The World Cup is down to its final eight, and every match from this point on could define a nation’s soccer legacy. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and the United States are among the eight teams just eliminated, and with the round of 16 now behind us, let’s take a look at our recent power rankings ahead of the quarterfinals, which begin on Thursday.
6
Belgium
4
Portugal
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Teams
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1 |
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Once again, France look like the strongest team at the World Cup. However, their quarterfinal against Morocco should provide a much clearer indication of whether they have what it takes to lift the trophy again, having won it in 2018 before finishing as runners-up in 2022. | — | |
2 |
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It seemed over against Egypt but Lionel Messi reminded once again why he’s the best player in the history of the game. The entire squad seems fully committed to his cause, and this team arguably looks even stronger than the one that lifted the trophy in 2022. He’s also leading the Golden Boot race with eight goals scored so far. | — | |
3 |
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Imagine if football finally came home with a German manager at the helm. England are in excellent form, and Thomas Tuchel’s surprising selection decisions have paid off so far. On top of that, the celebrations in the dressing room after the win over Mexico suggest this is a squad that is growing closer together at exactly the right time. | 1 | |
4 |
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They are among the top four teams of the tournament so far, but they are losing places since the start of the tournament. Lamine Yamal hasn’t been as dominant as I was expecting but there is still time. | 1 | |
5 |
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I received plenty of criticism for including them in the top 10 of my previous power rankings. Well, it turns out I wasn’t wrong after all. They won a qualifying group that included Italy, finished second in a World Cup group featuring France and Senegal, and then knocked Brazil out in the round of 16. The Vikings made history. | 2 | |
6 |
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They are not a surprise anymore. After reaching the semis in 2022, they will meet France again, this time in the quarterfinals. It will definitely be a tense game but they have chances to make it. | 2 | |
7 |
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I wasn’t expecting Belgium to win against the United States, especially for what they showed before the round of 16. Facing Spain will be a bigger challenge but they can count on the best version of Romelu Lukaku, who makes the difference every time he comes off the bench. | 5 | |
8 |
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I wasn’t expecting Belgium to win against the United States, especially for what they showed before the round of 16. Facing Spain will be a bigger challenge but they can count on the best version of Romelu Lukaku, who makes the difference every time he comes off the bench. | 6 | |
9 |
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ELIMINATED: They were a good team, but Spain made things more difficult for them. Cristiano Ronaldo revealed this will be his last World Cup, but to be honest, I’m not completely sure considering the next tournament will be co-hosted by Portugal. Time will tell, but this is a strong team that deserved more and will be led by a new coach after Roberto Martinez revealed he will leave. | 4 | |
10 |
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ELIMINATED: The first World Cup of Carlo Ancelotti’s cycle ended in the round of 16 after losing to Norway. The Italian coach made it clear that the new cycle will start from now on, and there are four more years ahead where he can work with a different and younger roster. At the end, calling Neymar Jr. was probably a mistake. | 4 | |
11 |
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ELIMINATED: There were probably too many expectations placed on a talented team that still have plenty of room to grow. Luis Diaz was outstanding, but the pressure on the squad may have been excessive given its relative inexperience. | 2 | |
12 |
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ELIMINATED: What an incredible journey. I thought they could do even more before facing England but the Three Lions are one of the best teams in the world. Javier Aguirre’s job has been great so far and I hope he will stay in charge. | 2 | |
13 |
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ELIMINATED: Let me be clear here. It was disappointing at the end, yes, but this is exactly where I was expecting them to be at this stage. What happened before the game, with the suspension of Folarin Balogun lifted, only put more pressure on the team and on Mauricio Pochettino. | 2 | |
14 |
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ELIMINATED: Losing to Argentina after taking a two-goal lead was undoubtedly a bitter disappointment. However, their overall World Cup campaign must still rank among the greatest achievements in their history, considering they had never won a match at the tournament before this edition. | 1 | |
15 |
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ELIMINATED: We couldn’t ask for more. They managed to knock Germany out of the World Cup before losing only 1-0 to France in the round of 16. Considering the teams they faced, they did something incredible. | — | |
16 |
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ELIMINATED: The side coached by Jesse Marsch ended their run against Morocco but at the end made history as they made it for the first time at the knockouts after winning also their first games in the tournament. The foundation has been set and expanded upon. | — | |
17 |
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ELIMINATED: What an incredible story. Yes, Argentina won in the end and they are out of the World Cup. But what a way to go. They pushed the reigning world champions to extra time and only fell in a 3-2 defeat. If there is one underdog story that this tournament will remember, it is Cabo Verde and especially that of their inspirational goalkeeper, Vozinha. | — | |
18 |
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ELIMINATED: The most surprising result of the round of 32 as Paraguay stunned Germany in a penalty shootout. After failing to progress beyond the group stage in both 2018 and 2022, Germany’s 2026 campaign ended at the first knockout hurdle. It’s now likely that Jurgen Klopp will take over and start a new era for this historic national team. | — | |
19 |
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ELIMINATED: I mean, facing Morocco wasn’t an easy task at all and losing after penalties made it even worse, but we could all expect much more from them. Ronald Koeman, the Dutch coach, has already stepped down from his role. | — | |
20 |
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ELIMINATED: How unlucky. One of my predictions was that Japan was one of the underdogs of the tournament. They impressed the world but Brazil were able to score a las-minute goal and sent them home. They will be back. | — | |
21 |
