo, whose sublime pass was wasted by Mario Balotelli, who lobbed wide.
The only people not surprised by their success in Brazil, where they have won both of their group games and have already qualified for the knockout stages, are the Costa Ricans.
But with the rest of the football world now aware of how they set up, the question is whether "tico-taka" and the players that have implemented it so well can cope with the scrutiny.
"For us it's not a surprise," assistant Costa Rica coach Paulo Wanchope told Reuters. "We always knew the great talent of the players that we have, and we knew the great players we were going to play against."
"The only thing we need to concentrate on is step-by-step, game-by-game."
Wanchope, who spent much of his playing career as a striker in England, is confident Los Ticos can continue their successful march in Brazil but stressed they are not looking too far ahead.
"We won against two world champions. Now we have England in the next game. We'll play that game to win and then go forward."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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