With a thrilling World Cup group stage now complete, it's time to quickly reset heading into the knockout rounds. Here's how the 32 remaining title hopefuls stack up going into the next phase of the competition. Tap here to see the full knockout bracket and every team's path to the final.
1. France 🇫🇷
Pretournament rank: 1 ↔️
France entered the tournament surrounded by sky-high expectations, and Didier Deschamps' men lived up to the hype. Kylian Mbappe (four goals), Ousmane Dembele (four), and Michael Olise (three assists) fired on all cylinders during the group stage, confirming France's status as favorite.
2. Argentina 🇦🇷
Pretournament rank: 3 ⬆️
Concerns about Lionel Messi's hamstring and Argentina's aging core were put to bed quickly in the group stage. Messi continues to make history and leads the tournament with six goals, and the reigning champion remains a legit candidate to go back-to-back.
3. Spain 🇪🇸
Pretournament rank: 2 ⬇️
Spain didn't dominate its opponents as we expected in the group stage. Excluding La Roja's 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, the team was held to a goalless draw with Cape Verde and beat Uruguay in an ugly 1-0 game. Still, Spain has yet to allow a goal and should only improve with Lamine Yamal returning to his best form.
4. Brazil 🇧🇷
Pretournament rank: 6 ⬆️
The Selecao are trending up. After an unimpressive opening performance in a 1-1 draw with Morocco, Brazil outscored Haiti and Scotland 6-0. Vinicius Jr. has been unbelievable, Neymar returned, and Carlo Ancelotti seems to have found his ideal lineup. The vibes are good for the Brazilians once again.
5. Netherlands 🇳🇱
Pretournament rank: 8 ⬆️
The Netherlands showed that it can be dangerous, banging in 10 goals in three games. However, the team's inability to hold onto the lead on two occasions against its toughest group opponent (Japan) puts pressure on coach Ronald Koeman in bigger games. The talent remains in place for a deep run for the Oranje.
6. England 🏴
Pretournament rank: 4 ⬇️
The Three Lions still lack consistency; they went three straight halves without a goal, including the full game versus Ghana and a dreary first half against Panama. Still, England passed its first tests (just about) and proved it can be one of the World Cup's premier teams when Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Co. are all firing.
7. Germany 🇩🇪
Pretournament rank: 7 ↔️
Germany won a complicated Group E, but the jury is out on whether it has enough firepower to go up against top-tier teams. After destroying Curacao 7-1 to start its campaign, Julian Nagelsmann's side barely beat the Ivory Coast in the final minutes and blew an early lead in a loss to Ecuador.
8. Colombia 🇨🇴
Pretournament rank: 11 ⬆️
Colombia heads into the next round on a high note after almost defeating Portugal in the Group K finale. The thrilling goalless draw sealed Los Cafeteros' spot as group winners, giving them a potential path in the knockout stage that starts against Ghana. This is one of the tournament's most entertaining teams.
9. Norway 🇳🇴
Pretournament rank: 9 ↔️
Norway rested several starters against France, but we've learned two main things about the Norwegians so far: They are extremely dangerous with Erling Haaland on the field; he's scored four goals in just two appearances. However, Norway has to be more solid defensively to make a deep run. It's allowed seven goals in three games.
10. Morocco 🇲🇦
Pretournament rank: 14 ⬆️
No other second-place team finished the group stage with more points than Morocco (seven). The Atlas Lions, who reached the semifinals in 2022, remain one of the tournament's most organized and balanced teams.
11. Mexico 🇲🇽
Pretournament rank: 23 ⬆️
Co-host Mexico is off to a dream start on home soil. El Tri remain perfect so far, having won their first three matches while scoring six times and not allowing a single goal. Perhaps home cooking truly was the answer.
12. United States 🇺🇸
Pretournament rank: 22 ⬆️
Don't let a frenetic loss to Turkiye in a largely meaningless game dampen the excitement. Mauricio Pochettino's team looked spectacular in the two games where its starters were together on the pitch. With Christian Pulisic fit again, the U.S. has every chance of making a lengthy run.
13. Portugal 🇵🇹
Pretournament rank: 5 ⬇️
We expected so much more from Portugal. This talented Portuguese team was limited to five points in the group stage and finished second in Group K, which sent the country to a more complicated side of the knockout bracket. Roberto Martinez's team plays Croatia in the round of 32 before a potential blockbuster clash with Spain.
14. Croatia 🇭🇷
Pretournament rank: 10 ⬇️
Croatia steadied the ship following a slow start. After conceding four goals against England to begin the tournament, Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic changed formations, and that shift to a 4-2-3-1 has given the team extra stability and control in midfield. Another big test awaits against Portugal.
15. Belgium 🇧🇪
Pretournament rank: 12 ⬇️
The Red Devils were hugely underwhelming in their first two matches, scoring just one goal and looking bereft of ideas despite plenty of possession. But with Jeremy Doku back in the mix, Belgium put together its best game of the tournament to dismantle New Zealand and win Group G.
16. Japan 🇯🇵
Pretournament rank: 16 ↔️
Manager Hajime Moriyasu's tactically astute team seems to earn new admirers every team it steps onto the pitch. That was certainly the case in the group stage - Japan's slick team goal against Sweden was a thing of beauty - and a glamorous knockout matchup with Brazil gives the Samurai Blue a chance to pull off the kind of result that would get everyone's attention.
