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The United States dreamed of the title, Cape Verde shocked Spain with a draw and Morocco shone all the way to the quarterfinals - but when it matters at the World Cup the European teams are once again dominating.
Among the other confederations, only Africa has truly closed the gap. South America is stagnating, Asia is in decline, and North and central America, especially the US, would benefit from taking a more realistic view of their own strength.
Asia
The Asian teams are certainly the biggest disappointment. Of the nine that started the tournament, only two, Japan and Australia, reached the round of 32, where both were eliminated. Japan, in particular, seems to have failed to make further progress.
At the home World Cup in 2002, they reached the knockout stage for the first time, but they still have not won a match there. Drawing Brazil in the round of 32 may have been bad luck, but Japan took the lead and then played timidly afterwards en route to a 2-1 defeat.
At club level, development has long moved forward. Many Japanese players are key figures for their teams from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.
That makes it all the more surprising that the national team simply cannot translate that into success at the big stage, especially after having beaten Brazil and England in friendly internationals over the past months.
Africa
Nine of the 10 African teams advanced from the group stage. An African world champion "is only a matter of time," South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. However, only Egypt and Morocco remained in the round of 16, and Morocco's tournament ended in the quarter-finals against France.
This raises the question of why the African teams could not carry their momentum from the group stage into the knockout rounds.
There is no clear answer but one thing stands out: the teams were often eliminated in the closing stages. Cape Verde (against Argentina) and Senegal (against Belgium) lost in extra time.
South Africa (against Canada) and Egypt (against Argentina) conceded the decisive goal in stoppage time, while DR Congo (against England) and Ivory Coast (against Norway) were knocked out less than five minutes before the end of regular time.
Morocco is the only African team that appears capable of going even further. Four years ago, the team reached the semi-finals before losing to France who again beat them this time.
However, Morocco's ties to Europe are particularly strong. Eighteen of the 26 players in Morocco's squad were born in Europe. Even head coach Mohamed Ouahbi spent the first four and a half decades of his life in Brussels. Half or more of the squads of Congo, Algeria, Cape Verde, and Tunisia were also born in Europe.
South America
Defending champion Argentina are still in the tournament, with a bit of luck, but the rest have been disappointing and are out.
Brazil were eliminated in the round of 16 for the first time since 1990 as coach Carlo Ancelotti's work has yet to bear fruit. Paraguay will probably be remembered more for its rough play against France than for its penalty shoot-out victory over Germany.
Colombia went out on penalties against Switzerland, Mexico were too strong for Ecuador while Uruguay sank into complete irrelevance under coach Marcelo Bielsa.
North and central America
Of the three host nations, only Canada exceeded expectations by reaching the round of 16. That would probably also have been a realistic goal for the US, but after opening with two wins, the team dreamed of the title far too quickly.
TV analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović fueled the hype, repeatedly saying that he believed the US could become world champions. Belgium ultimately brought both the team and the country back down to earth in the last 16.
Mexico played a strong tournament and might have reached the quarter-finals against any English team other than the class coached by Thomas Tuchel. Their elimination is no shame. The other three participants (Haiti, Panama, and Curaçao) all finished bottom of their groups.
Europe
At least three of the four semi-finalists will come from Europe. Thirteen of the sixteen European participants made it out of their groups. And a powerhouse like Italy did not even qualify.
Instead, new contenders such as Norway and Switzerland have emerged with golden generations. Tuchel has managed to turn England's long-talented squad into a genuine title contender.
Meanwhile, France and Spain have looked so outstanding that it almost seems unfair they could meet as early as the semi-finals.
Oceania
Oceania had a direct entrant for the first time thanks to the expanded field but New Zealand finished last in their group with one point and 10 goals shipped.
Continue reading...
Among the other confederations, only Africa has truly closed the gap. South America is stagnating, Asia is in decline, and North and central America, especially the US, would benefit from taking a more realistic view of their own strength.
Asia
The Asian teams are certainly the biggest disappointment. Of the nine that started the tournament, only two, Japan and Australia, reached the round of 32, where both were eliminated. Japan, in particular, seems to have failed to make further progress.
At the home World Cup in 2002, they reached the knockout stage for the first time, but they still have not won a match there. Drawing Brazil in the round of 32 may have been bad luck, but Japan took the lead and then played timidly afterwards en route to a 2-1 defeat.
At club level, development has long moved forward. Many Japanese players are key figures for their teams from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.
That makes it all the more surprising that the national team simply cannot translate that into success at the big stage, especially after having beaten Brazil and England in friendly internationals over the past months.
Africa
Nine of the 10 African teams advanced from the group stage. An African world champion "is only a matter of time," South Africa coach Hugo Broos said. However, only Egypt and Morocco remained in the round of 16, and Morocco's tournament ended in the quarter-finals against France.
This raises the question of why the African teams could not carry their momentum from the group stage into the knockout rounds.
There is no clear answer but one thing stands out: the teams were often eliminated in the closing stages. Cape Verde (against Argentina) and Senegal (against Belgium) lost in extra time.
South Africa (against Canada) and Egypt (against Argentina) conceded the decisive goal in stoppage time, while DR Congo (against England) and Ivory Coast (against Norway) were knocked out less than five minutes before the end of regular time.
Morocco is the only African team that appears capable of going even further. Four years ago, the team reached the semi-finals before losing to France who again beat them this time.
However, Morocco's ties to Europe are particularly strong. Eighteen of the 26 players in Morocco's squad were born in Europe. Even head coach Mohamed Ouahbi spent the first four and a half decades of his life in Brussels. Half or more of the squads of Congo, Algeria, Cape Verde, and Tunisia were also born in Europe.
South America
Defending champion Argentina are still in the tournament, with a bit of luck, but the rest have been disappointing and are out.
Brazil were eliminated in the round of 16 for the first time since 1990 as coach Carlo Ancelotti's work has yet to bear fruit. Paraguay will probably be remembered more for its rough play against France than for its penalty shoot-out victory over Germany.
Colombia went out on penalties against Switzerland, Mexico were too strong for Ecuador while Uruguay sank into complete irrelevance under coach Marcelo Bielsa.
North and central America
Of the three host nations, only Canada exceeded expectations by reaching the round of 16. That would probably also have been a realistic goal for the US, but after opening with two wins, the team dreamed of the title far too quickly.
TV analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović fueled the hype, repeatedly saying that he believed the US could become world champions. Belgium ultimately brought both the team and the country back down to earth in the last 16.
Mexico played a strong tournament and might have reached the quarter-finals against any English team other than the class coached by Thomas Tuchel. Their elimination is no shame. The other three participants (Haiti, Panama, and Curaçao) all finished bottom of their groups.
Europe
At least three of the four semi-finalists will come from Europe. Thirteen of the sixteen European participants made it out of their groups. And a powerhouse like Italy did not even qualify.
Instead, new contenders such as Norway and Switzerland have emerged with golden generations. Tuchel has managed to turn England's long-talented squad into a genuine title contender.
Meanwhile, France and Spain have looked so outstanding that it almost seems unfair they could meet as early as the semi-finals.
Oceania
Oceania had a direct entrant for the first time thanks to the expanded field but New Zealand finished last in their group with one point and 10 goals shipped.
Continue reading...
