SPORTS

World Cup Power Rankings: How all 32 teams stacked up in the end

Vivek Jacob FIFA World Cup Writer, Producer, CTVNews.ca

Published Monday, December 12, 2022 4:06PM EST Last Updated Monday, December 19, 2022 3:29PM EST

England's Harry Kane, left, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Canada's Atiba Hutchinson and Germany's Manuel Neuer all led their respective countries on the pitch at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. (Photos provided by Getty Images)

Text:

The 2022 men's FIFA World Cup is over.

It was a tournament for the ages capped off with one of the best finals in any sport. Now it's time to look back on all the teams and how well they really performed over the course of the past month.

CTVNews.ca's power rankings take into account the strength of the group, the advantages gained from when teams faced opponents -- for example, playing a second-string team because said team has already clinched qualification into the next round -- as well as the balance of play in each match.

1. ARGENTINA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 3
Played: 7. Won: 4. Drew: 2. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 15. Goals conceded: 8.

Manager Lionel Scaloni showed flexibility in both tactical and personnel decisions to make Argentina the team of the tournament. Overall, they have been unbeaten in 42 of 43 matches with the lone blemish coming against Saudi Arabia.

2. FRANCE

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 4
Played: 7. Won: 5. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 16. Goals conceded: 8.

France have delivered a resounding statement on its depth, overcoming the losses of Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, and N'Golo Kante among others to get to the final. Their resilience to come back both in regulation and extra time against Argentina spoke to the togetherness of the group.

3. ENGLAND

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 5
Played: 5. Won: 3. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 13. Goals conceded: 4.

An agonizing exit but England fans can take heart in arguably their best World Cup campaign in terms of performance since winning it all in 1966. They were equals with France and even dominated for periods in a match worthy of a final. Harry Kane now joins Frank Lampard, David Beckham, and Wayne Rooney in England's list of infamous "what if" moments after missing what would have been the tying penalty against France in the quarterfinals.

4. MOROCCO

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 22
Played: 7. Won: 3. Drew: 2. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 6. Goals conceded 5.

The best defence in the competition never trailed entering the semifinal. They were fairly dynamic in creating chances going forward as well but lacked ruthless finishing. Morocco's run has shone a bright light on African soccer and will surely provide inspiration for generations to come to Arab nations as well.

5. BRAZIL

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 5
Played: 5. Won: 3. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 8. Goals conceded: 3.

It still feels a bit strange they didn't play the semifinal after that Neymar goal against Croatia. Alas, one moment of naivety let Croatia in through the backdoor and penalties become anyone's guess.

6. NETHERLANDS

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 8
Played: 5. Won: 3. Drew: 2.
Goals scored: 10. Goals conceded: 4.

The Dutch haven't lost a World Cup match inside 120 minutes since the 2010 final extra time defeat to Spain. They must, however, learn to be braver in the biggest matches as that 2010 final, the 2014 semis that went to penalties, and now the 2022 quarters are all matches where they failed to showcase the attacking flair many associate them with.

7. CROATIA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 12
Played: 7. Won: 2. Drew: 4. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 8. Goals conceded: 7.

For a nation with four million people, the last two World Cup results have been a staggering accomplishment. It's also true, though, that the only teams they outplayed over seven matches were Canada and then Morocco with third place at stake and key figures Noussair Mazraoui, Romain Saiss and Nayef Aguerd all missing for the Atlas Lions.

8. JAPAN

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 24
Played: 4. Won: 2. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 5. Goals conceded: 4.

Japan was disappointed to have not made its first ever quarterfinals. They looked the part in wins over Germany and Spain but lacked conviction after Croatia equalized in the Round of 16.

9. SPAIN

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 7
Played: 4. Won: 1. Drew: 2. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 9. Goals conceded: 3.

After beating Costa Rica 7-0 and leading Germany 1-0 heading into the 80th minute, Spain looked like one of the teams to beat. There are always criticisms of Tiki-taka's true value in the final third and those voices will only grow stronger with their toothless attacks thereafter.

10. PORTUGAL

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 9
Played: 5. Won: 3. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 12. Goals conceded: 6.

Portugal's campaign started with plenty of Cristiano Ronaldo drama due to his Piers Morgan interview trashing Manchester United. It then ended much the same after he was dropped from the starting XI following his frustrations with being substituted off against South Korea. He has helped create special memories for the national team over the last 18 years but it was also good to see their future is in good hands with the likes of Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos coming to the fore.

11. SWITZERLAND

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 15
Played: 4. Won: 2. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 5. Goals conceded: 9.

It was certainly strange to see a Swiss side known for organization and structure capitulate the way it did against Portugal after a strong group phase that included wins over Serbia and Cameroon and a narrow loss to Brazil. The flu virus that hit their camp had to have been at least somewhat of a factor.

12. GERMANY

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 11
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 6. Goals conceded: 5.

Germany had one shaky stretch too many and the most costly one came in its first group match against Japan. They were poor in 2018 but have reason to feel unlucky about Qatar as no team had more expected goals (xG) in the group stage than the four-time champion.

