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So it ends. The Group Stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is over and with it, the dreams of 16 different teams of lifting the trophy. The eliminated teams range from first-timers Iceland and Panama to defending champions Germany.
Some of these teams were completely inept (Panama), others fought valiantly but did not have the required talent (Iceland and Peru), while some put in great performances and barely missed out on the knockout stages. It is the latter set of teams that will be discussed.
It should be noted that Germany are missing from this list. While their elimination was indeed heartbreaking for German fans as they held out hope until the final minutes, there is nothing ‘heartbreaking’ for the neutral about the exit of a (slightly complacent) defending champion.
Instead, this list will focus on teams that won our heart with brave performances despite adversity and still did not make the knockout stages:
#5 Morocco
It is true that Morocco were eliminated even before the last round of matches and thus their elimination wasn’t as gut-wrenching as the others on this list. However, there were few eliminated teams in the tournament that played better football than the Moroccans.
In their first game vs Iran, the African team dominated the match as they had more shots (13 to 9), possession (68% to 32%), pass success (81% to 58%), dribbles (10 to 8) and corners (5-2) than their rivals. Nonetheless, the Moroccans failed to convert their chances and this cost them dearly as Iran nicked the game due to an injury-time own goal.
What was even more impressive was how Morocco recovered from their heart-breaking loss as they faced a Portugal team led by Cristiano Ronaldo. The Moroccans battled valiantly as the likes of Nordin Amrabat and Younes Belhanda caused countless problems for the Portuguese defence.
Once again, statistically the African team were superior as they had more shots, possession and corners than their much-fancied rivals. But they did not have Ronaldo and that turned out to be the difference as the Real Madrid man’s early header separated the two teams.
Those two narrow unlucky losses condemned Morocco to elimination before their third group game. Lesser teams would have wilted as they went against one of the pre-tournament favourites in Spain who needed a result to secure their place in the Round of 16. Even then, Morocco caused La Roja a multitude of problems as they twice took the lead in an exciting 2-2 draw.
Overall, Morocco was one of the few underdogs to play exciting attacking football throughout the tournament- unfortunately bad luck and a tough group meant that we did not get to see more of them.
#4 Serbia
Serbia do not strike one as a typical plucky underdog. One of their centre-backs Branislav Ivanovic is a Premier League legend who won every English and European trophy there is to win while playing for Chelsea.
Their midfield heartbeat is Nemanja Matic, a player in his prime who has played for two of Europe’s biggest clubs in Chelsea and Manchester United. They have one of Europe’s biggest talents in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. They also include players from European giants like Liverpool, Benfica, Roma and Villareal.
Despite this incredible talent, what made Serbia underdogs was their rather tough group. They had pre-tournament favourites Brazil, an experienced yet talented Swiss side and a doughty Costa Rican team that had shocked the world in 2014. Serbia started their tournament with a narrow yet convincing 1-0 win over Costa Rica.
Their dream start continued as Alexander Mitrovic gave them the lead against Switzerland. The Serbians expertly used their height advantage against the shorter but more talented Swiss as they created chance after chance.
Unfortunately for the Balkan team, the Swiss bounced back with an absolute peach of a goal from Granit Xhaka. Nonetheless, the Serbians did not choose to wilt under the pressure of a brilliant Swiss squad. They continued to attack and probably should have had a penalty as Mitrovic was wrestled to the ground. However, their eagerness to get the winner cost them as a counter-attack left their ageing defence exposed, allowing Xherdan Shaqiri to score the winner.
It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Serbs as a victory would have guaranteed them a spot in the Round of 16. All they needed after that loss was a victory against Brazil- easy enough right? Despite the enormous task in front of them, Serbia again put on a brave fight as they looked for a goal against the Selecao. It was not to be as goals from Coutinho and Thiago Silva doomed Serbia to an early exit. It was not to be for the Serbians and the World Cup has lost one of its most unique teams.
#3 Iran
While undoubtedly lucky in their first game against Morocco, anyone who understood the Iranian team’s backstory could not help feel sympathy after their elimination from the group stages. This was a team full of enigmatic individuals who overcame all sorts of adversity to get here.
Perhaps the best example of this is their goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand once fled his home to pursue his footballing dreams, living on the streets of Teheran. Other examples include Sardar Azmoun, Saeed Ezatolahi, Karim Ansarifard, Masoud Shojaei and Ramin Rezaeian- all of whom overcame controversy and adversity to get to Russia.
When the World Cup Draw was made, most considered Iran already eliminated from contention for the Round of 16. They were playing two World Cup giants in Portugal and Spain along with a more talented team in Morocco.
Even after their admittedly lucky win over Morocco, Iran were still considered heavy underdogs to make the knockout stages. When they faced Spain, most expected a comfortable win for the Iberian side.
