2018 World Cup Power Rankings: Update After Round of 16 | Bleacher's report

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    Jean Catuffe / Getty Images

    And then there were eight! With the knockout stages, the 2018 World Cup field has been significantly reduced; only one quarter of the original 32 teams remain.

    Uruguay, France, Brazil, Belgium, Russia, Croatia, Sweden, England. That's your remaining lot.

    As always, we evaluated each team and evaluated their probability of winning the tournament, ranking them on that basis. The strength of the performance through this stage is a natural indicator of this, although there is still a small place for overall capacity, weight and, most importantly, which side of the 16-round slice they have landed.

    The 24 eliminated teams are ranked in the order of their performance and weight. The 16 who left before the second round are simply listed. You can see the post-group stage rankings here for more flavor on how they behaved.

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    Stu Forster / Getty Images

    32. Panama

    31. Egypt

    30. Costa Rica ]

    29. Saudi Arabia

    28. Tunisia

    27. Iceland

    26. Poland

    25. Australia

    24. Morocco

    23. Germany

    22. Nigeria

    ] 21. Peru

    20. South Korea

    19. Iran

    18. Serbia

    ] 17. Senegal

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    Alexander Hbadenstein / Getty Images

    Watching Argentina in Russia 2018 was a painful experience. It's not easy to see a team with obvious quality systematically fail to tie it up completely – especially when it makes the world's best player, Lionel Messi, looks so uninspiring, so devoid of confidence , so lost.

    The trip is over following the 4-3 defeat of La Albiceleste against France, and they managed to get out of group D, considering the problems that prevented them from moving forward throughout the process .

    Branch redevelopment is clearly required at the Argentine Football Association, and now is the time to take a hammer to the foundations.

Catherine Ivill / Getty Images

During these finals, wherever Japan went, the drama followed.

From their opening shock, they won Colombia, thanks to their bizarre selection Poland, until the last defeat of Monday night against Belgium, was one of the Most entertaining teams to watch.

They played incredibly well against the Red Devils, taking a deserved two-goal lead. two magnificent strikes. Maya Yoshida blocked everything in the back, while Shinji Kagawa played at the best level of the midfield.

But everything started to collapse once Jan Vertonghen's header found the back of the net in the 69th minute. Japan hit the panic button, while substitutions of Belgian coach Roberto Martinez have changed the game. His counterpart, Akira Nishino, had no answer and could only watch in desperation a counterattack in the 93rd minute from a Japan corner that had won the Red Devils.

It will take weeks, but the Samurai Blue should be proud of the distance they've had. Taking into account that they changed managers in March, they are probably the biggest bets of all the competition.

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    KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / Getty Images

    It was a matter of time before Portugal the lack of offensive ingenuity would cost them, and when Uruguay was confirmed as his opponents the turn of 16, the writing was on the wall.

    The 2-1 loss surprised little. Bernardo Silva had his first good game of the tournament, but as his levels went up, everyone dipped. Portugal used Cristiano Ronaldo's endless cross and shots far too easily blocked.

    Only William Carvalho and Pepe showed a semblance of consistency in this tournament, with the list of players struggling far, much longer than those of those who bloom

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    JOHANNES EISELE / Getty Images

    Getting out of the World Cup on penalties is nothing less than heartbreaking, no matter how familiar or new the sensation is. Denmark was so good on penalties against Croatia, but it fell just after the 12-yard mark

    That said, there are many things that the Age Hareide manager can be proud of. His defense was stingy, finding stars not only at Simon Kjaer but also in the right back of the Henrik Dalsgaard Championship. His midfielder functioned as Trojans, paving the way for the qualification of a C group.

    Kasper Schmeichel's performances make him one of the best goalkeepers of this tournament – and the three penalties saved against the Vatreni

Matthew Ashton – AMA / Getty Images

The elimination of Spain at the hands of Russia – and the resulting performance – left a lot of people in a state of shock

Is a team filled with so much quality can move the ball so slowly, without purpose, without zip or intention? Why would one of the strongest teams in the competition play so conservatively with two defensive midfielders protecting two central defenders against an attacker ?

It was hoped that the departure of Julen Lopetegui The day before the World Cup did not affect things, that his ideas were in place and the coaches he left behind could take the reins, acting as he could.

These hopes have fallen flat. The ignominious nature of the departure of La Furia Roja will not be forgotten quickly.

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    Matthew Ashton – AMA / Getty Images

    The absence of a consistent striker threat from an attacker places a natural glbad ceiling on this Switzerland can reach in the final. Once the midfielder makes a stop or the pieces do not find their marks, the goals dry up.

    Choosing Haris Seferovic, Josip Drmic and Mario Gavranovic to play in the lead can not be a manager of choice enjoyed by Vladimir Petkovic. he seems to spin the wheel quite often, trying each of them at different points to see what is sticking.

    The lack of quality means that, despite strong defensive play from Manuel Akanji, Yann Sommer, Ricardo Rodriguez and Valon Behrami

Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

Colombia s is beaten after a World Cup loss, due to the fact that a player had received a red card in the third round. minute of their openness to losing James Rodriguez sporadically to the injury. They made a physical approach against England in the absence of Rodriguez due to a calf injury, which allowed them to progressively gain ground in 90 minutes. Yerry Mina's header in the 93rd minute was a deserved equalizer

They then had the fastest time but could not convert, making their 3-4 throw even more difficult shots to bear for the fabulous support.