13. AUSTRALIA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 38
Played: 4. Won: 2. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 4. Goals conceded 6.

Australia bounced back superbly from France's thrashing in the first match. They so very nearly forced extra time against Argentina in the Round of 16 and can be very proud of that after knocking off Denmark and Tunisia.

14. U.S.A.

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 16
Played: 4. Won: 1. Drew: 2. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 3. Goals conceded: 4.

The U.S. held its own in a fairly lighter group earned through their high FIFA ranking but looked out of their depth against the Netherlands.

15. SENEGAL

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 18
Played: 4. Won: 2. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 4. Goals conceded: 7.

Despite losing superstar Sadio Mane just before the tournament, the Lions of Teranga put on a solid display to emerge out of Group A ahead of Ecuador. After missing a golden chance to take the lead against England, their World Cup dreams fell apart fairly quickly in the Round of 16.

16. ECUADOR

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 44
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 4. Goals conceded: 3.

Showed their potential when outplaying the Netherlands for a draw but couldn't come up with the goods in a do-or-die clash against Senegal.

17. MEXICO

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 13
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 2. Goals conceded: 3.

It's truly the end of an era as 37-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has surely played his last World Cup. Mexico were unlucky to be eliminated because they scored one less goal than Poland.

18. POLAND

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 26
Played: 4. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 3. Goals conceded: 5.

Poland's World Cup campaign was quite poor on the whole but was dragged forward by the heroics of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. Their midfield was virtually non-existent in terms of creation in the opposing half and left superstar Robert Lewandowski largely isolated.

19. SAUDI ARABIA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 51
Played: 3. Won: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 3. Goals conceded: 5.

Saudi followed up its shock win over Argentina with a strong first half performance against Poland but conceded against the run of play. Still, they earned a penalty a few minutes later but Poland's Szczesny made a spectacular double-save to not only deny the penalty attempt but the rebound as well. Saudi never recovered.

20. BELGIUM

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 2
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 1. Goals conceded: 2.

If Romelu Lukaku buried one of his two huge chances against Croatia in the group stage, second-ranked Belgium potentially could have avoided a disastrous early exit. Margins. Roberto Martinez wasn't brave enough in his team selection and it was costly, relying on veterans in favour of younger, more in-form players.

21. URUGUAY

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 14
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 2. Goals conceded: 2.

It was too little, too late for Uruguay as they scored their only goals of the tournament in their final group stage match against Ghana. Missed chances against both South Korea and Portugal came back to haunt them.

22. GHANA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 61
Played: 3. Won: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 5. Goals conceded: 7.

Narrowly lost to Portugal 3-2 but wrestled back fate with a 3-2 win over South Korea. With destiny in their own hands, the Black Stars fell apart against Uruguay after a groundhog day experience of missing a penalty against them.

23. SOUTH KOREA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 28
Played: 4. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 5. Goals conceded: 8.

South Korea are an example of how much the order of when you play your group opponents matters. The stoppage time winner against Portugal made for great theatre, but it was also made possible by Portugal having already clinched a place in the next round and playing a second-string side as a result. The Koreans crashed back down to earth against Brazil.

24. CAMEROON

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 43
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 4. Goals conceded: 4.

Cameroon will rue their dominant first half display against Switzerland that provided no payoff. An impressive comeback from 3-1 down to draw against Serbia and a win over Brazil's 'B' team were of little consequence as a result.

25. SERBIA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 21
Played: 3. Drew: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 5. Goals conceded: 8.

Expectations were high for a Serbia side that finished undefeated and top of a World Cup qualifying group that included Portugal but it was far too indisciplined defensively.

26. TUNISIA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 30
Played: 3. Won: 1. Drew: 1. Lost: 1.
Goals scored: 1. Goals conceded: 1.

Tunisia's win over France was a special moment, but also came against a second-string Les Bleus. The hard work of a point against Denmark was undone by a loss to Australia.

27. DENMARK

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 10
Played: 3. Drew: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 1. Goals conceded: 3.

Quite easily the biggest disappointment of the tournament after reaching the semifinals of the European Championships last year.

28. CANADA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 41
Played: 3. Lost: 3.
Goals scored: 2. Goals conceded: 7.

Inexperience cost Canada dearly. A great performance against Belgium brought zero points and a strong second half against Morocco left them inches from a first men's World Cup point. Plenty of lessons to be learned from what happened in between.

29. IRAN

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 20
Played: 3. Won: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 4. Goals conceded: 7.

The hammering against England made their task of qualifying extremely challenging but a win over Wales gave them hope. They lacked belief against the U.S., though, playing for a draw and ended up with a deserved loss.

30. COSTA RICA

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 31
Played: 3. Won: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 3. Goals conceded: 11.

11 goals conceded to Spain and Germany and the win over Japan came completely against the run of play.

31. WALES

Pre-World Cup FIFA ranking: 19
Played: 3. Drew: 1. Lost: 2.
Goals scored: 1. Goals conceded: 6.

Wales came in looking to make Gareth Bale's last World Cup a memorable one but after squeaking out a point against the U.S., was outplayed by both Iran and England.