| Team |
Average Ranking |
#1 Rankings |
Highest Ranking |
Lowest Ranking |
Standard Deviation |
Boosters (Top Ranked By) |
Commentary |
| The Favourites |
| Germany | 1.76 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 1.57 | Adrien, Alex, Brett, BrianD, George, Jon Pepper, Jon Porter, Larry, Koi, Trevor, Victor, Victoria, & Viktor | It's not surprising that the defending champs are favoured to repeat, but it is perhaps surprising just how heavily they're favoured, sitting atop two-thirds of all entries... |
| Brazil | 2.86 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1.39 | Jasprit, JonK, & Rory | Brazil come in seeded second, so having the second-highest average ranking is not a surprise...with the lowest standard deviation in the pool though, perhaps they won't be major factor in the final standings... |
| The Dark Horses |
| France | 5.57 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 4.27 | Zahir (followed by Alex, George, Larry, & Victor at 2) | Les Bleus have poolies fairly divided, with a relatively high standard deviation, but despite coming in as the seventh seed, they land the third-highest ranking in the pool... |
| Spain | 5.62 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 3.50 | BrianF & Bryan | Their 2014 underperformance evidently forgotten, and a tenth world seeding evidently forgiven, Spain come in with the fourth-highest average ranking, and two picks (the only side aside from Germany and Brazil with more than one) to win the Cup... |
| Portugal | 5.76 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 3.18 | Brett (followed by BrianD, George, Trevor, & Viktor at 3) | The Euro 2016 champs, led by Ronaldo, have the fifth-highest average ranking, but no one expects them to win the Cup... |
| Argentina | 5.86 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2.59 | Trevor (followed by BrianD, & Jon Porter at 2) | The 2014 finalists and fifth seed garner the sixth-highest average ranking... |
| Belgium | 5.95 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2.10 | Trevor (followed by Jon Porter, & Koi at 3) | Despite coming in as the third seed, Belgium only get the seventh-highest average ranking, but that average ranking is still above 6... |
| The Longshots |
| England | 8.62 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 3.20 | BrianF (followed by Jasprit at 5) | Aside from BrianF's pick for them to make the final, England is short its usual boosters, with no one else calling for them to make the final four... |
| Poland | 10.95 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 5.30 | BrianF & Victoria | Poland crack the top ten in both seeding and average ranking, and perhaps dominate a relatively weak group H, but with a standard deviation above 5, their fate could have a significant impact on the pool... |
| Uruguay | 11.19 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 3.96 | Trevor (followed by Jon Pepper at 5) | Uruguay rounds out the top 10 average rankings, so perhaps picking up their third World Cup championship this year is not out of the question... | |
| Colombia | 12.48 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 3.05 | Alex & BrianF | Can Colombia make it back to the round of 8? The pool consensus appears to be no further than the round of 16... |
| Switzerland | 12.57 | 0 | 6 | 24 | 4.12 | Koi (followed by Brett & BrianD at 8) | Switzerland & Tunisia are the two teams whose average ranking lags furthest behind their seeding (six notches lower) but this is probably more meaningful for Switzerland, since they might actually be considered a legitimate longshot to win... |
| Denmark | 12.57 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 3.51 | Jon Porter (followed by Bryan at 8) | Denmark get the second-highest average ranking in group C, rising above higher seed Peru... |
| Mexico | 13.33 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 2.87 | Jasprit (followed by Adrien & Larry at 9) | Mexico has the best lowest ranking (17) outside of the top 8 teams, so there is some confidence in them... |
| Peru | 14.05 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 4.09 | BrianF (followed by Rory at 7) | Peru is enthusiastic about their return to the World Cup; poolies apparently a little less so... |
| Croatia | 14.43 | 0 | 7 | 22 | 4.11 | Zahir (followed by Jon Pepper, JonK, and Victoria at 8) | Croatia appears to be a solid middle-ranked team, without rankings super-high or super-low... |
| The Faint Hopes |
| Sweden | 19.05 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 3.05 | Larry (followed by Trevor at 12) | With a low standard deviation and an average ranking as close to the middle as any country, Sweden may not have much say in the outcome of the pool... |
| Egypt | 20.14 | 0 | 8 | 29 | 5.88 | Jon Porter (followed by George & Jon Pepper at 13) | Egypt are the team whose average ranking most outstrips their seeding (perhaps due to their star player Salah?) coming in as the 26th-highest seed, but 18th-highest average ranking... |
| Senegal | 20.19 | 0 | 14 | 29 | 3.84 | George (followed by Jon Pepper & Victoria at 15) | Senegal are narrowly edged out by Egypt as the African side with the highest average ranking... |
| Iceland | 20.81 | 0 | 11 | 32 | 4.50 | Trevor (followed by Bryan at 16) | The nation with just 350,000 people is playing in its first-ever World Cup... |
| Costa Rica | 21.10 | 0 | 7 | 31 | 4.73 | Larry (followed by Alex at 17) | With the widest range in rankings of any team in the pool, Costa Rica could be significant in the outcome...especially if they can manage as big an upset as they did in 2014... |
| Serbia | 21.19 | 0 | 13 | 30 | 4.00 | BrianF (followed by Adrien at 16) | Serbia's return to the World Cup doesn't appear to have been met with much enthusiasm by poolies... |
| Tunisia | 21.62 | 0 | 11 | 31 | 5.44 | Brett (followed by Viktor at 13) | Tunisia (along with Switzerland) have the dubious distinction of the average ranking farthest below their seeding, six spots lower... |
| Nigeria | 23.38 | 0 | 11 | 28 | 4.64 | George (followed by Rory at 17) | The Super Eagles return to the World Cup, but seem to be getting more attention for their uniforms than for their play... |
| Russia | 23.71 | 0 | 10 | 32 | 6.67 | BrianF (followed by Zahir at 13) | The hosts sport the largest standard deviation in the pool (perhaps because they're the lowest-seeded team coming into the tournament, but have a history better than that, and of course home advantage) so their fate may have a particularly significant impact on the outcome... |
| Iran | 24.90 | 0 | 18 | 31 | 2.96 | George (followed by BrianD, Jon Porter, & Viktor at 23) | Iran comes in with the highest average ranking for an Asian team... |
| Australia | 25.90 | 0 | 21 | 32 | 2.76 | BrianF & Jon Porter | The Socceroos have the fourth-worst highest ranking, with nobody putting them higher than 21... |
| Morocco | 26.33 | 0 | 20 | 31 | 2.61 | Jasprit (followed by JonK at 23) | Facing Spain and Portugal in group B, Morocco aren't given much chance... |
| Japan | 28.05 | 0 | 20 | 31 | 3.00 | JonK (followed by BrianF & George at 24) | Japan actually manages an average ranking one spot higher than their seed, but they're nonetheless fourth from the bottom... |
| Panama | 28.71 | 0 | 23 | 32 | 2.25 | BrianF (followed by Jasprit at 25) | Panama qualified for their first World Cup tournament, but there's little confidence they'll take advantage of it, with the third-lowest average ranking and no ranking higher than 23rd... |
| South Korea | 29.62 | 0 | 24 | 32 | 2.08 | BrianD (followed by Zahir at 25) | South Korea are second-last in average ranking, with no ranking above 24th, probably due to facing strong opposition in group F... |
| Saudi Arabia | 29.71 | 0 | 23 | 32 | 2.80 | George (followed by Jon Porter, Trevor, & Victor at 27) | The Saudis are dead last in average ranking, sitting at the bottom of more than a third of all entries, and picking up only one ranking higher than 27th... |
