World Cup Rankings

 

Let's get through the easy stuff, since there were only two games this round - the Final Rankings!!!

1.  Spain (1)

2.  Argentina (2)

3.  England (3)

4.  France (4)

Easy stuff!!!

Also, the best game was easily England over France - no question.  

So that is it.  The end of the blog, right?  Nope.  I have two more segments for you to end this World Cup.

First up, the All-World Cup team.  Since everyone does an ALL-XI, I am going to do a complete team.  Each roster in the field contains 26 players, so here is my All-World Cup Team, with starters (ALL-XI) in bold.  The roster is composed of 2 at each position (a starter and a backup).  That is 22 players.  A third goalie and striker - making the roster 24.  And then just the two other players I felt belonged on the list and deserved recognition.  Here is your team!

G – Unai Simon (Spain); Vozinha (Cabo Verde); Orlando Gill (Paraguay) - The Spanish team gave up one goal the entire campaign, and although that is a complete defensive accomplishment, the goalie positions everyone and controls the defensive calls.  Vozinha and Gill made stars of themselves.

RB – Pedro Porro (Spain); Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) Porro stabilized the wing on the back line and Hakimi does it all.

CB – Aymeric Laporte (Spain); Lisandro Martinez (Argentina); Dayot Upemacano (France); Pau Cubarsi (Spain)  No real surprises here as Spain - again - only gave up one goal the entire tournament.  Cubarsi was named the Best Young Player (at AGE 19!!!).  Martinez's injury really impacted Argentina in the final.  Nobody was as emotional on the pitch as Upemacano.

LB – Marc Cucarella (Spain); Djed Spence (England) Cucarella has showed that he is a premier left back in the world right now.  Spence really came to life this tournament.  His interplay on the left - especially with Anthony Gordon - was immaculate to watch.

M – Rodri (Spain); Jude Bellingham (England); Alexis McCallister (Argentina); Enzo Fernandez (Argentina); Martin Odegaard (Norway); Pedri (Spain); Aurelien Tchouameni (Belgium) - Rodri won the Golden Ball as the Player of the Tournament.  Nobody played better than Bellingham overall.  McCallister was just a bit better than Fernandez in passing and turning over the offense while defending, whereas Fernandez scored more, but his red card in the final was the decider in the starting position.  Haaland gets all of the acclaim because of his propensity to score, but Odegaard drives that offense.  Pedri was phenomenal and Tchouameni was just too dynamic to leave out.  This was definitely the hardest decisions to make.

Wingers – Lionel Messi (Argentina); Julian Quinones (Mexico); Vinicius, Jr (Brazil); Lamine Yamal (Spain); Luis Diaz (Colombia)  Starting Quinones meant that only three midfielders could start, which send Enzo Fernandez to the bench, but game-after-game he came up huge for team Mexico, even winning over fans who had previously hated him because he wasn't born in Mexico (Colombia), and perhaps because of his dark skin.  All of Mexico loves him after this performance.  Yamal just didn't play enough minutes to earn a starting spot, but he was amazing.  Luis Diaz is so dynamic.  I really wanted to put Yan Dioumande into this team, and he could have replaced Luis Diaz, but I really think Diaz deserves it.

Striker – Kylian Mbappe (France); Erling Haaland (Norway); Harry Kane (England)  Duh, Duh, and Duh!

And, for my last take on this Year's World Cup - the Top 10 most memorable occurrences in the Tournament!

10.  Fans Discovering American "culture" - Seriously, the social media posts of soccer tourists as they make their first trip to the United States and find out about Bucc-ee's, Waffle House, Wal-Mart, Raisin' Canes, Chick-fil-A, Publix Subs, etc.  Is amazing.  My favorite quote was from one European who entered the "pharmacy" CVS.  He said that they sell "things that can heal you, as well as the frozen mac-n-cheese that caused the problem!"

9.  Ranch Dressing - The most obvious segue, as Ranch Dressing in-and-of-itself was - and always should be - a star.  The shops inside Logan Airport (and passed the TSA Security entrance), started selling ranch dressing so that the travelers could avoid the 3 1/2 ounce liquid rule.

8.  Norwegian Row - Not just the fans in the stadium, but the fans on the field, the fans at the golf tournament, the fans on the escalator, the fans on the streets ... everywhere a "Dum-Dum Row!"

7.  Spain's Defense - I have typed it once, and I have typed it a thousand time.  Spain only conceded 1 goal this entire tournament.  That means they kept 7 clean sheets in 8 games.  OUTSTANDING!!!

6.  Stars Shining - Another common thread in my blog posts.  The stars came to compete.  Kylian Mbappe scored 10 goals and won his second-consecutive Golden Boot - the only player in history to win twice.  And, he has the record for most World Cup goals, passing Miroslav Klose, Marta, and Lionel Messi!  And Messi scored 8 with 4 assists, including a hat trick.  Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham had 7.  Harry Kane had 6.  Rodri wins Golden Ball.  The stars truly shone in this World Cup.

5.  England-Mexico Thriller - The best game I have ever seen.  If this was further along in the knockout stages - like a semifinal or a final - this would be talked about as the greatest game ever.

