Level A. 1.Argentina - Wonderful performances in the opening rounds, but I do wonder if this style will work against stronger teams. I keep thinking how good Netherlands looked during the 2006 group stage. 2.Netherlands - 9 points in 3 games. I liked the grittiness of this year's team. 3.Uruguay - I think Uruguay was fantastic all tournament and seemed to improve with each game. Solid defense with proven scorers. What's not to like? 4.Brazil - Typically excellent (except today), but this year's team includes a magnificent keeper. However, I can see Brazil being either too conservative or prone to giving up goals right now. Level B 5.Spain - Wonderful team, but opponents have figured out ways to frustrate them - Switzerland and Chile did so in different ways. 6.Portugal - I hated how Portugal played so negatively versus Brazil, and expect much the same versus Spain. 7.Japan - Look who scored all those free kick beauties. This is a tough, tenacious team. 8.Chile - I love their attacking style. The Chileans pressure their opponents for 90 minutes. Level C 9.Germany - Too inconsistent for my taste to ranked in the upper echelon right now. 10. USA - Finishing first in Group C was an upset, but not a huge upset. 11.England - Picked it up versus Slovenia, but do not look to be long for this WC. 12.Paraguay - Masters of the worst WC group. Level D 13.Mexico - Never really shined in the tournament, but beating a top European team is always a strong accomplishment. 14.S Korea - I love their spirit and energy. The score goals, but give them up in bunches. 15.Ghana - The Black Stars were somewhat enigmatic. Had a chance to stamp their authority on the group, but didn't do versus Australia. 16.Ivory Coast - I found it hard to rate Ivory Coast. Game versus Portugal kind of sucked and they didn't ever threaten to beat Brazil. Still, they were unlucky to be in their group, but frankly not that unlucky. Level E 17.Australia - Great redemption after getting drilled by Germany and going a man down in the first half of game versus Ghana. 18.Slovakia - Wildly improbable win versus Italy. This is the only team in the final 16 that I don't rate as a top 16 squad. 19.Slovenia - Scrappy team that did their nation proud. I read that a number of their players are smokers; could that be the reason the USA ran them into the ground in the 2nd half of their game? 20.Denmark - Simply were not good enough versus Germany. Their game versus Cameroon, however, was an instant classic. Level F 21.Serbia -Were it not for a gifted red card versus Germany, this could have been a nightmare, instead of merely disappointing. 22.Switzerland - Just too defensive for their own good. Were off to a miracle start, but couldn't manage to score any goals versus Chile & 23.S Africa - Disappointing they didn't go through, but finished on a strong note. 24.New Zealand - Got three points more than anyone expected. However, that last game versus Paraguay was brutal. Level G 25.Italy - Except for the last 20 minutes versus Slovakia, the most negative and cynical of teams. I am glad they are gone. 26 Greece - Exceeded expectations 27.Algeria - Zero goals scored, but a scrappy squad. 28.France - Nobody loves them but their mothers... Level H 29.Nigeria - A lamentable World Cup, but salvaged with some offensive firepower versus South Korea. 30.Honduras - Secured a point and escaped the cellar. A bit overmatched at times, but Honduras acquitted themselves well given the caliber of the opposition. 31.Cameroon - One of two teams with 0 points. Lost all games by one goal. 32.N Korea - 0 points, 12 goals allowed, Went from a promising finish against Brazil to merely finished.
There weren't any teams I felt didn't deserve to be here (expect perhaps some UEFA members but not due to lack of talent). Even N Korea had a strong game against Brazil and might have had a better shot in other groups. Cameroon Nigeria and Honduras put on good performances and all had at least 1 game that they could have won.
How does Slovakia rank below Australia and Ivory Coast? 16th sounds fair, but 18th sounds ridiculous.
Like most people that try to rank these teams top to bottom, he'll be shown to be wrong on almost every account just a few games from now. Don't worry.
That's a lot of writing for something most people are just going to dismiss for being so arbitrary. Uruguay's group was by far the easiest thanks to france's meltdown and showing up a 50th ranked team, instead of near the top ten. They couldn't beat an awful French team, when everyone else could. How do you rank brazil so high? They barely beat N korea, when everyone else in that group completely destroyed them. They wouldn't have even won their group if portugal wasn't so complacent and allowed a draw with the ivory coast. That's just from looking at your first group, cause I didn't read through the rest. Maybe later. But I do, so far, that netherlands and Argentina being the most consistent sides. I'd probably have them at the tope of my list, too.