32: Cameroon: Samuel Eto's Cameroon came with lot of promises and great squad but they failed to deliver the promise. They performed very well against Mexico in the opening game with a loss of just 1-0 but thereafter they just did not look the team to win. They are ranked last 32 in terms of allowing 9 goals and scoring only 1 with 0 point.
31: Honduras: Apart from old veteran Costly's, goal keeper Valladares and number 7 Emilio's performance there is hardly anything for Honduras to cheer about. Scoring 1 goal and giving 8 away, Honduras is the second worst team of the World Cup 2014.
30: Japan -- At least they scored 2 goals and gave away only 6 and they were fighting for the knockout stage till the last minute. Honda was superb but height remained to be a major issue as they were unable to take advantage of any corners. Japan remains the worst team from Asia with overall rank of 30.
29: Korea: With a brilliant first game where they tied with Russia, their performance became bad against Algeria where they gave away 4 goals and eventually worst when 10 man Belgium defeated them in last game. However they were just a touch better than Japan as they scored one more goal than them and hence ranked 29.
28. Iran -- Iran drew game against Nigeria (who qualified for the next game) and almost draw against Argentina until Messi scored a goal with his magic. Iran was unable to score many goals (in fact just 1) but they defended very well and gave away only 4 goals. Reza GHOOCHANNEJAD was the stand out forward from the team. They looked better team from Asia and hence ahead of Japan and Korea but overall 28th ranked.
27. Russia: They should have won the game against Korea but they did not. They should have at least draw the game against Belgium but they could not. Then they were winning against Algeria but they blew the lead and draw the game. Highest paid coach Fabio Capello's Russia was 1 step behind in all games. They showed the promise but failed to deliver. Hopefully next time, when they host the world cup, they will be able to go pass the group stage but for now, they are ranked 27.
26. Bosnia & Herzegovina: This was their debut in World Cup and they showed nothing but great promise and talent. Safet Susic as coach and Edin Dzeko as forward along with Ivisevic were fantastic. They were in the game against Argentina till the last minute when Messi scored the decider. Had they been able to draw the game against Nigeria they would have qualified to the next round. A team who promises to shine in future is ranked 26.
25. Australia: Statistically, they have 0 points, gave away 9 goals but they showed class and fight in their 270 minute campaign. What's more their top ranked player Tim Cahill's goal may feature in the Top 5 goals of the tournament. Leckie showed brilliant speed as well mid-fielder Jedinak showed lots of heart. If they would have been in any other group such as E or H, they might have qualified to the next round but for now, they need to be happy with rank of 25.
24. England: They can blame their defeat to the heat and humidity of Manaus, tough conditions indeed for European team. After they lost to Italy in Manaus, it took away lot of energy and second defeat against Uruguay (Thanx to Suarez) just seal the deal. However England was not as worst as they showed themselves. Sturridge and Sterling gave good support to Rooney but Gerrard failed big time to provide any support from mid field. That left Coach Roy Hodgson to take the most difficult
decision: Window or Aisle seat :) England are ranked just above Australia at 24.
23. Croatia: 6 goals scored with and 6 given, 3 points with 1 win, Croatia had more than decent tournament. They were placed in comparatively tough group with Brazil and Mexico both playing very good football and hence did not qualify for the next round. Olic was the man of the tournament for them. Hopefully, they will improve going forward but currently their rank is 23.
22. Spain: Defending champions played two most horrible games ever and hence they got knocked out of the tournament. They showed their class in the third game, particularly Villa but that was just academical performance. Their defense was weak and hence Holand scored 5 goals and Chile scored twice. Their offense was even more horrible as they could not score any. Their strength mid-field and triangular passes worked fine but with lack of offense and defense they had to go out. What's more their goal keeper Casillas was the worst goal keeper from all teams making too many errors. They are ranked 22.
21. Italy: No team has won any game in the tournament after playing in Manaus and that was the big factor for Italy. Although they won in Manaus against England, Azzurries did not recover enough and lost in next two games against North and South American teams. Pirlo was fantastic but Ballotelli did not had any partner at the front to score goals. Cassano, Insigne, Immobile were all not good enough and no score no win in football. Chiellini will be remembered more for bite from Suarez rather than his defensive skills. Perhaps if they were in the group of Switzerland or Belgium they might have made it through but not in the group of Costa Rica and Uruguay and hence rank of 21.
20. Ghana: Other teams may win the World cup but Ghana won the hearts of millions. They played with great consistency and commitment. They were placed in the group of death so statistically they are the bottom most team, but as far as 270 minutes are concerned, they scared the best of the world. Had they not given a goal in the first 2 minute against USA, result and tournament might have looked different. Their high point was a draw against strong Germany team. Gyan was magnificent, A.Ayew
scored when mattered and Muntari was extremely unlucky to hit the poll and not the goal posts in couple of occasions. They are ranked 20.
19. Ivory Coast: All their results were 2:1 with 1 in their favor and 2 in others. It shows all their matches were interesting, exciting and thrilling, including the last one which took Greece inside Top 16 but not Ivory Coast. Chelsea striker Drogba is household name but tournament will be remembered for W.Bony, Yaya and Gervinho's amazing goal for this African team. Apart from Bosnia and Croatia, Ivory coast is another team who reached top 16 and then their position was snatched away in last few minutes. A very deserving team and hence inside the Top 20.
18. Ecuador: Only team from Latin America which did not went pass group stage is Ecuador. They were better known for A.Valencia because he plays for Manchester United but this world cup gave them a new star: Enner Valencia who scored all their 3 goals. France and Switzerland two teams who went through from this group were just slight better than Ecuador and hence the rank of 19. Ecuador also need to thank the playing conditions and crowd support which helped them to do very well in the
tournament. They along with Portugal are the only two teams which are going out of the tournament with 4 points. (1 win and 1 draw and only 1 loss).
17. Portugal: First match and first half of the tournament ruined Portugal. 3 goals scored and 1 red card for Pepe's huge error and no matter what Portugal does from that point onwards, it is not going to be enough in group of death. They draw against USA by scoring in last minute and won against Ghana but that first half against Germany ensure they take no part in knock out stage. C.Ronaldo was better but he did not got much support from his team mates. Portugal had 4 points, same as USA but those 3 goals in first half by Germany was the reason of USA being in next stage and not Portugal.
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