4.  Thierry Henry dealing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas - Henry is one of the best players ever, and he is incredible on UCL today with Kate Giles nee Abdo, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards - which is probably the best sports analysis show on right now.  But, for the World Cup, Henry was paired with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas as analysts, with the uber-professional Rebecca Lowe.  The fact that Henry could put up with Ibrahimovic's attitude and arrogance - despite Henry being a much better player - and the fact that he could put up with Lalas's utter incompetence, without blowing up or hurting anybody is a top 10 moment from this tournament.

3.  Folarin Balogun Red Card Saga - It wasn't the red card, which itself wasn't a horrible tackle and should have been a yellow; It wasn't the red card in that we have seen yellow cards turned into reds (and vice versa before); but it was President Trump getting involved and having the red card overturned that turned this whole tournament into a sideshow.  Along with refusing to grant visas to several people directly involved with the tournament (team managers, staff, Lumumba Vea, and even the Referee of the Year from Africa), not allowing the Iranian team to stay in the US, despite all three games being in the US and forcing them to fly in and out of their game sites on the day of games (coincidentally, Iran was the first team out of the tournament), to Trump trying to hog the spotlight by jumping into the official picture of Spain's championship trophy award, to the red card saga - this tournament will be remembered for being overly political.

2.  Scotland Fans - If I have to tell you why, you weren't paying attention.  "No Scotland, No Party!"

1.  Cabo Verde - The darlings of these games.  Everybody loves Cabo Verde, and they played outstandingly.  They drew Spain 0-0, and scored the goal of the tournament down 2-1 in extra time to Argentina.  They showed they belonged on the World Cup stage!

World Cup Rankings 2026

 

Welcome back to my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the completion after the Quarterfinals.  I am only evaluating the teams based on their Semifinal round matchups - ONLY.  How did the team look during its win?  The Quarterfinals, Round of 16 games, round of 32 games, Group stage and pre-World Cup rankings DO NOT MATTER!.

But given that there are only two games, the content of this post would ordinarily be brief.  So to counter that, I wanted to discuss the breakout stars of this tournament.  These are the players that have really made a name for themselves even though they may be young, or play for a smaller club team, or are overshadowed at club or country by a star - and in some cases multiple of these.  Nevertheless, they managed to standout in these games and made me pay attention.

15.   Helio Varela (Cabo Verde) - The 24-year-old winger scored in the 2-2 draw with Uruguay, helping Cabo Verde reach the knockout round!  Varela currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League, but I could see him make a move to a team near the relegation points in one of the other European Leagues.

14.  Julio Enciso (Paraguay)  The 22-year-old from Paraguay has been their quarterback, scoring the opening goal against Germany in the Round of 32 - which helped knock the European power out of the tournament.  He currently plays for Strasbourg in Ligue 1, whose team is likely to look to him to become more involved and make more plays for them this season.

13.  Esmir Bajraktarvic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - The 21-year old winger plays for PSV Eindhoven, and made his World Cup debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina, after having his football citizenship changed from the United States, where he was born.  

12.  Gilberto Mora (Mexico) - The 17-year old currently plies his trade in Liga MX for Tijuana, and is a future STAR!  He was the youngest player in this tournament, making his debut off the bench against south Africa.  He started in the knockout round against Ecuador, becoming the second-youngest player to start in a knockout round - behind only Pele'.

11.  Deniv Undav (Germany) -  How can a 29-year old that plays in the Bundesliga after having played previously played in the English Premier League?  Easy, win "Man of the Match" after scoring two-goals late against Cote d'Ivoire when Germany was down 1-0.  He also had a goal and 2 assists coming off the bench against Curacao.

10.  Arda Guler (Turkiye) - Ordinarily somebody that plays for a club like Real Madrid cannot "breakthrough" in a tournament like this, but the 21-year-old is still young enough that he hasn't really made international acclaim, despite featuring regularly in Real Madrid's lineup.  But, despite Turkiye being eliminated from the knockout rounds, Guler scored Turkiye's opening goal against the United States and earning "Man of the Match!"  I expect bigger and brighter things for the youngster moving forward.

9.  Ibrahim Maza (Algeria) - Another youngster (20) who plays in a major league, Maza is an attacking midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, but has played for the club, but in a limited capacity so far.  He is expected to become a fixture in the starting lineup for years to come - of Bayer Leverkusen or another large club - after impressing in teh World Cup.

8.  Elijah Just (New Zealand) – The 26-year-old winger plays professionally in New Zealand, so he has little to no international acclaim.  But, he announced himself in the World Cup by scoring three goals — two in a 2-2 draw with Iran and another against Belgium — making this his breakthrough on the world stage.

7.  Nathan Saliba (Canada) – Only 22, Saliba plays in the Belgian league for perennial power Anderlecht, and was critical Canada’s historic run to the last 16, especially with the Canadian's being shorthanded with Alphonso Davies' playing time minimized due to injury and Ismael Knoe breaking his leg against Qatar.  He scored a goal and had 2 assists in the 6-0 win over Qatar.

6.  Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco) – Only 18, Bouaddi has been with the senior squad in Ligue 1 in France for Lille.  After playing early in his international career for France, he switching to Morocco just a couple of months ago, and had some absolutely stunning performances.  Against Brazil, he won 9 duels and completed 91% of his passes while playing the entire game.

5.  Antonio Nusa (Norway) - Norway is all about star striker Erling Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard, but the Scandinavian country advanced to the quarterfinals largely because of the emergence of Nusa.  Nusa's attacking presence helps set up plays for Haaland, and he provides an additional target for Odegaard's pin-point passing.  He certainly looks like a mainstay for Norway, and at 21 years of age, an almost certain future captain.

