With 32 teams down and 16 still standing, Sport journalists have ranked the World Cup’s remaining sides on performances alone, and the first names at the top of that list have already told a clear story about the tournament. France were treated as the standard-setters, with Kylian Mbappe described as looking on top form while his side were judged to have looked unbeatable so far.
That matters now because the World Cup has reached the last 16, when every result starts to carry extra weight and every display gets judged against the next round rather than the group table. It is also why the search around Morocco Fc has picked up: readers want to know which teams are being viewed as the strongest as the field narrows and the margins get thinner.
Spain were placed among the leading contenders even after a flat opening, when they drew 0-0 with Cape Verde, because they were said to have been quietly going through the gears since then. Argentina also stayed high in the reckoning despite a huge scare against Cape Verde in a 3-2 win in the last 32, a result that showed how close a strong performance and a nervy escape can sit together in the knockout rounds.
Elsewhere, Brazil were credited with Carlo Ancelotti getting a tune out of them and Vinicius Jr firing, while England were described as explosive in attack and rock solid at the back despite a World Cup tie in chaos that left five and a half hours of disruption behind it. Croatia’s role in a 4-2 opening win featured an impressive second half, Luis Diaz was put among the most exciting players in the tournament so far, Erling Haaland was said to look full of goals as ever, and the United States were filed under organised.
The rankings also left room for a harder edge. Switzerland had already secured their first World Cup knockout win since 1938 and had looked smooth so far, but Colombia was framed as a huge test. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, was presented as the player Egypt needed to come to the party if they were to progress much further. What the list makes plain is that these judgments are being made on current form alone, and the side that sat first was the one seen as strongest when the tournament reached its sharpest stage.
