World Cup 2026 Power Rankings: Argentina lose top spot after mother of all scares against Cape Verde but France and Spain make statements of intent

Paraguay didn't look remotely capable of reaching the last 16 after being hammered 4-1 by the United States in their opening group game. However, Gustavo Alfaro's men have proven incredibly difficult to break down since then and, after upsetting Turkiye and playing out a mutually beneficial draw with Australia to reach the knockout stage, Paraguay pulled off arguably the biggest upset win in their history by beating four-time champions Germany on penalties, after a 1-1 draw in Boston. 

The bad news, of course, is that Jose Canale & Co. must now nullify France if they are to match their best-ever run at a World Cup (quarter-finals, South Africa 2010), and that's probably the tallest order in this tournament. But Paraguay have already done amazingly well just to make it this far after their matchday-one mauling by Mauricio Pochettino's co-hosts.

If we're being brutally honest, Egypt haven't played particularly well since impressing in their opening-round draw with Belgium. They were incredibly lucky to escape with the point they needed against Iran to finish second in their group and turned in a patchy performance against Australia.

However, it's all rather irrelevant. Egypt arrived in North America without ever having won a game at the World Cup. Now they're in the last 16 after showing great composure to overcome the Aussies on penalties to send a country of 120 million people into dreamland - and set up a dream date with Argentina in Atlanta.

As with the other two co-hosts, Canada have benefited from a very soft draw thus far. They essentially only qualified for the knockout stage because they had Qatar in their group and, despite finishing as runners-up to Switzerland, they were paired with a bang-average South Africa side in the round of 32. 

Credit where it's due, though. While Jesse Marsch is not everyone's cup of tea, the American has managed to lead a nation that had never previously won a single game at the World Cup into the last 16, and the history-making Canucks now have absolutely nothing to lose going into their meeting with a much-fancied Morocco team in Houston. Certainly, the way in which they kept battling right until the end of their 1-0 win over South Africa suggests the Canadians are, at least, capable of springing a surprise.

Quite how Belgium are still in this tournament is anyone's guess. Having stumbled through their group, they found themselves 2-0 down to Senegal with four minutes remaining of their first knockout match in Seattle. The Red Devils had produced an abysmal display, while manager Rudi Garcia looked clueless after replacing the two most talented players in his team, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, before the hour mark.

However, out of nowhere, Belgium battled back, as goals from Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielmans miraculously took the tie to extra-time, before a dubious penalty that Tielemans both won and converted got them over the line. Their luck will surely run out at some stage, perhaps against the U.S. in the last 16, but if Belgium's star men can rediscover their best, then they could yet be a match for almost anyone.

Nobody is paying them much attention but Switzerland don't seem to mind at all. Despite starting the tournament in embarrassing fashion by being held to a draw by Qatar, Murat Yakin's men kept cool, continued working hard and now they're through to the last 16 after following up a hard-fought win over Canada that sealed top spot in their group, with a far more straightforward 2-1 victory over Algeria in the round of 32.

The Swiss haven't made the quarter-finals of a World Cup since they hosted the tournament all the way back in 1954 but they've got every chance of matching that achievement in North America, as Colombia are hardly the toughest team they could have faced for a place in the last eight. What's more, in Johan Manzambi, they've got one of the revelations of the summer, a tremendously talented 20-year-old capable of causing any side problems with his pace and power.

It just had to be him. With Norway bracing themselves for extra-time against the Ivory Coast, Erling Haaland applied the finishing touch to a lovely team move to send his country into the last 16. Truth be told, it wasn't a particularly good finish, as Haaland's wry smile effectively admitted, but he just always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

Whether the Manchester City striker can now take down Brazil is debatable, but the pressure is well and truly off everyone's 'dark horses', who just seem to be enjoying themselves at this point - and that makes Norway even more dangerous than they were when the tournament began.

Mexico haven't reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup since they last hosted the tournament all the way back in 1986, but they've now got a real shot at emulating that achievement. Granted, England represent seriously tough opposition, particularly for a nation that has come to feel cursed after seven consecutive last-16 eliminations. However, Mexico have built up some serious momentum on home soil. 

They won all three of their group games before easing past Ecuador in the last 32 - and they've still not conceded a single goal. When you also consider that the game against England will be played at the mythical Azteca Stadium, a venue located more than 2000 metres above sea level where Mexico have never lost a World Cup game, El Tri have every reason to believe their remarkable run can continue.

The USMNT bandwagon keeps rolling on after the co-hosts dealt professionally with round-of-32 opponents Bosnia and Herzegovina in San Francisco. Folarin Balogun continued his fine form in front of goal before Malik Tillman sealed victory with a deft free-kick to secure just a second knockout win in the U.S.' history at the tournament.

The one big negative to take away from that victory was the red card awarded to Balogun which is set to rule him out of Monday's last-16 meeting with Belgium. Mauricio Pochettino's side should still fancy their chances given their own momentum and the performances of the Red Devils at this tournament so far, though it must be pointed out that the U.S. were beaten 5-2 by Rudi Garcia's side in a friendly back in March.

