32-17 (Eliminated)
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32. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 28
Bosnia and Herzegovina rode its luck to reach the tournament and then its first knockout-round appearance in the nation’s history. But all that good fortune ran out against the United States.
Despite taking on 10 men for the last half hour, the Dragons couldn’t make the most of the man advantage or their edge in possession, only having three out of 10. The Stars and Stripes, by contrast, converted both their shots on target and even scored while a man down.
In what was essentially an away game, Bosnia had the odds against them from the get-go, and that ultimately proved insurmountable.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 31
The lack of a clinical edge ultimately doomed Algeria. The Fennec Foxes went toe-to-toe with Switzerland, but they missed both of their , and in a 2-0 defeat, that counts for a lot.
With that loss, they are still looking for their first-ever win in a World Cup knockout. With the nation’s brightest star in a generation, Riyad Mahrez, heading for retirement, it might be a while until such an opportunity presents itself again.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 29
South Africa dominated its round-of-32 matchup with Canada in terms of , but those statistics don’t matter for much when you put just one shot on target.
Bafana Bafana’s almost miraculous second-place finish in Group A, thanks to a 1-0 win over South Korea, will live long in the memory, marking the nation’s first-ever World Cup knockout game. However, that’s as good as it got for the team in North America.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 30
DR Congo made England sweat in the round-of-32, opening the scoring through Brian Cipenga after seven minutes and keeping the Three Lions at bay for just over an hour.
A lot of the credit for that must go to goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who played the game of his life with .
However, the 31-year-old will be furious that one of the more saveable efforts from the head of Harry Kane practically slipped through his fingertips, giving England a 2-1 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
Getting through a brutal Group K to make the knockouts in the nation’s first World Cup appearance is a massive achievement, and the team proved good value against an England side many had tipped as tournament favorites. With that, they get a bump in the Power Ranking, even in defeat.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 26
“Stubborn” would be the word to sum up Ghana’s tournament. The Black Stars conceded just three goals in four games, but that back-line resilience only counts for so much when you have just four shots on target in total.
Goals proved to be the African nation’s undoing, with no shots on target in the round of 32 against Colombia. Los Cafeteros, by comparison, sprayed eight shots on Lawrence Ati Zigi’s goal, breaching his resistance once.
Ghana did much better than expected in North America, but the round of 16 proved a bridge too far.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 24
Sweden would have been thrilled to make it through Group F up until the point it realized France was waiting in the knockouts.
What looked on paper to be a one-sided contest proved to be just that, with Les Bleus having 61% possession and hitting the target 12 times compared to Sweden’s three.
A 3-0 victory could have been a lot more if not for the woodwork, with France’s forward corps featuring Kylian Mbappé, Bradley Barcola, Michael Olisé and Ousmane Dembélé practically toying with their opponents.
Sweden’s hopes of repeating its trip to third in the 1994 World Cup in the United States fell significantly short, but getting to this stage is still incredible after finishing qualifying with two points and at the bottom of its pool.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 32
Wow. The smallest nation to ever feature in a World Cup knockout match almost won in the round of 32—against reigning champions Argentina, no less.
Cabo Verde took La Albiceleste to the wire, twice equalizing against a team chock-full of world-class stars and even threatening to do so for a third time with the clock running down.
Vozinha was once again at the heart of the upset bid, with the 40-year-old making eight saves.
Alas, the fairy tale run has reached its conclusion, but what a story it was.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 22
Austria’s lackluster Group J showing didn’t provide much hope for progression through the knockouts, and being matched up against European champions Spain didn’t make the possibility much more likely.
While La Furia Roja haven’t been as convincing as expected at the tournament, Austria could barely lay a glove on them. Zero shots on target, 0.32 expected goals, and just 10 touches in the opposition box effectively how far off the pace they were in the 3-0 defeat.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 25
Australia’s wait for a first World Cup knockout win continues, with only penalties preventing the Socceroos from reaching that milestone this time around.
The team from Down Under was certainly ambitious against the Pharaohs, but 16 shots only yielded one on target, and their equalizer came via the head of Egypt defender Mohamed Hany.
