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The group stage of the 2018 World Cup is over. It's been two weeks since it's going to last, but now it's your chance to breathe.
Half the peloton (16 nations) was eliminated, leaving the other half to face in a knockout format. It's winning or leaving here. Strap in. Take the popcorn.
As always, nations are ranked according to the probability that they will raise the World Cup. The strength of the performance through this stage is a natural indicator of this, although there is still a small margin for overall ability, weight and, most importantly, which side of the round-of-the-way bracket They landed on it.
One side is sweeter than the other – you can see that here .
The 16 teams eliminated, who can no longer win the World Cup, are ranked
You can see the rankings after Round 2 here
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] 32. Panama (-1)
There was no first victory for Panama in their first World Cup final, but they have two goals in the world. celebrate. One came against England, thanks to Felipe Baloy, and another came against Tunisia in the form of a goal against Yassine Meriah's side. This will make a nation just proud to be there very well.
31. Egypt (-2)
A disastrous World Cup campaign for Egypt was ruthlessly concluded. That they lost their last match with the last kick against Saudi Arabia summed up a regrettable stay in Russia. They finished with zero points and zero good display to talk about
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30. Costa Rica (-3)
The Kendall Watson's goal against Switzerland on Wednesday completed the set. The 32 teams of this World Cup scored at least once during their stay in Russia. That goal, plus a late penalty that hit Yann Sommer's back, also allowed Los Ticos to mark a starting point.
29. Saudi Arabia (+3)
A goal from Salem Al-Dawsari in the 94th minute allowed Saudi Arabia to win a comfortable victory against the United States. Egypt in Russia. Technically That did not mean anything, since they had already been relegated, but try to tell fans who celebrated as they had won the entire tournament.
28. Tunisia (+2)
Tunisia had to come back from behind to beat Panama in the last group match, thus avoiding a disastrous end to a bad tournament. They lacked tactical discipline from the start and would never be able to compete with England and Belgium in the way they played.
27. Iceland (-4)
It was still too important to ask Iceland to progress in a difficult Group D, but they did have come out well. The match against Nigeria was a disaster, but fans will remember to have stolen a point off Argentina and saved a penalty from Lionel Messi for a long time.
26. Poland (+2)
Jan Bednarek gave a smile to his nation by winning a game against Japan in the last game, but that will not prevent not people to whisper to how bad Poland seems to have lived in Russia.
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25. Australia (-3)
Like many of the weaker nations at these finals, Australia has been short in the goals department. Their defensive play was good, and their midfielder quite solid, but they struggled to create good chances and failed to score a goal that was not spotty.
24. Morocco (+2)
Morocco looked like a possible black horse before the tournament. Their first two games made this call sound a little silly, but their third game … that's the kind of game we were expecting.
They fought valiantly against Spain, leveling them on the pitch and taking the lead twice while playing stellar stuff. It was an appropriate end for many of a neutral's favorites.
23. Germany (-12)
The curse of the bearers has claimed another victim. Germany, winner of the World Cup in 2014, was eliminated in the group stage in 2018 after losing to South Korea in their third match.
If you hold them against their own standards, they are atrocious in almost every field. Defensively, they struggled to work, leaving massive holes, and offensively they did not click. According to David Wall of Opta they held a two-minute lead and 29 seconds over this tournament.
22. Nigeria (-5)
Nigeria can be extremely proud of its efforts in this World Cup; a young nucleus, including Wilfred Ndidi, 21, and Oghenekaro Etebo, 22, in the midfield, impressed greatly by falling to the group stage.
But this thought will probably come later. For now, it will be hard to forget a great missed chance against Argentina!
21. Peru (+4)
Adios, Peru. You were great, very funny.
It's a team that can only play at a single speed and that delights the neutrals. Even with nothing on the line against Australia in their last group match, they staged a show.
Nations like these sometimes make the group stage more fun than the knockouts.
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20. South Korea (+4)
The defensive performance that South Korea played in its last match , against Germany, was the best of all teams in this tournament. They put their bodies on the line and made spectacular blocks and great stops.
Finally, after 90 minutes of big wasting positions, they made up for this defensive effort with a counter-attacking threat, betting twice and sinking Germany in the most spectacular. of modes. That meant little in the grand scheme of things, but if you go out, that's how you do it!
19. Iran (+1)
Iran produced 270 minutes of football which few thought it was capable of. Four points earned in a group containing Spain, Portugal and Morocco is a brilliant effort.
They come out with their heads high and maybe even with a sense of "what if?" – they were very unhappy in their loss to Spain and Portugal troubled until the final whistle.
18. Serbia (Staying)
It was death or death for Serbia in their last match, and they came short. Nobody will resent them, they did well, but they were surpassed by a top Brazilian team, but this last-minute defeat against Switzerland in the match hurt him even more.
This Xherdan Shaqiri's strike, really, was the action that sent Mladen Krstajic's men home.
17. Senegal (-1)
Leaving the rule of fair play can not be easy. Senegal delighted us in these finals with a rich combination of tactical discipline and offensive prowess, but was defeated by a match against Colombia … and then their own aggression against Japan.
16. Japan (-1)
We now move to qualified sides for the knockout phase, with Japan the lowest of the lot.
They placed in the last 16 on the rule of fair play, having six usual players for their last match. This led to their defeat against Poland, who lost first place in the group, landing in the wrong half of the draw and then attracting Belgium.
They have the least chance of winning the World Cup.
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15. Russia (-5)
Is Russia's 3-0 defeat against Uruguay a revelation? An indicator of where are their limits?
It might be hard to think; Russia was strongly pivoted – Aleksandr Golovin, the creative spark, and his first-choice side were missing from the start – and the red card killed the game early. But by losing this match, they lost their grip on Group A, and the punishment for that is a competition with Spain in the round of 16, and then probably Croatia in the quarterfinals if they can pass that test. Few will support them to overcome the first obstacle, let alone the second.
14. Denmark (Stay)
Mission accomplished: Quay at the secure bow. In the men of age Hareide did not spend in their last group match against France – they simply did not need it – while the first draw of the tournament paved the way for 16th place.
But as the Danes look defensive, they will have to take things in hand if they want to beat Croatia and continue this journey.
13. Argentina (+8)
By the skin of their teeth.
When Argentina needed a hero, we stepped forward. This was not one of the usual suspects, not Sergio Aguero, not even Lionel Messi, but Marcos Rojo. A spectacular volley on his bad foot saved The Albiceleste and propelled them into the round of 16.
We saw steady improvements in the first half against Nigeria, but Jorge Sampaoli's men collapsed second once the pressure rose. If it happens against France, they are out.
12. Sweden (+7)
Sweden scored three goals in a single match. Hands in the air, who saw that coming? Exactly.
This is partly the case of Mexico, which collapsed in the second half, but you can not take away all the credit to the boys in yellow and blue. With a draw of the round of 16 in the bag (Switzerland), there is a real chance that this camp reaches the last eight.
11. Switzerland (+1)
The fact that Switzerland did not beat Costa Rica in the last group match does not tell us much about . They just had to avoid defeat to progress to knockouts and played a much less intense match than they did against Brazil or Serbia.
They drew Sweden in the round of 16 and will be slightly favored for the match. JORGE GUERRERO / Getty Images