17. Ivory Coast 🇨🇮
Pretournament rank: 19 ⬆️
The Ivory Coast was a whisker away from winning Group E over Germany, and it's not hard to see why. Emerse Fae has a nice blend of veteran experience (Franck Kessie, Nicolas Pepe) and youthful exuberance (Yan Diomande, Christ Inao Oulai) in his team. The bracket didn't break kindly for the Ivorians, but they shouldn't fear anybody.
18. Ecuador 🇪🇨
Pretournament rank: 15 ⬇️
Ecuador gained momentum after an epic comeback victory over Germany that sent La Tri into the knockout stage as a dangerous third-place finisher. Questions about Ecuador's ability to score remain, though. The team found the net in just one of its group-stage matches, though it did remain true to its identity by conceding only two goals in the opening round.
19. Senegal 🇸🇳
Pretournament rank: 13 ⬇️
The Lions of Teranga were always going to be in tough alongside France and Norway in Group I. But Senegal actually caused France the most problems in the group stage, and is precisely the type of talented third-place finisher that none of the title contenders wants to see early in the knockouts.
20. Switzerland 🇨🇭
Pretournament rank: 20 ↔️
Switzerland recovered from a disappointing tournament opener to produce a pair of professional wins over Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-host Canada. Johan Manzambi has been one of the breakout stars of the tournament and provides Murat Yakin's team with an added element of dynamism.
21. Canada 🇨🇦
Pretournament rank: 25 ⬆️
Canada battled early jitters and significant injuries, but still managed to make history with an intoxicating 6-0 thumping of Qatar and historic knockout berth. With Alphonso Davies seemingly on the verge of a return, the vibes are high right now for Jesse Marsch's team ahead of a last-32 clash with South Africa.
22. Ghana 🇬🇭
Pretournament rank: 29 ⬆️
Carlos Queiroz is nothing if not consistent. His teams are always organized defensively and hard to break down in their low blocks, and Ghana proved no different, conceding just twice after getting the pragmatic results needed to progress to the next round. A stout test for anyone.
23. Sweden 🇸🇪
Pretournament rank: 21 ⬇️
Sweden's group stage was a roller coaster. The team beat Tunisia 5-1 and then lost to the Netherlands by the same score. A draw with Japan ultimately sent the Swedes to the knockout stage, but they still have more questions than answers at this point.
24. Egypt 🇪🇬
Pretournament rank: 31 ⬆️
Egypt had eyes on first place going into the last day of Group G play, but in the end the Pharaohs were lucky just to hang on for second. They also watched Mohamed Salah leave the group-stage finale with a knee problem, though he's expected to recover for the last-32 meeting with Australia.
25. Austria 🇦🇹
Pretournament rank: 24 ⬇️
The Austrians were within seconds of going home before a miraculous 96th-minute equalizer against Algeria saved their tournament. It might only be a one-game reprieve, as Austria gets ready to meet Spain next. Ralf Rangnick's team has proved capable of finding the net, though, scoring six goals thus far.
26. Australia 🇦🇺
Pretournament rank: 34 ⬆️
Tony Popovic made a costly tactical misstep against the United States, but the Socceroos were otherwise impressive in the group stage, picking up a pair of clean sheets in the process. Jordan Bos and Nestory Irankunda have been standout performers for a sturdy Aussie side.
27. Paraguay 🇵🇾
Pretournament rank: 28 ⬆️
Paraguay's campaign hasn't been great (to put it nicely). The South American side fell 4-1 to the United States and has scored only one goal in two games since. Still, that was enough to eliminate Turkiye and advance. Can the Paraguayans make all the necessary adjustments in time for the knockouts?
28. Algeria 🇩🇿
Pretournament rank: 30 ⬆️
Veteran star Riyad Mahrez, 35, has sparked the attack after being reinserted into the starting lineup in the second match of the group stage. Algeria actually benefitted from conceding a stoppage-time goal against Austria
29. Cape Verde 🇨🇻
Pretournament rank: 46 ⬆️
Who would've thought that Cape Verde - in its first World Cup - would advance as a second-place finisher competing in a group with Spain and Uruguay? Regardless of what happens in the Blue Sharks' meeting with Argentina in the round of 32, they are already one of the tournament's most incredible stories.
30. DR Congo 🇨🇩
Pretournament rank: 36 ⬆️
It was easy to overlook the Leopards before the group stage started; they had to compete in the same group as Portugal and Colombia. But DR Congo proved to be a hard side to break down and advanced as one of the top third-place teams.
31. Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦
Pretournament rank: 35 ⬆️
Being part of a weaker Group B was huge for Bosnia to reach the knockouts as a third-place finisher. It's hard to envision the Bosnians, who lost to Switzerland 4-1 in their toughest group-stage test, staying in the mix for much longer, but Kerim Alajbegovic is capable of delivering unexpected magic.
32. South Africa 🇿🇦
Pretournament rank: 42 ⬆️
It's pretty shocking that South Africa is still alive after its first two games - a 2-0 loss to Mexico and an unimpressive draw with Czechia. But Bafana Bafana found a way to defeat South Korea in the group finale to move on as a second-place finisher. Can they extend their improbable run?
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