So the second round of group play is complete, meaning that all 32 have played two of their three group games. Although a few teams have qualified for the knockout stages, and a few teams are eliminated, most are still in contention.The below is a ranking of how the teams have looked so far, taking into account both games played.
A couple of notes as to the standings: (1) The teams that have earned the most points are all ranked higher than teams that have earned less points. Even though a team with two draws may look better than a team with one win and one loss, the team with one win will be ranked ahead; (2) My rankings come only based upon how I think each team has looked so far, taking into account their opponent - prior rankings of the teams do not factor into these rankings; and (3) Score can be a factor in how a team performed, but if a team won by 5 it doesn't necessarily mean they are ranked higher than a team that may have won by 2 goals.
On to the rankings ...
6 Points (2 Victories)
1. Belgium - Two big wins against lesser opponents, but Belgium dominated both Panama and Tunisia, whereas other favorites have not looked so great. Romelu Lukaku stands tied for second in the golden boot standings.
2. Mexico - Scored the win of the tournament to date in defeating Germany. Had a solid victory over South Korea.
3. Croatia - They followed up a 2-0 victory over Nigeria with an impressive 3-0 victory over Argentina, that just might have knocked Messi out of the tournament.
4. England - A 6-1 thrashing of Panama has the Three Lions ranked ahead of some of the other undefeated's. Harry Kane's hat trick over Panama follows up his brace against Tunisia to lead the golden boot standings.
5. Russia - The host squad has looked great so far, but its toughest group challenge lies ahead of them. Have already advanced to the knockout round.
6. France - Have looked underwhelming in their 2 victories against Australia and Peru, but still have 2 victories.
7. Uruguay - Have not dominated the two lesser opponents in their group - Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Can rise substantially if they handle Russia.
4 Points (1 Win/1Draw)
8. Spain - After the exciting draw with Portugal, went on to easily defeat Iran 1-0. Diego Costa tied for fourth in the golden boot standings.
9. Portugal - After the exciting draw with Spain, went on to easily defeat Morocco 1-0. Cristiano Ronaldo tied for second in the golden boot standings.
10. Senegal - They might be the fastest team in the tournament. Could not hold on to 1-0 and 2-1 leads against Japan. Will lead to an interesting matchup with Colombia, with the winner advancing to the knockout stages.
11. Switzerland - A great performance against Serbia (2-1 win) on the heels of the draw with Brazil.
12. Brazil - Won 2-0 against Costa Rica, but still does not yet look like they are clicking. Tough matchup against Serbia looming.
13. Japan - Looked really gutsy in comeback draw against Senegal. Sits atop their group (with Senegal) with last match against lowly Poland.
14. Denmark - Sits in second place in its group (behind France) after a 1-0 win over Peru and a 1-1 draw with Australia. A draw against France or a close loss against France and a close win by Australia over Peru allows Denmark to advance.
3 Points (1 Win/1 Loss)
15. Serbia - Looked decent in a win over Costa Rica, but looked overwhelmed by Switzerland. Can still advance with a good result over Brazil.
16. Nigeria - As lackluster as they looked in their first matchup against Croatia is how good they looked against Iceland. They have the pre-tourney group favorites tomorrow in Argentina.
17. Colombia - Oh how different things could be without a red card in the third minute of game 1.
18. Germany - Rose from the dead against Sweden in gaining an extra time goal by Toni Kroos to not only stay alive, but take over second place in the group, with doormat South Korea next.
19. Sweden - Simply tired against Germany and could not hold the lead, or draw. Can still advance with a win over Mexico depending upon the Germany - South Korea outcome.
20. Iran - A boring 1-0 win over Morocco gives them a chance to advance if they can stun Portugal.
1 Point (1 Draw/1 Loss)
21. Australia - A close loss to France in which they played up to the level of the French, but could only manage a draw with Denmark. Still have the opportunity to advance, but they must beat Peru and hope France beats Denmark.
22. Iceland - The feel good story of qualifying followed up their dramatic tie with Argentina with a 2-0 loss to Nigeria. Can still advance, but that task is daunting with Croatia up next.
23. Argentina - Looked miserable against Croatia. Amazingly enough - still have a chance to advance.
0 Points (2 Losses)
24. Peru - Tough defensive-minded team that has yet to score a goal (along with 3 others).
25. South Korea - Close losses to Sweden and Mexico are pretty respectable, but just lacks any threat going forward.
26. Tunisia - Handled fairly easily by England and Belgium.
27. Costa Rica - Another team that has yet to score a goal in the tournament.
28. Egypt - Even with the great Mohammed Saleh, lost 2 matches to Uruguay and Russia, although playing Uruguay tight until the 88th minute.
29. Morocco - The third team to have failed to score a goal throughout the tournament, although both losses were only 1-0.
30. Poland - A team with Robert Lewandowski up front should have more of a scoring threat, but alas, only 1 goal and no other real threats for Poland.
31. Panama - The only saving grace to yesterday's 6-1 thrashing is that Panama scored its first ever World Cup goal. And, a 6-1 defeat to England is better than a 5-0 loss to Russia (see below).
32. Saudi Arabia - Through 2 rounds, the Saudis are easily the worst team in the tournament, losing 5-0 to Russia and 1-0 to Uruguay.
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