4.  Nico O'Reilly (England) - It is hard for somebody who already starts at Manchester City "break through," as it would seem star acclaim would have already occurred.  But O'Reilly's performance as left back and his advance on the left flank (and his teamwork with Anthony Gordon) has really stunned this tournament.  O'Reilly has cemented his place in the England lineup for a good decade, and Manchester City would do well to keep him locked up for the same.

3.  Yan Diomande (Cote d’Ivoire) - Diomande, only 19, has impressed a lot of soccer impresarios in his one year at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, having already agreed to a transfer to Paris St. Germain pending club agreement to terms of the transfer.  But to really watch Diomande as he speeds up the left flank with total control of the ball at his feet is a wonder.  A different style of player than compatriot Didier Drogba, but Diomande looks destined to a similar place in Ivorian soccer history.

2.  Johan Manzambi (Switzerland) – The last young player on the list.  The 20-year-old has played the last two seasons for Freiburg, in the Bundesliga, was known in soccer circles prior to the World Cup, and was all set to transfer to Newcastle United in the English Premier League.  That was until his monster performances in the World Cup had the rest of the World take notice.  Aston Villa, fresh off a fourth-place campaign this season has swooped in to take the midfielder away from Newcastle, and who wouldn't after he scored three times in the group stage and helped lead Switzerland into the quarterfinals.  He substituted into the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina to score a brace, and then followed that game up with a goal and an assist - and the Man of the Match Award - against Canada.  Alas, he injured his knee while training for the Round of 32 game and missed the remainder of the tournament.

For the biggest breakout star of World Cup 2026, there is only one word ...

1.  Vozinha!!! (Cabo Verde) - If you have to ask why then you have neither watched nor followed this year's World Cup, as the 40-year-old goalkeeper has just absolutely stole the show.  Here is EVERY SAVE HE MADE IN THIS CUP!!! - from the mundane to the spectacular.

With only two games, there are only a few things upon which to comment, so here are the best/interesting things that happened in the Semi-Finals, the ranking of the games from the Semi-Finals, and the ranking of the remaining teams heading into the finals and third-place games.

Interesting Things from the Semi-Finals

6.  Spain has only conceded one 1 goal this entire World Cup.

5.  Lamine Yamal's head-up play to draw the penalty which Mikel Oyarzabal struck home for the opener.

4.  This MESSI CROSS to Lautaro Martinez for the game-winner against England.

3.  I could not find a video, since the highlights only show a snippet - but please, please, go back and watch Spain's entire buildup to Pedro Porro's goal to go up 2-0.  It is sublime teamwork, dribbling and passing.

2.  This ENZO FERNANDEZ STRIKE!!!

1.  I don't know if I could actually describe this, so I am just going to say UNAI SIMON DOUBLE SAVE?!.

Semi-Finals Game Rankings

2.  Spain 2-0 over France

1.  Argentina 2-1 over England

Team Rankings

Spain (3)

Argentina (2)

England (4)

France (1)

World Cup Rankings 2026

Welcome back to my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the completion after the Quarterfinals.  I am only evaluating the teams based on their Quarterfinal round matchup - ONLY.  How did the team look during its win?  Round of 16 games, round of 32 games, Group stage and pre-World Cup rankings DO NOT MATTER!.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 8 list of things to happen during the Round of 16 (or that occurred in the interim between the second game and the upcoming third games.) 

8.  Thibault Courtois injury - The Belgian goalkeeper, whom any consider the best in the world right now, left the game against Spain in the 71st minute due to a thigh injury.  Mikel Merino of Spain, then proceeded to jump on a rebound to slot home the winner in the 88th minute - a rebound you could never convince me that Courtois would have given up.  But alas, we will never know.  And this after losing star Youri Teilemans to injury in the pregame warmup.

7.  VARgentina - I don't necessarily buy into this, but there is so much belief in the world that FIFA is trying to hand this Cup to Argentina that this nickname is trending - or whatever is more than trending - online.

6.  Kylian Mbappe/Ousmane Dembele - The current Golden Boot leader and the reigning Ballon d'Or recipient are the most dangerous combination in this World Cup, and they both scored in France's 2-0 win over Morocco.

5.  With England's 2-1 victory over Norway, and England's first victory over Vikings since the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, we lose the Norwegian fans, but not before one last huge VIKING ROW in which Mexican future star Gilberto Mora joined!

4.  Spanish Super Sub Mikel Merino (that is a whole lot of literation!) enters the game against Brazil in the 86th minute and scored the game winner in the 88th winner.  This is the second-consecutive game in which Merino entered late and scored the game winner, having scored the lone goal in Spain's 1-0 win over Iberian rival Portugal.

This reminds me ....

Does anybody besides me that is not Italian remember Salvatore Schillaci?  Schillaci was perhaps THE Super Sub in World Cup history - plying his trade in 1990 World Cup in his home country of Italy.  In the Azzuri's first game against Austria, Schillaci subs in and scores the only goal of the game late.  In the next game against Czechoslovakia, he scores again!  Proving too much of a force to keep on the bench, Schillaci was given the starting nod up to next to the vaunted Roberto Baggio, but did not score.  Schillaci started again in the Round of 16 against Uruguay, but this time as an attacking midfielder, scoring the first goal midway through the second period as Italy won 2-0.  In the quarterfinals, Schillaci was back up top with Baggio, and once again scored - this time the only goal in a 1-0 victory.  In the semi-finals, Schillaci was again starting up top, this time IN PLACE OF BAGGIO, and scored Italy's lone goal in a 1-1 game in which the hosts lost to Argentina in a shootout.  Schillaci cemented his Golden Boot by scoring his 6th goal of the tournament in a 2-1 third-place victory over England, while also assisting on the second goal.  

