2018 World Cup (Groups A-D)

A
Uruguay -- Sailed through with 3 wins, though 1-0 wins over Egypt and Saudi Arabia were hardly convincing, as they didn't have to face Mo Salah in the first game or a good team in the second.  They finally got it together against Russia, laying a 3-0 smackdown on the previously unbeaten hosts. They can still get hot and be a great team but they mostly got lucky in the group stage.

Russia -- These guys came out in all three games hard and fast, which never seemed sustainable. Fortunately they scored quick ones against Saudi Arabia (which eased them into a 5-0 drubbing) and Egypt (which they rode into a 3-1 victory). But they never found their footing against Uruguay and floundered for 90 minutes. So is Russia actually any good? Can't really tell. They cruised so easily through the first two matches and struggled so mightily against the one good team they played that we saw the template for how they win (early success) and how they lose (getting overpowered by strong strikers).

Saudi Arabia -- Man, that opening night loss must've been a real drag for them but they played well against Uruguay and scored a W against Egypt. Nice to finish 3rd but make no mistake: they're one of the worst teams in the tourney. They've generally done well in Asia but with Qatar sucking up an automatic bid, not sure Saudi Arabia will be back for in 2022.

Egypt -- Nearly pulled out a draw against Uruguay without their star, Mo Salah, but they ran into a host nation playing with their hair on fire and got swept under. Failing to pick up a consolation W against a weak Saudi Arabia side completes their steady decline through the group. Not a good showing from Egypt. Africa is very fluid with 10-ish teams fighting for 5-ish spots, though you gotta figure Mo Salah should still be strong enough to get them back for 2022.

B
Spain -- If you squint you can still see the outline of the great Spain side that rolled everyone for 5 straight years: they've still got the amazing ball control but the defense isn't as solid and the goal-scoring has eroded, too. Their opening draw against Portugal was maybe the best game of the whole tourney but Iran gave them a great game and Morocco did, too, Spain was lucky to get results in those matches. From here on, Spain will be in every game but they probably need to get to penalty kicks to score wins. Still a strong side but not the dominant one that will inspire terror in their opponents.

Portugal -- Ronaldo started off inspired, scoring a hat trick in the opening game (a classic for the ages). But, after an early goal against Morocco they mailed it in for 90 minutes and then fought for their lives against Iran, narrowly avoiding getting eliminated in the last minute. Okay, they got it up for Spain and then dogpaddled their way into the knockout phase. Clearly Ronaldo is in line for the Golden Boot but not sure the rest of the squad is scary enough to get wins.

Iran -- Got a lucky result against Morocco in the first game but went toe-to-toe with Spain and Portugal, though they seem to have wasted all their luck in the opener. I was generally pretty impressed with them, a little more luck against Spain, a little more work against Portugal and they'd be moving on. I fully expect to see them in 2022.

Morocco -- Meh. They should've beaten Iran, could've had a completely different result against Portugal if they hadn't given up an early goal and went back and forth with Spain. But none of those games turned out for them, kinda hard to tell what kind of team they are. Africa is fluid, I have no idea whether Morocco will be back in 2022.

C
France -- They didn't exactly impress against Australia or Peru and their 3rd game against Denmark was the lamest game of the whole tourney (so far). So....are they any good? I'm not sure. They finished 1st in the group, earning them a chance to match up with Argentina, a game that could go in any direction.

Denmark -- Their opening win against Peru was a fluke (I'll remember the 2018 World Cup as the one where they stopped calling off-sides), they got lucky against a so-so Australia squad, and they were happy to play a boring nothing game against France. So is Denmark any good? No idea. I watched all three games and got no picture of the team at all outside of a solid goalkeeper. My gut is they'll get throttled by Croatia in the next match.

Peru -- Soccer is a harsh game. I can't help thinking Peru deserved to move on more than Denmark or France. They got jobbed against Denmark (the dude was off-side! He looked off-side live, he looked off-side in the replay, the dude was off-side!) and gave France an even match. Scoring an easy W over Australia was a nice biscuit for them but I'd rather see them in the next round. This was their first Cup appearance in ages, I'm guessing they're not likely to be back in 2022.

Australia -- Much better than I anticipated (I've never been impressed by Australia) but they gave France a game and played Denmark to a standstill before getting tooled by Peru--who was secretly the class of this group. Australia has never been very good but they're back in the Cup again and again, so I guess they'll be in Qatar in 2022.

D
Croatia -- Arguably they've been the best, most complete team so far. I didn't see their opening W against Nigeria (who is the Fox Deportes exec who decided to play the entire World Cup...except one game?) but that 3-0 victory over Argentina was no fluke--they were better than Argentina in every way. Didn't see the Iceland match but if they outscored that rock solid defense, then it must've been a good win. They have so much talent in the mid-field, they'll control games going forward. I expect them to be much better than Denmark and make a serious run to the end.

Argentina -- Well, that was lucky! Iceland played them to a standstill (if Messi hits that PK, this whole tournament seems totally different, no?), then Croatia dropped a serious whoopin' on them and the panic set in. Pulling out a W against Nigeria saved everyone's bacon but they have not impressed so far. They can beat France but they could also get run out of the stadium--those are the games you wanna watch!

Nigeria -- The 1998 Nigeria side was one of my all-time favorite teams to watch but they weren't able to keep up the talent pool after that, so Nigeria is usually the class of Africa but never seems terribly dangerous in the big show. Getting beat by Croatia is nothing be ashamed of, finally blasting through Iceland's D was a good victory, but failing to hold on to that Argentina game will haunt them. We'll never know if they could've beaten France in the next round, I'm guessing that'll inspire them to be back in 2022.

Iceland -- They were a pleasant surprise in the 2014 Euro and kept the vibe alive through that hard fought draw with well-respected Argentina. But they seemed absolutely gassed by the end of that Nigeria match such that hanging tough with Croatia is a respectable close to the tourney for them. Curious to see them in 2020 Euro but they seem an unlikely combatant at Qatar 2022.