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)

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 17

Day 17 - February 20, 2022

The last day of the entire competition, and then it is on to Milan-Cortina, Italy in 2026 (via the Summer Games in Paris 2024)!!!

Not much actual action on fields, mountains, rinks, venues, etc., today, but there was one medal event, the women's 30km cross-country race.  On a course that was incredibly cold and with a wind that was gusting terribly throughout the course, a breakaway group of 4 that included Norway's Therese Johaug, Jesse Diggins of the United States and Sweden's Ebba Andersson took control of the race early, with Johaug eventually dropping the other skiers and won gold, Norway's Olympics-leading 16th gold medal (and leading 37th overall) of these games.  Johaug herself finished with 3 of those golds!  Diggins skied strong to win silver - her second medal of these games after winning the bronze in the spring free - whereas Andersson was caught by the chase pack with 2 kilometers or so to go.  Kerttu Niskanen of Finland rallied for silver, with American Rosie Brennan finishing 6th.  Andersson came in 8th.  On top of it all, Jesse Diggins contracted food poisoning the day before the race!!!

In one of the more entertaining events of every Olympics, is the free skate, in which notable skaters - women, men, pairs, and dancers, all perform without judges, ratings, and medals on the line.  This tradition allows for more interesting/fun outfits, fun music, and more risky jumps and tricks that are purely for the skaters' - and the audience's - entertainment.

Then, we had the Closing Ceremonies, the snuffing of the Olympic torch, and the traditional "passing" of the games to Italy. 

The final medal count is (using my system of 5 points for gold, 3 points for silver, 1 point for bronze): 

A tiebreaker is most golds/then silvers/then bronzes:

1.  Norway - 117

2.  Germany - 95

3.  Russian Olympic Committee - 80

4.  United States - 77

5.  Sweden - 60

6.  Austria - 60

7.  China - 59

8.  Netherlands - 59

9.  Canada - 58

10.  France - 48

11.  Switzerland - 46

12. Japan - 42

13.  Italy - 39

14.  South Korea - 27

15.  Slovenia - 21

16.  Finland - 20

17.  New Zealand - 13

18.  Australia - 12

19.  Great Britain - 8

20.  Hungary - 7

21.  Belgium - 6

21.  Czech Republic - 6

21.  Slovakia - 6

24.  Belarus - 6

25.  Spain - 3

25.  Ukraine - 3

27.  Estonia - 1

27.  Latvia - 1

27.  Poland - 1 

Athletes of the Day: Therese Johaug, Netherlands, Cross-Country Skiing

She won the gold medal in the only event competed on this final day - the women's 30km cross-country skiing mass start.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

He didn't invade another country - in this case the Ukraine - unlike in 2008 when the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing and Putin ordered the invasion of Georgia.  (I am being sarcastic, this isn't sportsmanship, but also with only 1 event contested today, I had to come up with something!) 

Olympic Term of the Day: Classic Skiing.  In cross-country skiing, it is the technique characterized by opposite-leg and opposite-arm motion in a straight-ahead direction.  Also called kick-and-glide, this is the technique primarily associated with cross-country skiing.

Olympic Events Watched: Closing Ceremonies, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baumgartner, Nathan Chen, Jesse Diggins, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 12

Day 12 - February 18

Only four medal events today, but WOW - what competition!!!  Before we get to the medals, the women's snowboarding Big Air qualifying was absolutely ridiculous.  The fact that the finalists were limited to 12, and that those 12 all did jumps more than worthy of the finals, sets up a tremendous final!!!  Jamie Anderson (6th), Julia Marino (9th) and Jessika Jensen (12th), all qualified for the finals, giving the US a quarter of the entrants in the final.  Hopefully multiple medals could be in play!!!

The men's 2-Man bobsled conducted its first two runs (of four), and Germany's sled piloted by Nico Walther finished his team's second run in first place, even though he and his brakeman Christian Poser finished on their side.

In the women's 500 meter speed skating final, American Brittany Bowe initially equaled the blistering pace set by Jorien Ter Mors of the Netherlands, the 1000m gold medalist.  Bowe, subsequently was listed first at the time once the times were spread out to the thousandth of a second instead of the usual hundreth.  Bowe seemed ripe to capture a medal as it seemed the only competitors of note that remained were the reigning world champion and the 2x reigning Olympic champion.  Of the favorites, Japanese skater Nao Kodaira was first.  Kodaira who has not lost at this distance in the last two seasons, set an Olympic record at 36.94 seconds, and became the only woman under 37 seconds at sea level.  Unfortunately for Bowe, Kodaira also pulled Karolina Erbanova of the Czech Republic along with her; Erbanova finishing at 37.34 and passing Bowe - at 37.53 for second.  In the last heat, local favorite, 2 time reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Lee Sang-Hwa, with tremendous crowd support, started with a blistering first 100m that was even faster than Kodaira, but alas, Sang-Hwa finished in second at 37.33, just eclipsing Erbanova for the silver.

In the men's cross-country 4 x 10km relay, Alexander Bolshunov, the second leg for the OAR opened up a 30 second lead, only to have countryman Alexey Chervotkin caught at the end of his third lap of three by Simen Hegsted Kruger of Norway, towing France's Clement Parisse with him, and finished their third leg with a sizable lead over the OAR.  And that is when the tactical race began.