Schillaci did not receive the call much for Italy after that, finishing his international career with 18 caps (16 in 1990-1991), and never again appeared in a World Cup.  He retired from his club career in 1997 having scored 154 goals in 417 games.  He passed away in 2024 at the age of 59.  

Back to the countdown (and in the saddest of segues) ...

3.  Jayden Adams - Shortly after the 25-year-old South African midfielder returned home following Bofana Bofana's ouster from the knockout rounds, he was found dead on the morning of July 11.  Cause of death remains unknown - or at least unreleased.  Adams appeared in three of South Africa's four games in this World Cup.

2.  This game-winning goal by JULIAN ALVAREZ!!!

1.  What is an appropriate response by your team's fans when you score both goals in a 2-1 extra time victory?  HEY JUDE by the Beatles!!!  And Bellingham's reaction is priceless too!

Which were the best games of the quarterfinals?  Here are my rankings ...

4.  France 2-0 over Morocco - Morocco contributed next-to-nothing for excitement, making this game one-sided and kind of boring.

3.  Argentina 3-1 (ET) over Switzerland - Switzerland was game, but Argentina's 60% possession is really why this is third.

2.  England 2-1 over Norway - The first quarter (Ha! Ha! - Take that FIFA) was pretty plodding, slow, and uneventful.  It really picked up from there.

1.  Spain 2-1 over Belgium - Just a truly great game, even if not at the level of some of the games in the previous rounds.  

The top 4 teams in the FIFA rankings all made the Semi-Finals.  But how do they rank on my list?  (Previous ranking in parentheses)

1.  France (6) - Best game they have played all tournament.

2.  Argentina (4) - They win even without Messi scoring a goal!

3.  Spain (5) - They finally gave up a goal in this tournament!

4.  England (3) - Mostly because they were truly tested by Norway!

World Cup Rankings 2026

 

Welcome back to my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the completion after the Round of 16.  I am only evaluating the teams based on their Round of 16 matchup - ONLY.  How did the team look during its win?  Round of 32 games, Group stage and pre-World Cup rankings DO NOT MATTER!.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 15 list of things to happen during the Round of 16 (or that occurred in the interim between the second game and the upcoming third games.) 

15.  Azzedine Ounahi scoring a brace as Morocco easily advanced over Canada.

14.  England's Jarell Quansah earned a Red Card for a horrible tackle.  At least they can replace him at right back with Reece James.

13.  Michael Olise - one of France's stars - received a yellow for blatantly shoving a Paraguayan player in the face while the ball was dead.  This should have been red and would have changed the entirety of the World Cup if a red was given.

12.  The world has embraced CABO VERDE, as evidenced by this Uruguayan fan!  This tournament has been great for brining people together!

11.  Belgium just absolutely annihilated the US Men's team.  The USMNT shall now be called, "The Congo!"

10.  In extra time, a VERY questionable foul called against Paraguayan Junior Alonso on Desire Doue, allowing France to convert a game-winning penalty kick.  More on this later.

9.  Jude Bellingham of England scoring a brace with both goals coming within 2 minutes of each other!!!

8.  Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill selling his game-worn jerseys to raise money for medical treatment for his prematurely-born son.  (This happened in 2022/2023, but I just found out about it).

7.   Erling Haaland scoring in the 79th and 90'+1 sending Norway to victory 2-1 over Brazil.

6.  Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel's diving save on Cucho Hernandez in the fourth round of penalty kicks which sent Switzerland through 4-3 on penalties.

5.  Kylian Mbappe, after scoring the penalty kick discussed in number 10, made fun of Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill by pointing in the direction Gill dove - which was opposite of his kick - and then imitated Gill's dive after scoring.  He later then refused to shake Gill's hand after the final whistle blew despite the fact they were both next to each other.  Gill then threw the ball at Mbappe.  For the game, it should be noted, Gill was named "Man of the Match!"  In a similar move, Brazil's Neymar, Jr. taunted Norway's goalie Orjan Nyland after scoring on a penalty in the 90'+11, to solidify Brazil's 2-1 loss.

4.   Mikel Merino of Spain subbed into his team's 0-0 game against Portugal in the 85th minute and promptly scored the game-winner at the 90'+2 mark.  Spain, by they way, has not given up a goal in the tournament.

3.  Argentina, down 2-0 to Egypt, and being absolutely destroyed on top of that, stormed back to wind 3-2 with a goal by Cristian Romero off an assist by Leonel Messi in the 79th minute, a Messi goal in the 83rd minute, and an Enzo Fernandez headed game-winner off a beautiful pass from Lautaro Martinez.  Three goals in 13 minutes while down 2-0!!!!  Just astounding. 

2.  FIFA overturn's Folarin Balogun's red card from the previous round after meddling by President Donald Trump.  This is virtually unprecedented - having happened only once before in 1962 for Garrincha for Brazil.  The fact that Trump bragged about getting it done just infuriated the entire rest of the world and should have led to the disqualification of the US team.  Instead in distracted them, angered Belgium (and others) and led to a 4-1 loss that was worse than the score.

