World Cup power rankings: The 8 quarterfinalists, from title favorite to long shot – Yahoo Sports
After 96 games, the World Cup is down to eight teams, a mix of traditional powers, rising programs and recently reliable squads. Breaking down the octet …
- Four of the remaining eight nations are former champions (Argentina, England, France, Spain), and the other four seek to be the second new winner this century, along with Spain in 2010.
- For the third straight World Cup, over half of the quarterfinalists are from Europe. CONMEBOL has only a single quarterfinalist for the first time since 2002, when Brazil won the title. Africa has consecutive World Cup quarterfinalists for the first time, and Morocco is the first African nation to reach any two World Cup quarterfinals.
- Four teams are repeat quarterfinalists from four years ago. France has made four straight quarterfinals, the longest active streak. England has reached three quarterfinals in a row, while Argentina and Morocco are here for a second consecutive World Cup.
With only eight teams to rank, there’s no need for tiers. This is a simple order of how likely I think each team is to win the tournament, through a combination of quality and the path ahead.
