World Cup of outsiders enters round of 16

As the World Cup round of 16 begins, will the tournament dark horses continue to surprise the favorites?

Now the real stuff begins. Sixteen teams have extended their stay in Russia for at least another week, while 16 teams are on the way back home, if they’re not already there. The World Cup enters the knockout rounds on Saturday and from this point the contenders and the pretenders will make themselves known. We’ve all had fun until now, but these are the games where World Cups are defined.

Of course, this World Cup has already had something of a defining moment in the early exit of defending champions Germany. In fact, their departure set something of a common theme for this tournament — until now this has been the World Cup of the underdog, the dark horse, the outsider. Not for a generation has the field been this open.

So open is this World Cup there has never been a better chance for a first-time winner, maybe Croatia or Belgium, to get their hands on the famous trophy. Both boast 100 percent records at the tournament so far, winning three from three group games, with Croatia particularly impressive in the manner of their victories.

The tournament frontrunners have, by and large, failed to find their stride. Argentina only just scraped through to the last 16 after drawing against Iceland, losing heavily to Croatia and then seeing off Nigeria with a late Marcos Rojo volley after reports of a mutiny and an effort to get Jorge Sampaoli fired.

Spain went a step further by actually dismissing manager Julen Lopetegui just two days before their first group game. So far, the 2010 winners have managed to keep the ship steady, although they do feel like a rudderless outfit, which isn’t surprising given the circumstances in which they entered the World Cup. More than once, their flaws have been exposed.

Considered by many to be the strongest side on paper in Russia this summer, France are another big hitter who have thus far failed to hit a home run. Didier Deschamps still seems unsure of how to get the best from his world class squad, with Les Blues less than impressive in each and every of their group fixtures.

Brazil are another of the pre-tournament favourites who have failed to find their groove, but two wins and a draw from three group games won’t have them panicking. Russia surprised us all with their performances in their first two fixtures, but their limitations were exposed against Uruguay. The hosts won’t make it much further.

Portugal, the Uruguay of Europe, have performed as expected, suffocating opposition sides while relying on the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo up front, with Uruguay, the Portugal of Europe, also building their challenge on their defensive organisation and doggedness as a unit. Their last 16 clash has great potential for skullduggery.

Then there’s England. There’s a different feel to this England team. How many times have we seen the Three Lions pitch up a major tournament with great expectations only to fall short, well short? This England side seems to be using those past disappointments to their advantage, though. There’s a realism about Gareth Southgate’s squad. They appear relaxed and that resulted in them netting eight times in their first two group games, bagging six points in the process.

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The draw could be in England’s favor, too. There is quite clearly a strong side of the bracket and a weaker side of the bracket. Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, France, Portugal and Uruguay have all been paired on the same side, with just Croatia, England and Spain on the other. Other sides like Colombia, Mexico, Sweden and Switzerland shouldn’t be discounted entirely, but the eventual winner will surely come from aforementioned contingent of nine.

Until now, this World Cup has exceeded all expectations. The group stage has produced moments of excellence and drama in equal measure, with this week demonstrating how things could get even more exhilarating when there’s something on the line, as there will be in the latter rounds of the tournament.

Traditionally, major tournaments like the World Cup tend to lose their verve as the tension heightens and the games start to mean more and more. It’s possible this could happen again, but this would be against the current trend in soccer as a whole. Look at this season’s Champions League — as the games got more important, the drama increased. There were more goals and more moments to shock and surprise. This bodes for what is still to come in Russia over the next few weeks. It could prove to be memorable for more reason than.