It wasn’t a meek exit by any means, but they will wonder what might have been if the team’s shooting radar had been operational.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 23
Ecuador’s hopeful “dark horse” run found a difficult barrier to clear when meeting Mexico in front of El Tri’s adoring fans.
La Tricolor put up a good fight, but a lack of quality up front eventually proved their doom in the round of 32.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 5
The biggest faller in this edition of the World Cup power ranking is Germany, which has tumbled 10 places to 22nd.
The Nationalelf were on the wrong side of the round’s biggest upset, losing to Paraguay on penalties after a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side was given the benefit of the doubt following a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in its final Group E match, but that result obviously pointed to more significant flaws than many expected.
Against La Albirroja, they had just six shots on target from 21 efforts, missing two big chances. The stats will say that Germany dominated the contest, but the result paints a very different story.
In addition to exiting the tournament much earlier than expected, Germany is now on the lookout for a new head coach, with Nagelsmann after a hugely disappointing effort. It might not be a long wait for a replacement, though.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 18
Côte d’Ivoire got the points to steal second in Group E, but the performances weren’t entirely convincing. Its first-ever knockout round game against Norway wasn’t quite as forgiving.
You simply have to take your chances when Erling Haaland is on the opposite team, and the Elephants only put on target, missing two big chances.
Norway weren’t exactly clinical, but if you give the 25-year-old a sniff, he’ll more than likely punish you. He did just that in the 86th minute.
We simply didn’t see enough of why Yan Diomande is tipped to be a $100 million player, and more faith should have been placed in Amad Diallo, who was the team’s joint-top scorer in the tournament but played just 184 minutes.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 21
Senegal’s tough Group I meant a third-place finish and qualification was totally forgivable, and the Lions of Teranga’s 5-0 victory over Iraq in the final matchday suggested success could still be achieved in the first knockout round.
Up against a Belgium team that had stumbled through Group G, a place in the round of 16 certainly looked possible, and it seemed nailed on after 85 minutes of their contest with the Red Devils, at which point they held a 2-0 lead.
But an almighty collapse in the span of four minutes took the game to extra time, and Youri Tielemans’ 125th-minute penalty completed a remarkable comeback victory for the European side.
Senegal will be wondering where it all went wrong, with the defeat especially sore after being stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title earlier in the year. Some soul-searching is required to fix a serious mentality problem.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 14
The round of 32 started so well for Japan, with Kaishu Sano putting the Blue Samurai ahead against Brazil after 29 minutes.
However, the Seleção Canarinho are growing into the tournament, and that persistence was evident. Their pressure finally brought results when Casemiro headed home in the 56th minute.
From there, the South Americans continued to pepper Zion Suzuki’s goal, and with seconds to go until the final whistle, Japan’s resilience and heart were broken by Gabriel Martinelli.
It was a valiant effort, but this Brazil side is finally starting to live up to the nation’s reputation in international football, and that’s difficult for any side to deal with.
Previous Power Ranking: 12
Croatia pulled off a second-place finish in Group L at practically the last moment, but final-minute heroics in the round of 32 were spurned by VAR.
The Vatreni looked to have pushed the matchup with Portugal to extra time with the clock reading 90+12 minutes, but Josko Gvardiol’s goal was ruled out for offside in the buildup.
Croatia opened the scoring against the Seleção and had an earlier goal ruled out for offside to make it 2-0. It can’t have come much closer to sealing the upset win.
However, it wasn’t to be, and it marks the last time we’ll see Luka Modric take to the world stage.
Previous Power Ranking Spot: 8
The Netherlands won Group F but got handed one of the trickiest matchups from the second-placed teams in the round of 32, taking on Morocco.
The Oranje were moments away from a spot in the next phase, but Issa Diop’s 91st-minute equalizer forced extra time and eventually penalties, and the Atlas Lions proved to be cooler from the spot.
It was a cruel exit for the Netherlands, although on the balance of play, Morocco deserved to go through at its expense. But the Oranje will look at the more favorable fixtures other first-placed teams earned and curse the luck of the draw.