Roberto Martinez and Cristiano Ronaldo are lucky, lucky men. After an encouraging opening 45 minutes against Croatia, Portugal were played off the pitch for the majority of the second half and needed a Ronaldo penalty to cancel out Ivan Perisic's opener before nicking a 2-1 victory thanks not only to a towering header from Goncalo Ramos (who should clearly be starting up front) - but also a hugely contentious disallowed goal from Josko Gvardiol with basically the last kick of the game. 

So, while the Seleccao clearly have the players, and most importantly the midfielders, to beat Spain, as they did via a shootout in last year's Nations League final, we're not remotely confident that they'll do so. Portugal didn't impress in the group stage, where they finished second to Colombia, and the way in which they were repeatedly opened up by Croatia does not bode well at all.

Colombia's progress through the World Cup has been solid rather than spectacular but they're getting the job done. Their poor finishing is undeniably a concern. After taking 24 shots in a goal-less draw with Portugal that did, they only managed to convert one of their 20 efforts on goal in the round-of-32 win over Ghana on Friday night. However, you get the feeling that it's going to click for Colombia - and Luis Diaz in particular - sooner rather than later.

Nestor Lorenzo will also take comfort in the fact that the defence has been excellent, with the 1-0 over Ghana meaning his team has now kept three clean sheets in a row. So, while the Swiss could be a tough nut to crack, Los Cafeteros have an excellent opportunity here to equal their best-ever World Cup run - to the quarter-finals of Brazil 2014. 

England producing poor performances at a major tournament but still progressing through the rounds - stop us if you've heard this one before... The Three Lions were once again miles below the level shown by some of the other contenders at this summer's tournament against DR Congo in Atlanta, but they got the job done thanks to the brilliance of Harry Kane.

The England skipper scored twice to secure a come-from-behind win that has set up a mouth-watering clash with co-hosts Mexico on Sunday. There is no doubt that Thomas Tuchel's side outmatch El Tri in terms of talent, but the vociferous crowd that awaits them at Estadio Azteca, as well as the issues that come with playing at altitude, means the playing field has been pretty much levelled.

Brazil were in big trouble against Japan, deservedly trailing 1-0 at half-time as they struggled to both break down and contain Hajime Moriyasu's dynamic counter-attacking team. However, Carlo Ancelotti isn't one of the most decorated coaches in history for nothing. 

The notoriously cool, calm and collected Italian switched to what was effectively a 4-2-4 and, after his decision to stick with Casemiro was rewarded with a goal from the veteran midfielder, substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored an injury-time winner to set up a last-16 showdown with Erling Haaland's Norway. 

Brazil remain a flawed side, with major issues at full-back and in midfield, but they've got some seriously talented attackers, and with Don Carlo on the bench, anything remains possible for the five-time winners. 

Morocco may have needed an injury-time equaliser from Issa Diop to stay in the tournament, but make no mistake about it, the Atlas Lions fully deserved to force extra-time in their round-of-32 clash with the Netherlands, before then progressing on penalties. Mohamed Ouahbi's men dominated the vast majority of the game in Monterrey, only to be repeatedly denied by a combination of misfortune, poor finishing and the brilliant goalkeeping of Bart Verbruggen.

However, after finding a way to win, the fourth-placed finishers at Qatar 2022 now have a glorious opportunity to at least progress to the quarter-finals as they'll play a game but limited Canada team in the last 16. 

What on earth are we meant to make of Argentina's performance against Cape Verde? The reigning champions should have known what to expect after the World Cup debutants went unbeaten through a group containing Spain - and yet they seemed taken aback by Cape Verde's quality and character.

Argentina were sloppy and sluggish throughout and only avoided the biggest upset in World Cup history because of Lionel Messi and a couple of set-piece goals. The hope now, of course, is that the mother of all scares will have refocused Argentine minds ahead of another game they should win, against Egypt, but Cape Verde have exposed some serious flaws in Lionel Scaloni's side - chief among them, their almost total dependence on Messi for creativity and goals.

Welcome to the party, Spain! After an uninspiring and low-key group-stage campaign, the reigning European champions belatedly announced their arrival on the game's grandest stage with a convincing 3-0 win over Austria in which Mikel Oyarzabal provided his most compelling evidence to date that he can fire his country to World Cup glory.

Only Erling Haaland has scored more international goals than the Real Sociedad icon since the start of 2025 but there was a lot of pressure on the Basque forward to show that he could do it in the knockout stage, where Spain hadn't won a game since lifting the trophy back in 2010. Obviously, Portugal represents a sterner test of La Roja's title credentials but if they play, and press, like they did against Austria, they could completely overwhelm Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. 

Can anyone stop France from reaching a third consecutive World Cup final? Based on what we've seen so far from Les Bleus, it's looking unlikely. France's forward line is the best in the competition, so good, in fact, that Didier Deschamps is in the enviable position of being able to leave out one of Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola, while Rayan Cherki barely gets a look-in.

Barcola got the nod against Sweden and scored his second goal of the tournament as the 2022 runners-up swept into the last 16 on the back of some sensational play from Michael Olise and Kylian Mbappe. Consequently, France should have just as little trouble in disposing of Paraguay in Philadelphia on Saturday.