World Cup Rankings: Bottom 16

17. Spain -- Definitely on the way down.  Man, Spain fell like the Miami Heat this year: they just woke up one day and realized they weren't champions any more.  Spain dominated for 6 straight years on a ball control mid-field that was maybe the best that's ever been.  Think about that: they weren't great scorers, they weren't great defenders, their games was to dribble the ball until the opponent had forgotten they were even playing soccer, and eventually Spain would pass the ball into the goal.  Their one superpower was untouchable passing.  And that vanished quickly in this tournament and after that they had nothing left.  But just to counter-factualize: what if they played Australia first and then Netherlands last?  Instead of opening with a beatdown from a familiar rival, they could've opened by delivering a beatdown on a farflung colleague...might've made all the difference for them.  Oh well, we live in the universe where Spain got clocked on opening day.  Veteran teams always last one Cup too long.  Where do they go from here?  I can't imagine they'll suck but they can't possibly be as good, so #17 in the world is probably a good place to put them (for now).

18. Bosnia-Herzegovina -- I was impressed with Bosnia's play against Messi (he only shook loose against them once), got unlucky against Nigeria (robbed on one end, then robbed on the other) and closed with a convincing W on Iran.  All in all, they played well, didn't get the luck they needed but looked like a stout side for the most part.

19. Ivory Coast -- They got a bad beat against Greece (fair cop, though), blitzed Japan and floundered against Colombia (they made a lot of people look like flounderers).  Not a great performance but they were okay with some star power.  Not sure whether they're on the way up or down.

20. Croatia -- Good offense, played well against Brazil and Mexico, laid a beatdown on hapless Cameroon (I probably shouldn't be so impressed but I like when a team steps up and piles it on once in a while).  My gut is they are a legit European side and will be back in the next Cup.

21. Italy -- This Italy side just never got any offense going.  They still had the old time swagger and they weren't awful, just that Costa Rica came to play and the rest of the big dogs (why wasn't this the Group of Death?) stayed up on the porch.  Italy can't possibly be this bad next time around.  Even though this particular squad didn't bring it, realistically Italy is much higher than #21 in the world.

22. Portugal -- I dunno, man, outside of Ronaldo the team didn't look that dangerous to me.  USA gave them two poor goals, Ghana did as well.  Furthermore, they don't get Ronaldo the ball enough, they don't play like a team that likes each other and they're not getting any younger.  Portugal is on the way down.

23. Ghana -- Couldn't really get a feel for this Ghana side.  They outplayed USA and didn't get a result, outplayed Germany (probably Champions) but they didn't show up for Portugal.  Lot of internal turmoil and while they had good looking talent, they never developed the proper team ethic.  Africa is always fluid so maybe they'll be back next time, maybe not.

24. Russia -- Stood their ground on D pretty well but didn't hold the ball in midfield very well.  Not much offense, not much team identity.  They were in a soft group and couldn't find their way through it.

25. England -- Old, creaky.  England always produces talent, they'll have new players next time around, might take a while to gel but I suspect by Euro 2020 they'll be one of the dangerous sides again.

26. South Korea -- South Korea is starting to pass the 'bus' test: when they get off the bus at the stadium, they look like for-real ballers.  Big kids, good athletes, good discipline.  But not yet enough talent.  I think South Korea is a team that has steadily improved over the last 20 years and I think they will continue to improve and should dominate their region for a while.  As South Korea becomes a regular at this tournament, we'll perhaps see an Asian-style truly develop.

27. Ecuador -- Bad loss to Switzerland, so-so win over Honduras, draw against a listless France.  Not an impressive run. With Colombia and Chile looking pretty strong, not sure there's much room for Ecuador next time around.

28. Iran -- Iran is generally one of the powerhouses of the Middle East (or used to be before the Ayatollah arrived and banned anything that might be more popular them him) and the team has good shape, good discipline.  But I'm not seeing the athletes or the gameplan that could deliver wins.  Along with South Korea (and China, right?  Doesn't Chine eventually have to get good at soccer?), I reckon Iran will be a regular fixture in the World Cup but they've got a ways to go to make the leap into contender.

29. Australia -- I dunno, man, I thought these guys sucked.  They remind me of USA circa 1998 and that is not a good thing.  The squad is a bunch of blocky white guys that play crunching defense but don't look capable of scoring (that said, Cahill's rocket against the Dutch was maybe the best goal of the whole shebang).  They don't look strong at holding the ball or pressing forward.  (Not sure the population of Australia or the layout of the nation-state allows for them to get any better at soccer (or basketball))

30. Cameroon -- Beatdown by Brazil, beatdown by Croatia, played well against Mexico.  Not a good showing from Cameroon (though they did have at least one okay game against a good opponent).  Again, Africa is very fluid, they are about 7-8 countries realistically vying for 3 spots.  Maybe Cameroon pulls it together, maybe not.  I didn't see much to build on.

31. Japan -- Apart from a 10 minute spurt early in their 1st game (against Ivory Coast), Japan basically never threatened at all.  The D was okay, the shape and discipline is there.  But I'm not seeing the athletes.  (Can I make a suggestion, Japan?  Study Mexico.  Physically they're similar and their close-quarter ball handling is something Japan needs to make use of)

32. Honduras -- Pretty poor showing.  Clobbered by France (I thought France was pretty good), run by Ecuador (competed as well as they could have, I guess) and drubbed by Switzerland (that should never happen to anyone).

Is this a proper ranking for International Soccer?  Sure, why not?  I mean obviously the small sample size doesn't really give much of an occasion for analysis but these games are the games countries are trying to win.  These are the games that matter, the World Cup is the reason you want to rank teams.  Is this perfect?  No, but the most recent history is a reasonable place to start.