SOC: Mexico Slides Following Loss

1. Belgium (3-0-0, 9 Pts, +0): Belgium has been the strongest team thus far, and it's really not all that close. Obviously that doesn't mean they're for sure going to win it all, but they certainly have all the momentum in the world. Belgium struggled through the first 45 minutes against Panama, and since then, have looked unbeatable. Lukaku scored two goals in the second half of that game, and Belgium won 3-0. The next game? Tunisia wasn't prepared. Belgium jumped on them, as Lukaku scored twice more, and they won 5-2. If there was any room left for doubt about this team, they answered the skeptics with a 1-0 victory over England, who was undefeated coming into the game. Belgium will begin their quest for the title against Japan in the Round of 16.

2. Croatia (3-0-0, 9 Pts, +1): After not appearing in our first rankings following their 2-0 win versus Nigeria, the Croatian national team proved how dangerous they are with a 3-0 annihilation of Argentina and Messi. It was a game that nearly eliminated one of the greatest players of all-time. And then in their third game, they won again even though a spot in the Knockout Round was already clinched. Croatia is playing at an extremely high level right now and I think they can keep it going for at least another round. They've now climbed seven spots in our rankings in the last two matches, which were a pair of shutouts against Argentina and Iceland. Croatia should be able to handle Denmark before facing either Spain or Russia in the quarterfinals.

3. Uruguay (3-0-0, 9 Pts, +6): Uruguay looked questionable in their opening match, as they needed a late goal to get past Egypt, who ended up 0-0-3. But since then, they've really escalated. In Game 2, they were able to run away from Saudi Arabia, and then the final match saw them take on the host country: Russia. The Russians came into the game with a ton of momentum and then they ran into Uruguay. They ended up winning the game 3-0 after Suarez scored in the 10th minute on a free kick from just outside the box. Cavani would also add a goal late in the match which might wake him up a little bit. He was scoreless in this tournament prior to that. After winning Group A, Uruguay will face the runner-up in Group B, Portugal, in the opening round.

4. France (2-1-0, 7 Pts, +1): France has been just floating around in the middle of our rankings. Even though they won their first two games, they were very unconvincing. France scrapped by Australia and then only scored once against Peru. Both of those teams failed to make it out of the group. In Game 3, the Frenchmen played passive (since they were secure with just advancing) and it led to a 0-0 draw, the only one of the World Cup so far. Pogba sat the entire game. So how confident should we be in France, who won the group and has just as much or more talent than anyone else in the world, but only scored three goals in three games? I think most agree they should be Argentina in Round 1, but beyond that there is a lot of uncertainty.

5. Brazil (2-1-0, 7 Pts, -1): In our initial rankings, we weren't impressed with Brazil following their 1-1 draw versus Switzerland. It's not that they looked bad, but the expectations are just so high with this squad. But they were able to improve in their next two outings and outscored their opponents 4-0 after the first game. In Game 2, Brazil pushed past Costa Rica and in the last match, they scored early against Serbia to squash their dreams of making the Knockout Round. Neymar only has one goal, so he might need to start showing up more often, but they've played pretty well for the most part. Good enough for us to have them in our top five for the second straight release. Brazil will face Mexico, who is 2-0-1, in the First Round.

6. Colombia (2-0-1, 6 Pts, +4): Colombia was in serious danger after Sanchez received a red card in just a couple of minutes against Japan in their first game. Colombia went on to lose that game, 2-1, and it only made matters worse that Rodriguez was obviously injured. But from that moment on, similarly to Brazil, Colombia absolutely turned on the jets and proved just how good they truly are when everything is clicking. We saw this four years ago as they reached the quarterfinals, but now Colombia has their eyes on multiple wins in bracket play. Rodriguez had to come off the field in the second half of their 1-0 win over Senegal, but they were still able to win the group. Which means they'll go up against England in the Round of 16.

7. Mexico (2-0-1, 6 Pts, -5): You could say we're overreacting to one game, but it seemed like Mexico had to see a massive drop after getting killed 3-0 by Sweden. And it's not like Mexico knew they could lose this game and still advance. For the majority of the day, they were one Germany goal away from being eliminated. Mexico has to thank South Korea for pulling off a shocking 2-0 win against the Germans. That meant Mexico was able to advance despite losing 3-0. But because of that loss, they'll have to meet Brazil in the opening round. With a win against Sweden, Mexico would've faced Switzerland which is a better matchup for them. It makes me worry because Mexico didn't show up in an enormous game, and the next one is even bigger.

8. Spain (1-2-0, 5 Pts, +0): It's not everyday that you can win the group with just five points but Spain pulled it off after scoring a late goal against Morocco to squeak out a 2-2 draw. It was a less than convincing performance for Spain, pretty much throughout the Group Stage, but advancing is the name of the game and they were able to do it. A lot of people expected them to compete for the title so being stuck in the last three spots of our rankings is underwhelming. However, there's still time to turn it around, and that could start with an impressive outing against Russia. Despite looking good in their first two outings, Russia is one of the worst teams left, so Spain should be able to get by them before facing either Croatia or Denmark.

Group Stage 1 (Belgium No. 1).

Group Stage 2 (Belgium No. 1).

Photo Credit: CBS Sports.