1.  And since number 1 always has to be on-field play, the ENZO FERNANDEZ GAME WINNER!!!

Before I post the rankings of the remaining teams in the tournament, here were the best games of the Round of 16.

9.  Belgium 4-1 over US - Just a brutal game to watch, especially as a US fan

8.  Argentina 3-2 over Egypt (First 60 minutes) - Egyptian domination

7.  Morocco 3-0 over Canada - Morocco controlled the game; very one-sided

6.  Switzerland 0-0 (4-3 in PKs) over Colombia - What a tournament if this is ranked 6th!

5.  Norway 2-1 over Brazil - Even with the game 0-0 for so long, you knew it was going to erupt

4.  Spain 1-0 over Portugal - Heated rivalry came down to the end

3.  France 1-0 over Paraguay - Contrast in styles in which France's talent finally won out in the end

2.  Argentina 3-2 over Egypt (last 30 minutes) - Just WOW!!!

1.  England 3-2 over Mexico - Simply one of the best soccer matches I have ever seen!

And now the rankings of the remaining 8 teams based solely on their Round of 16 performances (with last edition's rankings in parentheses).

1.  Belgium (16)

2.  Morocco (6)

3.  England (14)

4.  Argentina (7)

5.  Spain (2)

6.  France (1)

7.  Norway (10)

8.  Switzerland (12)

World Cup Rankings 2026

 

Welcome back to my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the completion after the Round of 32.  I am only evaluating the teams based on their Round of 32 matchup - ONLY.  How did the team look in its win.  Group stage and pre-World Cup rankings DO NOT MATTER!.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 20 list of things to happen during the Round of 32 (and some things that occurred in the interim between the second game and the upcoming third games.) 

20.  Romelu Lukaku for Belgium - is he aging?  Yes.  Did he play 65 minutes total in Serie A this year?  Yes.  Does he make a difference when he comes in for Belgium in the second half?  HELL YES!  Another goal to bring the Senegal lead to 2-1 in the 85th minute - and begin Belgium's comeback.

19.  Kylian Mbappe with a brace - almost ho-hum - in France's annihilation of Sweden.

18.    Cristiano Ronaldo's 68th-minute penalty kick goal to become the oldest player to score in the Knockout Round of the World Cup, breaking former teammate Pepe's age by almost 2 years.  (Cameroon's Roger Milla is still the oldest overall).

17.  Erling Haaland's 84th-minute game-winning goal as Norway advances to the Round of 16 over Cote d'Ivoire.

16.  And because we can never have too much Viking-Row from the Norwegian fans, here is one in support of Viktor Hovland as he won the Travelers Championship.

15.  Moroccan Center Back Issa Diop with a game-winning header in the 90'+2 as Morocco advances.

14.  Canadia Captain Stephen Eustaquio with a game-winning 90'+3 goal over South Africa.

13.  Harry Kane with 2 goals late - after Egland fell behind 2-0 - to salvage the win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

12.  And speaking of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the US Administration cannot keep its hands out of this tournament - revoking the Visa for Lumumbu Vea in advance of the game against England.

11.  Lionel Messi scored a goal in his 8th consecutive World Cup game - the only player to do that.  Only not higher because this game was insane - with even better plays.

10.  Not everybody was happy with the Paraguayan shootout victory over Germany.  Check out this German Shepherd's Reaction.

9.  Gabriel Martinelli scored a 90'+6 game-winning goal for Brazil as they defeat Japan!!!

8.  Yes, Martinelli scored the game-winner, but Casemiro's game-tying header after picking up a very early yellow card and allowing the Japanese goal to Kaishu Sano was critical!!!

7.  Belgium defeats Senegal on an absolutely atrocious penalty call!!!

6.  The best fan moment of this round was this clip from the Argentinians, helping locate the owner of A WALLET!!!

5.  The referee awarding a red card to Folarin Balogun on a play in which a foul wasn't initially called.  (In all honesty, I thought this was a yellow card, but close.  Nevertheless, it stands to be very important as Balogun has to miss the Round of 16 match against Belgium.

4.  Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill saves 2 penalty kicks in a shootout win over Germany - who had MANUEL NUEUR in goal.  Seriously huge.  To quote Thierry Henry, "There is no favorite in a shootout!"

3.  Yes Argentina won, but the story was Cabo Verde.  Since I have already mentioned Keeper Vozinha before, I will give this shout out to left back Sidny Cabral - with an absolute banger to tie the match 2-2 in extra time, when Cabo Verde had every reason to fold after falling down 2-1 in the first extra time period. 

2.  Probably the most important play of the entire tournament so far, Igor Matanovic barely touching the ball with his hair which caused Mario Pasalic to be offsides as Pasalic played the ball to Gvardiol for what looked like a game-timing goal for Croatia against Portugal.  The only way to tell that Matanovic played the ball is because of the sensor in the ball that reacts to touches by the players.

1.  Even though the Matanovic play was important, my favorite play was Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands scoring the first goal in the 72nd-minute to give the Netherlands the lead just after learning that his partner had lost their baby that she was carrying.  The emotion in Gakpo as he looked skyward - and from his teammates as they absolutely surrounded him with cheers - and obviously affection - after the goal.  This is what it means to be part of a team!!!

