Now that the group stages are complete, here's how each confederation looks heading into the single-elimination format. AFC--All 4 teams are out. South Korea played the best of the four, although Japan had the toughest draw. Aside from the first half of their first game, Iran looked pretty mediocre. Saudi Arabia was much better than 2002's team, but still not a team to get nervous about. It will be interesting to see how Australia parlays its success in Germany into next year's AFC Asia Cup competition. Total Points--7 OFC--The Socceroos got out of a difficult group and want to make a bigger splash in their second World Cup appearance. The OFC should be excited about Australia's showing for their confederation, but since they leave for Asia at the start of 2007, they probably aren't! Total Points--4 CONCACAF--Only Mexico is still around. It's a good thing they got seeded. Only Group H looked easier than Group D, in retrospect. After a stunning first-game draw with Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago tried to make the most of their first finals appearance, but after giving up the lead to England late in the game, they were pretty much done. The United States played in the toughest group of the four participants here, and it showed. Say what you will about the Stars & Stripes performance in Germany, but it was disappointing to see a team play so feebly after winning its group to get this far. Costa Rica were also disappointing by comparison of their previous two World Cup ventures, and they were probably in the second most difficult group among the CONCACAF teams. Total Points--6 CONMEBOL--Three of the four entrants remain alive. Brazil and Argentina were expected to be at the Round of 16, while Ecuador was not. La Tri have played very well so far, and they could be a handful for England. Snakebitten Paraguay could have come out of its difficult group had they not conceded an early goal to England or a late goal to Sweden. Total Points--25 CAF--Only Ghana has progressed of the five participants here, and deservedly so. The Black Stars have played with lots of energy for the full 90 minutes in three matches, regardless of who's on the field for their team. Ivory Coast has a good team and were in a difficult group too. But, the Elephants have to learn how to play well from the outset, rather than get down 2-0 and have to rally each time. They sort of made it hard on themselves, but again, they had a tough group. Tunisia once again was disappointing as they failed to capitalize on their opportunities. Togo was more noted for its off-field problems, which is a shame when a country is making its first World Cup appearance. Where will they go from here? On the flip side, Angola played very well in its first appearance. If they had better and more strikers, they could have been the biggest surprise at this stage in Germany, but as it is, that role is now reserved for Ecuador. Total Points--12 UEFA--10 of the 14 teams are left in the field. The four who are going home early, coincidentally are from the eastern part of the continent. Poland, Serbia & Montenegro, Croatia, and the Czech Republic are out, and each one can look at one game which ruined their chances. If Poland played against Ecuador like they did against Germany, they might still be around. Serbia played OK against the Netherlands, then threw that performance away with an abysmal showing against Argentina. Croatia is ruing its draw with Japan. The Czech Republic squandered a good start in the tournament with a poor second game, which left them with virtually no gas in the tank in their last match against Italy. You could make a good case for the remaining teams to advance. Some have played well throughout the tournament so far, while others have improved as the tourney has progressed. Of the four elimintated to date, Croatia and Serbia probably rate as disappointments, given that they, along with the United States looked pretty good in qualifying, but hey, that was then, and this is now! Playing the World Cup in Europe has been a boon to this confederation. Total Points--79