    SAEED KHAN / Getty Images

    Mexico enthused us and produced the first big shock of the 2018 World Cup by beating Germany 1-0 in Group F. They did not realize what they went to Russia to do, partly to reach the fifth legendary game (quarter-final), but they at least made a fantastic show.

    Manager Juan Carlos Osorio tied Brazil's 4-3-3 formation with one of his own. in the round of 16, and it was a big bet. Usually when this happens, the team with the senior individuals come out victorious, and it's easy to see the Selecao boast about it.

    The early departure of El Tri has somewhat reduced Brazil, but the slowdown was only temporary. Guillermo Ochoa kept Mexico in the draw in the 50th minute, but Brazil finally broke the resistance.

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    GIUSEPPE CACACE / Getty Images

    Sweden won two consecutive wins at a World Cup The first time since 1958. They did it by beating Mexico 3-0 in their third match for Group F and then beating Switzerland 1-0 in the round of 16.

    They are not a team that will amaze you, because they lack outstanding elite talent and rely on transplant and defensive work, but they are hard to overcome. If England is looking forward to playing in the quarterfinals, they need a check of reality.

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    YURI CORTEZ / Getty Images

    It was not pretty – not long-term – but it did the job. Russia has shocked the knockouts so far by keeping Spain at the same level and imposing penalties. Then they sent him 12 yards clinically.

    Manager Stanislav Cherchesov returned to the five-player defensive system that the team was using before the finals and sat incredibly deep. It should not have worked, but the fact that Spain was so lethargic meant that penetrating attacks were rare.

    As admirable as the defensive effort was, it's hard to say how much Russia will resist teams that are not so inexplicably negative with the ball. Croatia will make light in quarter-finals Saturday

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    Matthias Hangst / Getty Images

    England advanced to the quarter-finals by winning their first World Cup penalty shoot-out . Eric Dier broke the winning shot to end a grueling match with Colombia who stole his last breath from the players

    The Three Lions had the chance to face Los Cafeteros without Rodriguez but fell under the spell of 39, another star of the opponent. Scorer: Mina, central defender Radamel Falcao

    Having to win under such circumstances creates a layer of character that has been lacking in England for over two decades. You will support them to reach the semifinals here

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    MARTIN BERNETTI / Getty Images

    Expectations moved quickly for Croatia.

    Two weeks ago, they were talented outsiders, able to upset Argentina and who knew from there; We are now expecting them to reach the World Cup final, their way through the seemingly as soft parenthesis as you might expect.

    Perhaps this weighs on their shoulders? The Vatreni side we saw sneaking behind Denmark on penalties did not look much like the team that had nine points in Group D. Or maybe we're waiting too much because of their strong start .

    A disappointing performance in the round of 16, they lose the first place in the standings, but they won their four matches and are the best of their half. They do not fall far

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    VI-Images / Getty Images

    Call it the construction of character.

    This part of Belgium has long been accused of being a group of individuals rather than a real team, but they do their best to prove that this long-standing story is false .

    Looking ahead a shock elimination in Japan, down 2-0 after 52 minutes on Monday, they rallied. Martinez made some smart substitutions, and they dug a victory from the deepest and darkest hole.

    The first two goals were not the headlines of Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini – but at least proved that Belgium has a Plan B. The third goal was a thing of beauty: a fast and accurate counter-attack that you could watch again and again.

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    ODD ANDERSEN / Getty Images

    On Saturday, Uruguay put a stunning performance to defeat the champion of Europe Portugal. They combine courage, determination and usability with a pinch of premium quality, the perfect mix for any high stakes game.

    Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez were destructive counterattacks. Meanwhile, the defense stood firm, and the midfielder put out fires everywhere. They forced Portugal to cross the positions, knowing that they were going to last over 90 minutes.

    Before the quarter-finals on Friday, France will be clear on how this team is going to set up. The question, however, is how to break them down.

    This is the kind of game that the Blues could fight, but with Cavani's injury situation that looks disastrous, Chris Winterburn of Marca Uruguay probably won. They offer the same counterattack threat to accompany their defensive play. It hurts their chances in the quarter-finals and gives France a slight advantage.

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    EMMANUEL DUNAND / Getty Images

    Critics in Brazil are short of ammunition. Selecao's strong performance against Mexico in the round of 16 confirmed its status as a true competition contract, with its first fights against Switzerland in its first Group E fix now a distant memory.

    Neymar getting better and better contests over his winger opposite, Willian, now finally moving to the plate, they look hard to keep away. The defense is in the image of this excellent game of attack, Thiago Silva excelling in a line that keeps three good marks without fail.

    They are naturally favorites against Belgium in the quarterfinals on Friday, and if their trajectory continues, they

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    FRANCK FIFE / Getty Images

    The nature of the score line against the # Argentina may have seemed close to the match, but in truth, France crushed La Albiceleste on Saturday in the round of 16 with a magnificent attacking game. Kylian Mbappe, 19, has reached maturity, so to speak, delivering an incredible performance, full of accuracy, speed and killer instinct, while Antoine Griezmann and his midfielder took control

    France conceded three goals, but that should not worry manager Didier Deschamps too much. Sometimes the only thing you can do about long range screamers or random movies is to think of them as outliers.

    This was a demonstration that reestablished faith in Les Bleus, who eventually climbed the occasion when needed. Uruguay will be a tough task in the quarterfinals – they will not give France the space granted by Argentina – but Cavani being concerned about injuries, Deschamps's men should be considered as favorites.

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