OdishaLIVE Bureau
The Round of 16 will decide the course of journey for many teams in the world stage
As the FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 being held in Russia moves on to the final round of matches of the group stage, the knockout stages are not that far away. This World Cup has seen everything. Penalties saved, missed, last minute winners, favourites underperforming, underdogs overachieving. As we head into the Round of 16s, this last round will decide the course of journey for many and for some this journey has already ended.
GROUP A
Uruguay
Group A has finished its matches of the group stages and the final standings are set. Uruguay sit at the top of the table with 3 wins from 3 matches, scoring 5 goals and conceding none. They will be taking their winning momentum onto the knockout stages.
Russia
Russia, the hosts sit in 2nd place. They were off to great start by beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the inaugural match of the tournament. They then went on to beat Egypt by 3-0 in their second match. Their last match was a thrashing by Uruguay who defeated them 3-0. The hosts have performed greatly in the tournament except the last match. They will be hoping to take positives from the first two games and learn from their mistakes in the last game.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia sit on 3rd place and were heavily criticised after they lost to the hosts Russia in their first match. They got eliminated from the group stages in their second match when they lost to Uruguay. In their last match, they defeated Egypt by 2-1, to seal the 3rd place and not finish last in their group. Egypt sit in 4th place after having a disastrous campaign. In their first match, they lost to Uruguay in the last minute despite playing well throughout their game. They lost out to the hosts 3-1 in their second game and that ended their journey. To avoid the ultimate shame Mohammed Salah and company had the chance of not finishing last in their group but failed to deliver as they lost out to a determined Saudi Arabia.
GROUP B
Spain
Spain sit on the 1st place with 5 points having won 1 and drawn the other two games. Critics expect them to perform better given that their opponents were not good as them, except Portugal.
Portugal
Portugal are placed 2nd after drawing 2 and winning 1 match. Thanks to their star man Cristiano Ronaldo who helped them draw 3-3 to Spain from 3-2 down and won their second game against Morocco by 1-0. They drew 1-1 in their final match to Iran who were resilient. Iran sit on 3rd after having a really good campaign. They registered their first victory at a World Cup tournament in their first match when they defeated Morocco by 1-0 in the last minute. They lost out to Spain by 1-0 in their second match and in their final match they drew with Portugal and were knocked out.
Morocco
Morocco will definitely feel hard done by. After creating so many chances and deserving to win in their first game they lost out to Iran in the last minute. In the second match against Portugal they lost out to them despite having chances to win the game and were knocked out of the tournament. Going into their last game they had the chance to fight for their pride and they did. They put in a solid performance and drew 2-2 to the Spanish side.
GROUP C
France
France sit on the top having won two games out of two and have already qualified for the Round of 16s.
Denmark
Denmark are 2nd placed, winning 1 match and drawing 1 match.
Australia and Peru
Australia sit on 3rd place, losing 1 and drawing 1 match while Peru sit on last place and are already knocked out of the tournament despite performing well. The final spot of qualifying into the Round of 16s will be taken by either Denmark or Australia. For Denmark to qualify they need to at least draw against France, if not win. For, Australia to qualify, they need to win against Peru in their last match and expect Denmark to lose and also have a better goal difference than them at the same time. At this moment Denmark look the most likely to qualify.
GROUP D
Croatia
In Group D, Croatia sit on the 1st place having won both of their games, scoring 5 goals and conceding none and have already qualified.
Nigeria
Nigeria sit on 2nd with 3 points while Iceland sit on 3rd and Argentina are last placed.
Argentina
Argentina have had a miserable campaign with Messi and company failing to perform. They drew their first match and lost in disgraceful fashion to Croatia in their 2nd match.
Iceland
Currently, all Nigeria, Iceland and Argentina have a chance to qualify for the knockout stages. For Argentina to qualify, they need to beat Nigeria and have a better goal difference than them and Iceland. For Nigeria to qualify, they need at least a draw against Argentina to qualify and as for Iceland they look the less likely to qualify as they need to beat the mighty Croatian side. Hence, out of all the 3 Nigeria have the highest chance of qualifying.
GROUP E
Brazil
In group E, Brazil sit on top with 4 points while Switzerland sit on 2nd place also with 4 points. Serbia are 3rd placed having lost one and won one match while Costa Rica have lost both of their matches and are knocked out of the tournament. At the moment, Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia all have a chance of qualifying.
Switzerland
For Switzerland to qualify theyneed a win against the out of form, last placed Costa Rican side.
Serbia
Brazil and Serbia face off each other in the last match of Group E for the qualifying spot and the winner qualifies for the Round of 16. Brazil will still qualify if this match results in a draw and Serbia will be knocked out. Serbia are the least likely to qualify.
GROUP F
In group F, all the teams have a chance to qualify for the Round of 16.
Mexico
Mexico are first placed and are flying with 2 wins from 2 having defeated the defending champions Germany.
Germany
Germany are 2nd placed having lost one and won one match. While, Sweden are 3rd placed and South Korea are last placed.
Sweden
For, Sweden to qualify the need to win against Mexico and have a greater goal difference than all. For, Germany to qualify they need to win against South Korea and have a better goal difference than Sweden and Mexico.
South Korea
For South Korea to qualify who look the least likely they need to beat the defending champions, Germany and expect Sweden to lose while having a greater goal difference than Sweden and Germany. For Mexico to qualify, they need to at least to draw against Sweden. So, the most likely to qualify from group F are Mexico who are at top of the table and Germany who have plenty of quality to beat South Korea. Sweden will have a tough time against in form Mexico and are less likely to qualify.
GROUP G
Group G has already finished its qualifying process without even getting into the last round of matches.
England
England have scored 8 goals and conceded 2 goals in two matches and have already qualified.
Belgium
Belgium have also qualified after winning 2 matches from 2 games empathically. Tunisia and Panama both have had miserable campaigns losing both of their matches. The last rounds of group matches involve England versus Belgium and the winner will top the group.
GROUP H
In Group H all the teams except Poland have a chance of qualifying into the knockout stages as they are already knocked out, sitting in the last place with zero points.
Japan
Japan sit on the top with 4 points.
Senegal
Senegal sit on 2nd with the same amount of points but with a lesser goal difference.
Colombia
Colombia are 3rd placed with 3 points, winning one match and losing one. The final round of the group stage matches involve Colombia against Senegal and the winner qualifies for the Round of 16s. Senegal will still qualify if the match results in a draw and Colombia will have to expect Japan to lose and have a higher goal difference at the same time in order to qualify. For, Japan to qualify they need to at least draw against out of form Poland. At most of the times the 3rd placed team will be less likely to qualify. But Colombia head into the game against the Senegal as the favourites. Hence, Colombia and Japan are likely to qualify from group H.
(Story: Raunaq Dash, Edit: Sriram Singh Rattan)