And before I rank the remaining 16 teams, here were the best games from my standpoint of the round of 32.  This is based upon not only the quality of the win/winner, but also the excitement of the game and the quality of play of the losing team.

17.  Portugal 0-0 Croatia (First Half)

16.  Switzerland over Algeria

15.  France over Sweden

14.  Colombia over Ghana (Should probably be higher but it followed Argentina over Cabo Verde)

13.  Spain over Austria

12.  United States over Bosnia-Herzegovina

11.  Egypt over Australia

10.  Belgium over Senegal

9.  Mexico over Ecuador

8.  Canada over South Africa

7.  Brazil over Japan

6.  Norway over Cote d’Ivoire

5.  England over DR Congo

4.  Paraguay over Germany

3.  Morrocco The Netherlands

2.  Argentina over Cabo Verde

1.  Portugal over Croatia (Second Half)

Now onto the rankings.  Once again, just based upon the Round of 32 matchup.  Previous ranking in parentheses.

1.  France (1)

2.  Spain (7)

3.  Brazil (2-1)

4.  Colombia (1-0) (6)

5.  Mexico (2-0) (3)

6.  Morocco (15)

7.  Argentina (2)

8.  Portugal (17)

9.  United States (13)

10.  Norway (11)

11.  Egypt (19)

12.  Switzerland (17)

13.  Canada (22)

14.  England (8)

15.  Paraguay (30)

16.  Belgium (16)

WORLD CUP RANKINGS 2026

 

Here is my listing of the best teams in World Cup 2026 after the second round of Group matches.  In completing these rankings I take nothing from the historical traditions of the countries and their respective teams, nor FIFA's pre-tournament rankings.  I only rank based upon what I have seen on-the-field - for both of each team's games so far.  And since outcomes are paramount, all teams that are 2-0 will be ranked ahead of all teams that are 1-1-0, which will be ranked ahead of teams that are 1-0-1.  For example, Senegal which has lost both of its games will be ranked below teams with a draw or a win, even though Senegal has looked REALLY FREAKIN' GOOD.  (As an aside, we should all hope Senegal qualifies as one of the top 3rd place teams.)  Record matters.  So, as the games progress, this will be an incredibly fluid ranking system.  After round 2, here are the best performing teams in the World Cup.

But before we get to the rankings, I wanted to share my Top 15 list of things to happen during the second set of group games (and some things that occurred in the interim between the second game and the upcoming third games.) 

15.  On a down note, Ismael Kone of Canada broke his leg in his match against Qatar.  This is listed not because we cheer broken legs, but because of its importance in this tournament as he is/was a key cog to Canada's chance for advancement.

14.  Egypt won its first ever World Cup game in defeating New Zealand 3-1!  

13.  And speaking of firsts, Spain's Lamine Yamal - all 19-years old of him - scored his first of what we all assume will be many World Cup goals in his career!

12.  And speaking of goals, Cristiano Ronaldo has entered the chat with his first two goals of this World Cup, becoming the first man ever to score in 6 different World Cups.

11.    And speaking of goals, we should all have to goal to meet the Tartan Army on a ship passing-by while we jog so we can SHOTGUN A BEER WITH THEM!!!  Bienvenidos a Miami, indeed!!!

10.    Germany's Deniz Undav entered his team's match in the 60th meeting, trailing Cote d'Ivoire 1-0.  ALl he did was score the equalizer in the 68th minute, AND THE WINNING GOAL in the 90+5 minute!!!

9.  And speaking of goals, Jonathan David scored a hat trick for Canada, as the best player in Canada's history is stepping up for one of the host countries!

8.  Curacao's goalkeeper, Eloy Room, tied a World Cup record by stopping 16 shots (some sites only credit him with 15), helping his country - the smallest ever to qualify for the World Cup - to a draw and its first point against Ecuador.  Whether its 15 or 16 saves, it is still the most in 90 minutes as Tim Howard's 16 important saves for the USA came in game played into extra time!

7.  The Viking Row makes another appearance as the team joined their supporters in a row led by team captain Martin Odegaard on drums.  But that doesn't take this spot as the most spectacular row that occurred was the Viking Row to the beat of SENGALESE SABER DRUMS!!!  Keep in mind that Norway played and defeated Senegal (and this is sport bringing the world together).  My only regret is that I couldn't find a longer clip to share.

6.  And Yes, we cannot have a World Cup top 15 ranking without multiple appearances from the Tartan Army ... this time on SOUTH BEACH!!!  This time the Scots are joined by the Brazilians for a helluva party.  If I was a couple of decaeds younger I would have tried to have hit E11EVEN, Space, and B.E.D.

5.  Cabo Verde secured its first point ever in the World Cup by tying Uruguay 2-2!!!

4.  The Stars again shone bright, as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and ever Cristiano Ronaldo all had braces, to join Jonathan David's hat trick.

3.  And yes, this World Cup is full of history.  Not soccer history, literal history.  Michel Nkuku Mboladinga, a superfan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was named an official delegate of the DRC's team, meaning he is free to attend all games of the DRC and perform his tribute known as Lumumba Vea ("Lumumba Lives") (in the center of the picture in red jacket).  He missed the DRC's opening game because issues related to Covid restrictions and entering the country, but he was able to attend last night's game against Colombia.  For the entire game, Mboladinga stands as if a statute dressed exactly like Patrice Lumumba.  Lumumba is a legendary figure in the DRC, as he led the revolution against Belgian rule (which was particularly terrible - even as compared to other terrible colonial histories - Leopold is definitely in hell!) and became its first Prime Minister in 1960 and was seen as a leader in the One Africa movement.  Sadly, he was assassinated before his first year in office elapsed.  You can read more about Mboladinga and Lumumba HERE!

