We now enter my favorite part of the tournament: where every game has only two outcomes.
Advance.
Or Expedia.
Group A – Viva México
Three wins from three for El Tri, who suddenly look like one of the tournament's most constant teams.
South Africa nick second place and become one of the stories of the tournament.
South Korea? Three points and still alive. But, oh, so booooooring. And zero sense of urgency even after South Africa took the lead with still half hour to go.
The Czechs? Their summer vacation starts now. Eastern European footbal is pretty much dead (with an exception here and there strenghtening the rule)
Group B – Swiss Precision
Switzerland quietly win the group because that's what Switzerland does: no drama, no fuss, just efficiency.
Canada survive and advance, but got a reality check against the Swiss.
Bosnia finish third and sneak into the knockouts. See note above regarding Eastern Europeans
Qatar's tournament can best be described as "thanks for coming."
Group C – Samba Returns
Brazil finally looked like Brazil. And Neymar got a few minutes.
Morocco remain the team nobody wants to play. But it took some work against a spirited Haiti
Scotland are officially out, and somewhere in Glasgow someone has already uttered the phrase, "Wait till 2030." Bar owners across the U.S. are letting out a heavy sigh.
Group D – Stars and Stripes
The U.S. top the group despite losing the dead rubber to Türkiye.
Australia grind out second.
Paraguay advance as one of the best third-place teams because apparently boring football pays dividends.
Türkiye let me down big time. If they didn't beat Romania in the playoffs, at least I would have been dissapointed in my home country ;-)
Group E – Achtung
Germany have looked solid.
Six points, six-goal differential, and the sense that they still have another gear. Didn't even bother with Ecuador (otherwise they would be on their flight back to Quito today)
Ivory Coast are through. So is Ecuador (still a big dissapointment for a team that finished 2nd in the South American qualifiers)
Curacao? They just found out what happens when you run into Germany.
Group F – Orange You Glad?
The Dutch win the group. Period.
Japan continue their tradition of being incredibly difficult to eliminate.
Sweden also sneak through.
Tunisia, however, would like to forget this month ever happened.
Group G – Nobody Wanted This Group
Belgium win it.
Egypt finish second.
Iran go home unbeaten and eliminated. In dramatic fashion, with a gut-wrenching finish in the Egypt game.
If that's not football in one sentence, I don't know what is.
Group H – Cape Verde's Party Continues
Spain eventually discovered that possession without goals is just cardio. Once again, not impressed. Sure, Uruguay were oushing the limit of "physical play" and the ref allowed it, but they need to find another gear if they want to avoid an early return to Madrid.
Cape Verde are through and have become everybody's second-favorite team.
Uruguay? One of the biggest disappointments of the tournament. South Americans in general. (minus Argentina, of course)
Group I – Les Bleus Mean Business
France: nine points from nine. Easy against Norway, who rested 10 of their starters. Clearly they didn't even want to bother trying to go for first spot in the group
Norway: finally living up to the hype. They did look impressive (and imposing) in the first 2 games
Senegal: Only one win (against Iraq)... and somehow still going through on 3 points.
That's 48-team football for you.
Group J – Business as Usual
Argentina cruise through with a perfect nine points.
Austria survive.
Algeria survive too after one of the craziest final games you'll ever see. The winner of the Austria - Algeria game would go on to face Spain. The loser, Switzerland. So why on earth would anyone want to win? Yet somehow the 3-3 result tells a different story.
Jordan's tournament? Short and not especially sweet.
Group K – Group of Intrigue
Colombia top the group. Deservedly so. They deserved to win last night
Portugal finish second and look perfectly content doing so.
DR Congo continue to be one of the stories of the tournament.
Uzbekistan leave with memories and not many points.
Group L – England Being England
England win the group while somehow convincing absolutely nobody.
Croatia advance because tournament football is apparently their natural habitat.
Ghana also sneak through.
Panama, unfortunately, are headed home.
Now for the Round of 32:
Brazil over Japan – Japan's run ends, but not before making Brazil sweat
Germany over Paraguay – The Germans should not have an issue here
Morocco over Netherlands – My upset pick. Likely overtime or penalties. Someone has to zig while everyone else zags
France over Sweden – France without a doubt
Mexico over Ecuador – El Tri's best tournament in years rolls on
England over DR Congo – On paper, comfortable. Which is exactly why England fans are nervous
Belgium over Senegal – Barely. Although this one could go either way. Belgium have not been all that impressive so far
USA over Bosnia & Herzegovina – The Americans keep finding ways. And they have some rested starters
Spain over Austria – Spain finally remembered where the goal is. Although Austria has been showing some reslience
Portugal over Croatia – Match of the round. But the age average for Croatia will finally play its part
Switzerland over Algeria – Swiss efficiency prevails. Barely. This one is a 50.5% - 49.5% (so I don't use the 50/50 cliche)
Egypt over Australia – The Pharaohs by a whisker
Argentina over Cape Verde – Messi marches on
Colombia over Ghana – Pure entertainment; probably the most fun match of the lot
Let's revisit this on July 3rd and see how many I got right...
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