Norway's anchor, J.H. Klaebo, is a multi-medal favorite in this Olympics, so much so that the last climb about half a kilometer from the end of each lap is named the Klaebo Hill, because everyone assumes that is where he will tactically take advantage of the other skiers, and win his races.  Klaebo took off on the first of his three laps, but allowed France's anchor Adrien Backscheider to do all of the work.  Backsheider had to push the lead group of two because he knows that he has nowhere near the speed of the anchor from the OAR, Denis Spitsov.  Instead of playing cat-and-mouse with Klaebo, Backsheider pushed the pace as much as he could, and he and Klaebo held the lead into their third 3.3km lap, at which time Spitsov had made up the difference from the sizable lead held by Norway and France.  But, Spitsov had expended so much energy to catch the leaders, he could not answer Klaebo who slid past Spitsov on the last downhill before Klaebo Hill, increased his lead for the next .5 km, and just decimated Spitsov on Klaebo's hill, cruising for Norway's eighth cross-country gold in these Olympics.  OAR finished second, and in an upset, France - for the second consecutive Olympics, earned the bronze.  The gold avenges Norway's fourth place finish in Sochi in 2014, as Norway has won all 7 major international races since then.

 The Moment of the Day, and perhaps the finish of the Olympics occurred in the men's 15km biathlon, mass start. as France's Martin Fourcade just edged out Germany's Simon Schempp for gold.  And when I say just edged out - I mean JUST EDGED OUT.  The result went to a photo finish.  In biathlon, the winner is the person whose boot passes the line first, and Fourcade (number 2 in the picture below) won by half a boot.  After 15Km.  Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen won the bronze.

What makes this photo finish even more amazing is that in 2014 in Sochi, Fourcade was determined to have finished second to today's bronze medalist Emil Hegle Svendsen by a very similar photo finish. In fact, Fourcade was initially listed as the gold medal winner, only to have that ruling overturned after a closer review of the photo finish.

Of course, what would the Olympics be without a disappointment.  The biggest disappointment of the day is that curler Alexander Krushelnitsky from the OAR - the bronze medalist in the mixed doubles - tested positive for meldonium.  Now, I won't get into all the details of meldonium (which supposedly increases stamina), but it was only banned in 2016 and many Russian athletes have taken it in the past (See Sharapova, Maria).  Perhaps the biggest disappointment for Krushelnitsky other than simply having his bronze medal revoked, is that his curling teammate Anasstaisa Bryzgalova is HIS WIFE.  They are pending a second independent test, but Krushelnitsky may not only be responsible for having his medal stripped, but also that of his wife/teammate.

That, however, is not an American disappointment, which could once again go to the American speed skaters for once again failing to medal (hello dead horse), but instead, I will give the Disappointment of the Day to the U.S. men's freestyle skiing aerials team, which failed to medal after Jonathan Lillis failed to qualify for the third finals, finishing 8th of 9 skiers.  This after the X-Games sports (snowboard, snowmobile, freestyle skiing) were all thought to be added to the Olympics just to help the U.S. win more medals.  (Not true - it was to gain and keep younger viewers and fans).

Events watched:  Men's Hockey; Men's Cross-Country Skiing; Men's Speed Skating; Men's Bobsled; Freestyle Skiing; Women's Speed Skating; Women's Snowboard; Pairs Figure Skating

Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 11

Day 11 - February 17

So the middle weekend of the games are upon us.  Lots of action, but only a few stories today.

Slovakian Anastasiya Kuzmina won her third medal of these games, but first gold, in the women's 12.5KM mass start biathlon.  This gold is her third gold and sixth medal in Olympic history.  Kuzmina defeating Darya Domracheva of Belarus and Norway's Tiril Echoff, who joined Kuzmina on the podium.

In freestyle skiing, Norway's Oystein Braaten wins gold, and American Nick Goepper wins silver, followed by Alex Beaulieu-Marchand of Canada.

The US finally wins a medal in short track, with John-Henry Krueger winning the bronze behind Canadian Samuel Girard and just ahead of home-crowd favorite Seo Yira.  South Korea was rewarded later when Choi Min Jeong won gold in the women's 1500m.  Choi's gold medal was well earned after she was disqualified from the 500m final earlier in the Olympics.

Norwegian Alpine skier Marcel Hirshcer won his second gold of these Olympic games in capturing the giant slalom, to go along with his super combined win.

However, the biggest story of the day comes from women's cross-country skiing, where Team Norway defeated Team Sweden in the 4x5Km relay.  This was important as Marjit Bjoergen skied the anchor leg for Norway, thus earning her 13th Olympic medal.  She is now tied with Ole Einar Bjoerndalen as the most decorated Winter Olympian ever.  For those of you that are American-centric - that makes her the Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics.

The Disappointment of the Day could be one of two things.  First, Gus Kenworthy crashed out of the freestyle skiing slopestyle, finishing 12th of finalists, but crashing is a usual part of that event as the athletes constantly push the envelope of their tricks.  And, given that an American won silver in the event, this is not a major disappointment, especially for Kenworthy who is competing in his first Olympics as an openly gay man, and his coming out seems to have opened up his personality, as well as his skiing.  So, the Disappointment of the Day goes to giant slalom skier Ted Ligety, a medal favorite who nonetheless finished in a tie for 15th place.

Events Watched:  Men's Curling; Men's Freestyle Skiing; Women's Skeleton; Men's Alpine Skiing; Women's Cross-Country Skiing