SOC: Croatia Suddenly Surges
1. Belgium (2-0-0, 6 Pts, +0): Belgium has been on fire and they were our consensus top team for the second straight week. In Game 1, they defeated Panama 3-0 and then Belgium doubled down on their blowout victories and took down Tunisia, 5-2, on Saturday morning. Romelu Lukaku is currently in second place in the Golden Boot standings, trailing only England's Harry Kane (5). Lukaku has scored two goals in each of Belgium's first two matches, and will look to do the same against England on Thursday. The winner of that match will become the winner of Group G. Lukaku has played 158 minutes so far in the World Cup. Belgium has outscored their opponents 8-2 and have put everyone else in the tournament on notice. They're for real.
2. Mexico (2-0-0, 6 Pts, +0): Mexico shocked a lot of people on Father's Day as they pulled off a monumental upset over Germany, the defending world champions by a score of 1-0. It put them in the driver's seat in Group F, and after defeating South Korea earlier this week, Mexico earned another three points. Despite how well they have played, it's still not a certainty that they'll be in the Knockout Round. Germany and Sweden are both still alive with three points each. If Mexico fails to beat or tie Sweden, then they could be in seriously jeopardy, depending on what Germany does against South Korea. The important thing is that Mexico has been playing about as good as anyone else, and they should be able to get that going.
3. Croatia (2-0-0, 6 Pts, +6): When Croatia defeated Nigeria in Game 1, they were impressive but it still seemed like there were a lot of question marks. We know they have world class talent, but the 2-0 win over Nigeria wasn't as convincing to me as it was to some other people. But then they absolutely destroyed Argentina, and completely shut the door on a late game-tying goal from the Argentinians. Croatia added a pair of goals in the second half and proved to the world that they are the best team in Group D. They will have an opportunity to clinch the group outright with a match against Iceland on Tuesday afternoon. Iceland is 0-1-1 with their draw coming against Argentina. Croatia should win and improve to 3-0-0.
4. Brazil (1-1-0, 4 Pts, +4): Brazil struggled mightily against Switzerland in the second half and came away with just a draw, which was disappointing for one of the top teams in the world. And then it looked like the same result might happen in Game 2 against Costa Rica, but two stoppage time goals secured a 2-0 win. Coutinho got on the board first and then Neymar closed it out just moments later. It was an important victory for Brazil going forward because if they were 0-2-0, their chances of advancing would be certainly in question. But what matters the most is that they were able to pull out that win and now they just need to draw or win versus Serbia (3) on Wednesday morning. Switzerland (4) and Costa Rica (0) will be playing at the same time.
5. France (2-0-0, 6 Pts, -2): The reason France has slipped two spots is because they haven't been nearly as good as we expected them to be. France was given a favorable schedule as they got to face the two worst teams in Group C, Australia and Peru first, before meeting Denmark. We thought they would be able to make quick work of their first two opponents and then the third match wouldn't matter as much. And while France has been able to win, they've looked pretty bad doing it. In Game 1, they needed Pogba to save them with a late goal or they would have tied Australia. In Game 2, their offense was threatening a lot more, but they were only able to score once. France needs to be better. Fortunately for them, they've already advanced.
6. Germany (1-0-1, 3 Pts, -1): Imagine what would be going on if Kroos didn't absolutely save Germany from a draw against Sweden in their second game. It would have been very difficult for them to reach the Knockout Round and they would have been the third straight defending champion to fail to advance. However, Kroos nailed an incredible free kick in stoppage time and got Germany three much-needed points. With the 2-1 win, the Germans are tied for second place in Group G with Sweden, trailing Mexico. Germany gets to face South Korea, who is 0-0-2 and has a -2 goal differential, and they should be able to get another victory. Because of the comeback, though, Germany will probably move on again.
7. Russia (2-0-0, 6 Pts, +3): Russia wasn't on our initial rankings despite having the largest win of any team, defeating Saudi Arabia 5-0. It wasn't because of what they did, but more because of who they were playing. Saudi Arabia is the worst team in the field so Russia should come away with that win. But then they looked just as convincing in a 3-1 win over Egypt in Game 2, and we had to start taking them a little more seriously. We'll really see just how good they are tomorrow when Russia and Uruguay meet with Group A on the line. Both teams have already moved on so the only thing left to decide in the group is first place. Uruguay has more talent, by a long shot, but the Russians are coming in with a ton of momentum.
8. Spain (1-1-0, 4 Pts, -2): Spain hasn't exactly looked like world beaters in their first two matches, but they've looked good enough to land the No. 8 spot on our rankings. After playing to a 3-3 draw against Portugal and Ronaldo, Spain was able to get back to the winning side of things, as they defeated Iran. Spain is now tied at the top of Group B (with Portugal) and should be favored to finish in first place as they get to play Morocco in the final Group Stage game. Morocco is 0-0-2 with a -2 goal differential. Although they've competed against both Iran and Portugal, they weren't good enough to come out on top, and a similar story should be the result when they play Spain. The Spaniards could be returning to the Knockout Round after missing it in 2014.
Photo Credit: Hindustan Times.