2.  My new favorite player is winger Yan Diomande, the 19-year old wunderkind from Cote d’Ivoire, who just happened to pen this in THE ATHLETE'S TRIBUNE!  It is a letter to his younger sister who always believed in him and his soccer abilities.  DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT TISSUES HANDY!

1.  And although I particularly love points 2 and 3, number 1 has to occur on the pitch, and you don't perform any better than Lionel Messi scoring two goals to first break the Men's World Cup record he shared with Germany's Miroslav Klose, and then to break the all-time World Cup record he then shared with Brazil's Marta.  Congrats Messi - and keep scoring because you know Kylian Mbappe is right behind you.

And now on to the team rankings (with last post's rankings in parentheses)!

1.  France 2-0 (5)
2.  Germany 2-0 (1)
3.  Argentina 2-0 (2)
4.  Norway 2-0 (6)
5.  Colombia 2-0 (6)
6.  United States 2-0 (7)
7.  Mexico 2-0 (10)
8.  Netherlands 1-1-0 (18)
9.  Spain 1-1-0 (16)
10.  Brazil 1-1-0 (19)
11.  England 1-1-0 (4)
12.  Portugal 1-1-0 (27)
13.  Japan 1-1-0 (26)
14.  Canada 1-1-0 (25)
15.  Morocco 1-1-0 (20)
16.  Ghana 1-1-0 (11)
17.  Switzerland 1-1-0 (22)
18.  Egypt 1-1-0 (23)
19.  Cote d’Ivoire 1-0-1 (13)
20.  Sweden 1-0-1 (3)
21.  Algeria 1-0-1 (47)
22.  Scotland 1-0-1 (15)
23.  Australia 1-0-1 (12)
24.  South Korea 1-0-1 (14)
25.  Austria 1-0-1 (9)
26.  Paraguay 1-0-1 (40)
27.  Croatia 1-0-1 (36)
28.  Uruguay 0-2-0 (17)
29.  Belgium 0-2-0 (21)
30.  Iran 0-2-0 (24)
31.  Cabo Verde 0-2-0 (38
32.  Ecuador 0-1-1 (35)
33.  South Africa 0-1-1 (41)
34.  Czechia 0-1-1 (38)
35.  Bosnia-Herzegovina 0-1-1 (29)
36.  Qatar 0-1-1 (31)
37.  New Zealand 0-1-1 (28)
38.  Curacao 0-1-1 (48)
39.  Saudi Arabia 0-1-1 (30)
40.  Senegal 0-0-2 (34)
41.  Iraq 0-0-2 (42)
42.  Turkiye 0-0-2 (39)
43.  Panama 0-0-2 (43)
44.  Haiti 0-0-2 (37)
45.  Tunisia 0-0-2 (44)
46.  Democratic Republic of the Congo 0-0-2 (32)
47.  Uzbekistan (45) 0-0-2
48.  Jordan 0-0-2 (46)

World Cup - Russia 2018

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.

World Cup - Russia 2018

So the first round games of the world's largest sporting event is complete, meaning that all 32 have played one of their three group games.  Although it is far from determined as to who all will advance to the bracket, several teams made strong statements, and several proved they are just lucky to be in the World Cup.  The below is a ranking of how the teams have looked so far.

A couple of notes as to the standings: (1) The teams that won are all listed ahead of any teams that drew, even if the the latter looked better; (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.

Winners

1.  Belgium - The number three ranked team in the world looked every bit that good as they dismantled Panama behind a brace from Romelu Lukaku and a gorgeous volley from Dries Mertens (who is one of the best players so far in this tournament).

2.  Mexico - El Tri beat the vaunted Germans 1-0, but seemed to control large portions of the game.  The midfielders controlled possession and were not afraid in close possession against the team most select to win the entire tournament.

3.  Russia - The hosts decimated Saudi Arabia 5-0 behind a brace from Denis Cheryshev.  Although Saudi Arabia is likely the worst team in the tournament, Russia did exactly what it was supposed to do.

4.  Senegal - Probably the best dark horse in the tournament, Senegal proved that they are possibly the fastest overall team in Russia.  A late concession made the game closer in score than it was on the pitch.

5.  Croatia - Defeated Nigeria 2-0 and seemed in control most of the match.

6.  England - A brace by Harry Kane, including an extra time header to win, in a solid performance over Tunisia.  Late substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek put a lot of offensive pressure on Tunisia, and we should look for him to start next match.

7.  Sweden - A solid if unspectacular win over South Korea.

8.  France - Lucky to have defeated Australia 2-1 in a match in which France played well below their talent level.

9.  Serbia - Defeated a defensive-oriented, but non-spectacular Costa Rican team.

10.  Uruguay - Took an 89th minute goal to defeat Egypt.

11.  Japan - Took advantage of a third minute red card for an intentional handball in the box to defeat Colombia 2-1.  Without the dismissal, Japan likely loses.

12.  Denmark - They won a game in which Peru often looked like the better squad.

13.  Iran - A 90+5th minute goal to defeat Morocco 1-0 and to snatch 3 points from an otherwise deadlocked match.

Ties

14.  Spain - Tied Iberian rivals Portugal in a 3-3 stunner, coming back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 and losing the win on an 88th free kick by Ronaldo.  Diego Costa with a brace.