Despite this, the brave Iranian team (perhaps the most organized in the World Cup) held out against the Spanish team. One of the greatest midfields in World Cup History struggled to break down the doughty Iranians. Beiranvand made impressive saves while the defence made countless tackles, blocks and interceptions.
By half-time, a draw seemed probable- even an Iranian win did not seem inconceivable. Iran’s performance continued in the second half until Rezaeian made another crucial tackle on Diego Costa. Unfortunately for the Iranians, this time the ball did not peter out but rather struck Diego Costa’s leg and rebounded into the net. It was unbelievably bad luck for an Iranian team that had overcome such adversity to get there.
After that heartbreaking loss, Iran still knew that a victory in their last game would be enough for them to qualify- they just needed to beat the reigning European champions Portugal. Again, Iran defended bravely- again an extraordinary event gave Portugal the lead.
This time it was a superb Ricardo Quaresma goal with his outside foot. Iran still continued to fight as Beiranvand saved a Ronaldo penalty while Ansarifard converted his to equalize. The latter goal was too little, too late for the Iranians as they were eliminated but not before winning the hearts of millions of fans worldwide.
#2 Nigeria
In the immediate aftermath of the Nigeria-Argentina game, a vast majority of the footballing world was celebrating. Argentina had made the knockout stages and that meant that the magician that is Lionel Messi could continue to weave his magic in the tournament.
Yet, what was forgotten in all the hoopla was the heartbreak faced by the Nigerian team. Finally possessing a team with a mix of experience (John Obi Mikel/Victor Moses) and youthful exuberance (Alex Iwobi/Kelachi Iheanacho), big things were expected of Nigeria in this World Cup.
Those hopes seemed to be over after a crushing loss to Croatia. What was even more worrying than the comprehensive loss was the extent to which Nigeria was outplayed. They failed to create major chances and their midfield was completely outrun by Croatia’s stars.
Facing elimination, Nigeria knew they needed a victory against a resolute Iceland team which had just held Lionel Messi’s Argentina. In the first half, Nigeria’s lethargy continued as they failed to break down the Icelandic defence. Nigeria seemed to be headed for another early elimination from the World Cup.
Ahmed Musa had other ideas as he scored two brilliant goals to defeat the Scandinavians and give Nigeria hope going into their final game against Argentina. Facing a rejuvenated Argentine side, many did not give Nigeria a chance after a classic Messi goal gave the South Americans an early lead. Yet, Nigeria kept on fighting for an equalizer. It was only in the second half when a Javier Mascherano brain fade give Nigeria penalty that Victor Moses calmly converted.
It seemed as Nigeria were going to achieve the impossible- qualification ahead of a supremely talented Argentina side. In the 75th minute, a brilliant counter-attack exposed Argentina’s fragile defence with defender Marcus Rojo handling the ball.
The referee (after consulting VAR) decided that the contact was not deliberate and gave Argentina hope. Ten minutes later in a moment of cruel irony, it was Rojo who smashed a brilliant volley into the Nigerian net. It was the perfect end to an exhilarating game for all except those a Nigerian persuasion.
#1 Senegal
The defensive dominance of Kalidou Koulibaly and Salif Sane. The midfield solidity of Cheikhou Kouyate and Idrissa Gueye. Exciting wingers like Ismalia Sarr and Keith Balde. A star striker in Sadio Mane. An exciting young manager in Aliou Cisse. Senegal had all that a non-European, non-South American team could have. Even more importantly, they had a tactical system that worked for their personnel and a team spirit that was obvious to anyone who watched them play.
All those qualities were evident when Senegal clinically defeated a Poland team that was favoured to make the knockout stages. In their next game, Senegal faced a Japanese side that had just beaten one of the tournament’s dark horses Colombia. The African team controlled the game early on as Sadio Mane bundled a goal into the net after a mistake by the Japanese goalkeeper. Rather unfortunately for Senegal, Japan managed to score with their first concrete attack.
It was the type of debilitating goal that would have doomed lesser teams. Instead, Senegal continued to attack with verve. Eventually, a brilliant move culminated in 19-year-old right back Moussa Wague scoring a vital goal. Yet, Japan broke Senegalese hearts again as they managed to get a crucial equalizer.
That 2-2 draw meant that Senegal still needed a result against group favourites Colombia who were on the brink of elimination. Most did not expect the African team to have a chance against the South Americans.
Even though Senegal knew that a draw would be enough to take them through, they still decided to attack whenever they got the chance. They even got a penalty which was overruled by VAR. In defence, they continued to be resolute against one of the most talented attacks in the tournament.
After having played so well for the majority of the match, a bit of sloppiness on a corner doomed Senegal as a Yerry Mina header gave Colombia the need. In the immediate aftermath of the goal, even commentators were confused as to whether Senegal or Japan were going through to the knockout stages.
It turned out that considering their identical records, Japan would go through due to a better disciplinary record- one of the most unfortunate ways to leave the World Cup.