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ELIMINATED: Nobody seems capable of hanging with this French side. Graham Potter’s team held its own for the opening 30 minutes before reality set in, as the quality of Mbappe, Dembele and Michael Olise eventually proved too much. | — | |
22 |
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ELIMINATED: Norway were a better team and deserve to go through, but some of the players on this team we will be back in the headlines soon. Starting from Yan Diomande. | — | |
23 |
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ELIMINATED: Luka Modric’s final World Cup appearance was one that will live long in the memory. The heartbreak was made even greater by Gvardiol’s late goal being ruled out after the ball’s sensor detected the slightest touch from an offside teammate. It was a cruel ending to Modric’s World Cup journey. | — | |
24 |
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ELIMINATED: There was a lot of pressure on them after what happened in the AFCON final last year and they only lost in stoppage time against Belgium after a crazy game, when they were winning 2-0 before conceding three goals in the second part of the match. | — | |
25 |
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ELIMINATED: Facing Mexico isn’t easy at all and they had to face them in the round of 32. However, they are one of those national teams that can only improve in the coming years. | — | |
26 |
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ELIMINATED: They were undoubtedly unfortunate to draw Spain in the round of 32, having already faced Argentina in the group stage. At the same time, there was a widespread belief that Ralf Rangnick’s project was further along in its development. | — | |
27 |
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ELIMINATED: Drew against England in the group stages and only lost 1-0 against Colombia before being eliminated. Still a positive performance. | — | |
28 |
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ELIMINATED: Nobody expected Bafana Bafana to make their first-ever qualification to the knockouts. They made it and lost against co-hosts Canada. | — | |
29 |
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ELIMINATED: What an incredible coincidence as their coach Vladimir Petkovic was defeated at the round of 32 against his former national team, Switzerland. | — | |
30 |
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ELIMINATED: Another great story of this World Cup. Lost to the United States in the round of 32 but even if they lost they showed a lot of character and probably deserved more. It wasn’t a coincidence that they knocked Italy out of World Cup qualification in the playoffs back in March. | — | |
31 |
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ELIMINATED: What an incredible performance against England, one of the best teams in the world. Their first ever participation at the World Cup since the 1974 edition was historic and that draw against Portugal will stay forever in our hearts. If Harry Kane wasn’t playing for England we would probably be talking about a different story. | — | |
32 |
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ELIMINATED: The Socceros did what they could in the tournament but to be honest we couldn’t expect much more. Ending up in the top 32 was still a big achievement for them, especially as they had to face a strong group with the United States, Turkiye and Paraguay. Two of them are in the top 16 of the tournament. | — | |
33 |
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ELIMINATED — It wasn’t the ending Son Heung-min deserved in what is expected to be his final World Cup and the closing chapter of an outstanding international career. | — | |
34 |
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ELIMINATED — I was expecting them to be a bit more challenging for the teams they faced but ended up only winning the opening game against Haiti. Not good enough. | — | |
35 |
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ELIMINATED — A bit unlucky for their late elimination but they failed to win a single game in this World Cup. For sure, they probably had too much pressure due to the geopolitical situation surrounding their country. | — | |
36 |
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ELIMINATED — Another huge disappointment of this World Cup. There were so many expectations around this team and especially on their coach, Marcelo Bielsa. Out in the group phase. | — | |
37 |
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ELIMINATED — They had a good start with the draw against Switzerland but then the two defeats against Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina ended their dreams. At least, they made a step forward compared to the 2022 World Cup. | — | |
38 |
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ELIMINATED — They had to face a challenging group with Uruguay and Spain but they drew in the last key game against Cabo Verde, meaning they are once again out of the tournament at the first phase. | — | |
39 |
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ELIMINATED — They have been the biggest disappointment of the group stage. Tipped as potential dark horses capable of challenging the tournament’s traditional powerhouses, they ultimately failed to live up to expectations. Their victory over the USMNT in the final group match was only a consolation for the fans. | — | |
40 |
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ELIMINATED — To be fair, they did better than what we all expected. Their debut draw against Iran was one of the most surprising results of the tournament but they did not keep the same level against Egypt and Belgium. | — | |
41 |
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ELIMINATED — Another big setback. The European side were kicked out of the World Cup in a group with South Africa, Korea Republic and Mexico. We expected more from a talented roster. | — | |
42 |
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ELIMINATED — They did what they could against Norway, France and Senegal which was considered the group of death. Conceding 12 goals in just three matches was simply too much. | — | |
43 |
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ELIMINATED — Unlucky to play their first World Cup against a challenging group with Portugal and Colombia. Still a historical first time for them. | — | |
44 |
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ELIMINATED — The first half against England in the last matchday showed how much they improved since their last appearance in 2018. | — | |
45 |
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ELIMINATED – -Imagine sacking your manager in the middle of the tournament and replacing him with another one with no real expectations of doing better. This is the only reason why they made history at this World Cup. | — | |
46 |
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ELIMINATED — What could we expect from them against Scotland, Brazil and Morocco? They did what they were able to do and we couldn’t ask for more. A great story that will remain in our memory forever. | — | |
47 |
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ELIMINATED — Scoring against Lionel Messi’s Argentina will forever remain one of the greatest moments in this team’s history and a proud milestone for the country. | — | |
48 |
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ELIMINATED — A great story with no fairytale ending. They scored their first-ever World Cup goal and even drew against Ecuador. Still a historical month for them. | — |