15.  Portugal - Tied on a stunning free kick by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 88th minute to complete his hat trick.  Only behind Spain because the last foul Ronaldo drew might have been a bit of a flop.

16.  Brazil - Really controlled most of the game against Switzerland, but one defensive breakdown allowed the Swiss to draw against the pre-tournament co-favorites.

17.  Argentina - Also controlled their match against Iceland, for the most part, and Messi had an attempt to take the lead on a penalty, but the penalty was saved by Hannes bor Halldorsson.

18.  Switzerland - Not a superb effort, but enough offense to draw with Brazil.

19.  Iceland - Like Switzerland, but with less offense and much better defense.  A Messi missed penalty was the difference.

Losers

20.  Peru - The one losing team that actually looked like it controlled the game.  Lost 1-0 to Denmark, but that game easily could have gone the other way.

21.  Germany - Although Mexico deserved the win, Germany played fairly well.  I don't foresee the Germans being this far down the list after round 2.

22.  Australia - Really gave France a game.  Les Blues were lucky to come out of that game with the full 3 points as Australia earned/deserved a draw.

23.  Colombia - Played galliantly with only 10 men for the last 87 minutes plus extra time.  Probably deserved to be ranked higher, but the 2-1 loss to Japan will be hard to stomach.  Still likely to escape the group stage, but it is much harder of a job now.

24.  Poland - Managed a late goal to make their 2-1 loss against Sengal interesting, but looked slow throughout.

25.  South Korea - Lost 1-0 in a close match against Sweden, but looked sluggish as this was one of the least interesting games of the first round of the group stage.

26.  Nigeria - Did not put up too much of a fight in the 2-0 loss to Croatia.

27.  Egypt -Played Uruguay tough, only giving up a late goal to lose, but looks powerless with Mohammed Salah on the pitch.  Next round should look much different.

28.  Costa Rica - Lost 1-0 to Serbia, but doesn't look like it has much firepower at all. It'll be a feat to score a goal in the tournament.

29.  Morocco - Played a fairly good defensive game in the loss to Iran.  Not dangerous on the ball at all.  Only ranked this high because the three teams below looked so putrid.

30.  Tunisia - Lost to England 2-1, and in fact, actually made the English squad look good, despite holding onto the draw until Harry Kane's header in extra time.

31.  Panama - Looked fairly good defensively for a half, and even took some - not much but some - offensive chances.  Second half was a whole different game.

32.  Saudi Arabia - Lost 5-0 to the hosts, Russia.

FIFA WORLD CUP RANKINGS

The first round of the Knockout Stage is completed, and below is the rankings of the final 16 teams.  The top 8 are the quarterfinalists, and the next 8 is how the losers in the knockout stage have played in the tournament.  The ranking of the top 8 includes how they have played in all four games to date, with weight given to how the teams looked in the knockout state - round 1.

1.  Colombia
2.  France
3.  Brazil
4.  Belgium
5. Germany
6.  Netherlands
7.  Argentina
8.  Costa Rica

This would lead to a projected final four of:  Colombia v. France; and Netherlands v. Belgium

FIFA WORLD CUP RANKINGS

Here are the rankings after Round 2 of Group Play in the FIFA World Cup.  These rankings are based simply on how the teams have played, not by how many points the have earned or how many goals they have scored.  It is possible, therefore, for 3 teams in the same group be ranked above another group if that is how they have looked on the pitch.  Yesterday's games are not accounted for in this rendition of the rankings.  You can check the previous post to see how things have changed from the first game to the second.

Rankings

1. France
2. Mexico
3. Netherlands
4. Germany
5. Costa Rica
6. Colombia
7.  Chile
8.  Brazil
9.  United States
10.  Argentina
11.  Ghana
12.  Croatia
13.  Italy
14.  Uruguay
15. Cote d' Ivoire
16.  Belgium
17.  England
18.  Portugal
19.  Australia
20.  Ecuador
21.  Algeria
22.  Nigeria
23.  Switzerland
24.  Bosnia-Herzegovina
25.  Iran
26.  Russia
27.  Spain
28.  Honduras
29.  Japan
30.  Greece
31.  South Korea
32.  Cameroon

FIFA Fever

Each country that qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2014 has now completed at least 1 of their 3 group games.  Below is my rankings of the teams based upon their first game only.  Please note that for the rankings all victorious teams are ranked ahead of those that tied and lost, in order of which teams I feel played the best.  As we move through rounds 2 and 3, the records of the teams become less consequential (meaning a team with 1 win and 1 draw could be ranked ahead of a team with 2 wins).

Game 1 Rankings

1.  Germany
2.  Netherlands
3.  France
4.  Italy
5.  Mexico
6.  Costa Rica
7.  Colombia
8.  Switzerland
9.  Chile
10.  Brazil
11.  Argentina
12.  Belgium
13.  United States
14.  Ivory Coast
15.  Russia
16.  South Korea
17.  Iran
18.  Nigeria
19.  England
20.  Ghana
21.  Croatia
22.  Bosnia-Herzegovina
23.  Algeria
24.  Australia
25.  Uruguay
26.  Ecuador
27.  Japan
28.  Spain
29.  Honduras
30.  Portugal
31.  Cameroon
32.  Greece