- France
- Spain
- Argentina
- Croatia
- Portugal
- England
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Brazil
- Belgium
Excited for World Cup season
2
FIFA World Cup Team Ranking
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spain above france
germany above england
netherlands above england (nobody likes england)
Recent performances
they won world cup silver 2018, world cup bronze 2022 and nations league silver a year ago. Dropped to france in a tight fight in quarters this edition. In WC quals they are dominating torpedoing their closest rival czechia 5:1 no points dropped.
Squad
They still have elite midfield quality with modric still being one of the best players in all of Serie A. Kovacic still being elite as well. Behind that a lot of talented players have started blossoming. Petar and Luka Sucic, Martin Baturina, a recovered Lovro Majer. They now have the fresh legs to run for the deep playmakers in kova and modric and do defensive runs as well as add speed to attacking.
On attack they gained a few good attacking options in Ivanovic, Beljo and a recovered Perisic who somehow is back into prime form at the age of 36.
But most of all... their defense looks fantastic. Gvardiol, Sutalo, an exploding Vuskovic and a now fully established Stanisic are defensively so rock solid while stilly being technically good and speedy. The back 4 are very strong in duels both on the ground and aerially. Can play high lines due to good positioning and defender speed. Good playmaking from all of them for progressive possession play. Together with the midfield they are nearly impossible to press effectively.
This is good analysis, I was mostly concerned about their attacking prospects. I still think they're rated highly tho, England has a lot of talent that's in form right now imo.
I personally would rate Bruno and Vitinha above Modric and Kovacic for a midfield duo (based on recent form, not all time, I'm not braindead).
But honestly, I would love to be wrong and see Modric school everyone at his old age.
something you consistently see with croatia though is that they get everything out of the tools they have. The population is massively behind the team and provides unwavering support unlike England or Brazil who tear their players apart if they dont match their high standards at all times. The press is especially brutal in England. The croatian team is also a very tight unit with good internal squad cohesion. The players leave their heart and soul on the pitch and even play through injuries or extra time.
And if teams are only 1 or 2 spots apart they are very close in level anyways.
croatia golden generation already retire bro
they are not the same anymore, let it go
Out of the 19 teams that have qualified so far:
- Argentina
- Morocco
- Ecuador
- Brazil
- Mexico
- Canada
- Colombia
- Japan
- Iran
- Uruguay
- United States
- Egypt
- Australia
- Uzbekistan
- South Korea
- Korea Republic
- Jordan
- Tunisia
- New Zealand
honestly, i kinda like that brazil’s being underestimated. the last few WCs we came in as favorites and it didnt end well.
I'm not underestimating them, man. I just watched World Cup qualifying 😭
I hope they look better but right now I don't even think they're one of the best two teams in CONMEBOL
nah i get what you mean, man. but maybe its just my brazilian bias, i cant see a world where ecuador’s actually above brazil no matter the form 😭
I couldn't see one either if you asked me 4 months ago, to be honest, but as long as it's literally impossible to score on these guys they're gonna keep not losing any games, kinda like how Morocco played in 2022 except MUCH more defensive
Dark horse for sure, can't wait to see them perform in June
That's true... they've never missed a World Cup, and with South America having 6.5 slots for 10 teams now, it's basically guaranteed they'll qualify for every single one from here on out. But Brazil has been on a decline, and they've kinda lost their identity over the past 10-20 years because of all their youth being bought out by English and Spanish clubs and developing in the European style of play. They haven't made it past the quarterfinals since 2014, and they couldn't even make it past the quarters of Copa last year. They genuinely don't look exciting nor convincing to me, and even with their signing of Ancelotti recently they don't look much better despite their insane talent pool
Iran under Mexico, Canada, and Colombia is crazy?!
Ecuador above Brazil????
Mexico is consistently one of the best 16 teams in the world, so until we get countries qualifying from Europe I can't see them outside the top 5 at all. I can see Iran over both Canada and Colombia, the fact that they're below them is less about Iran and more about how good I think the other two are. Iran has a very good team and I have zero doubts they'll make a run into the round of 32, and likely further (as long as Trump doesn't ban them from competing altogether)
as long as Trump doesn't ban them from competing altogether
lol you're right
The thing is, Iran's football is in a great position. Last year, they won against Japan in the asian cup as well, and we didn't have our most important players in qualifying and still came number 1 in our group.
imo they can have a big run this tourny!
For sure, man. They looked unstoppable in World Cup qualifying, and I think their lineup looks so much better than they did even 3 years ago
All I know is that a European country is winning it all, South American teams have looked so shaky in the qualifiers (especially Brazil)
Even Argentina who are by far the best dont wow me at all. I gave them a higher rank to avoid european arrogance moment
I just noticed you have Belgium in your top 10
Brother there's no WORLD where they're in the top 10, they're struggling massively in their qualifying group and they might not even make it thanks to Wales and North Macedonia. I'd put all of Switzerland, Norway, Türkiye, Georgia, and Poland above them.
Also don't even get me started on Germany, who are 3rd in a group with Slovakia and Northern Ireland after 2/6 matchdays
You could 100% slot an Ecuador or a Mexico in the top 10 as well
Brother. Experience tells you that many teams have struggled in quals but with their sheer quality in the squad turn up in tournaments. Germany will get back on the horse.
Turkey always crumbles in high pressure games. Switzerland is the definition of mediocre. Norway is a hypebeast, maybe they can be the new denmark status wise, not more. Poland is shit. Georgia one for some underdog wins, not more.
Dont overrate a few qual games. Players of big nations loathe them and put minimal effort in. Often during intense schedules for them.
Germany will get back on the metaphorical horse at SOME point, but they've been on a decline for 10 years and counting at this point. With the exception of Euro 2024 and a Nations League here and there, they've just looked awful this past decade
I get what you're saying about all these teams, but literally all of them are better than current Belgium. Their golden age is over, they're getting progessively worse as time goes on. They were lucky to get a single point at their previous World Cup, and they haven't performed in Nations Leagues nor Euros
I'm not judging by a few qual games, trust me, I follow international football with insane passion. I LOVE both these national teams and I want both to be as good as you're saying they are. But they just aren't right now
I mean the further down you go the less set in stone it all is. I thought about Morocco, japan, austria, Uruguay and others. Theres a lot of options on a similar level in that area
Yeah for sure. It's kind of all up in the air until these teams actually play each other, especially with how many risers and fallers we've had in the past couple years
idk bro usually im an england hater but i think this year they will do something
They're probably gonna have to go through the playoff again. Even if they beat Norway on the final matchday, Norway beating Moldova 11-1 gives them so big a gap in goal difference that they've basically already won the group (unless they somehow choke it)
That being said, they probably have to win out from now on. Dropping any points would be a massive collapse and could potential allow Israel to steal 2nd. The other two teams (Moldova and Estonia) aren't very good but they can't let up or they'll be punished
I hecking love this thread, I finally have people to talk about this stuff to <3
absurd(???)
they almost beat spain in euros if not for cucurella (handball player)
The Euros was their best performance in the past 10 years. They just don't look convincing, man
idc about the last 10 years its a new squad who all dont know what its like to win the world cup and are hungry again
we'll see how we roll in 2026
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