| Team |
Average Ranking |
#1 Rankings |
Highest Ranking |
Lowest Ranking |
Standard Deviation |
Boosters (Top Ranked By) |
Commentary |
| The Favourites |
| Spain | 2.80 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 2.14 | Bruno, Gabe & Alex, Guy, & Trevor | Spain edges out top seed France as the collective pool favourite... |
| France | 2.85 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2.20 | Benjy, Brian, Daphne, George, Jon, & Kirk | Even though they don't get the top average ranking, France picks up the most top rankings... |
| Argentina | 3.75 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2.38 | George, Richard, & Trevor | Three entries have Messi and company favoured to repeat as World Cup champions... |
| The Dark Horses |
| Brazil | 4.70 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2.17 | George & Trevor | Brazil last won in a US-hosted World Cup, so there are two entries calling for a repeat of history... |
| England | 5.30 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3.05 | Larry & Mitchell | England is to the World Cup pool what the Leafs are to the hockey pool...as long as they qualify, somebody will say "It's coming home", even if most entries have them ranked lower than their seeding... |
| Portugal | 6.05 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2.82 | Zahir (followed by Larry at 3) | Portugal seems to be a consensus quarter-finalist pick, but does get one nod to win their first World Cup... |
| Netherlands | 7.45 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2.36 | Vicky (followed by Trevor at 4) | The Oranje get one pick to win their first World Cup, but for the most part seem to be consensus quarter-finalists... |
| Germany | 8.35 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 3.92 | George (followed by George at 2 and Trevor at 4) | The 2014 winners top one entry and get a slight boost compared to their FIFA ranking, enough to make them a dark horse... |
| The Longshots |
| Belgium | 11.85 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 4.65 | George (followed by Benjy & George at 6) | The top average-ranked team that no one picked to win (or in fact to even make the semi-finals) the Red Devils' core may have aged past threat level... |
| Mexico | 11.95 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 3.29 | Larry & Trevor | Mexico apparently gets a boost from its co-host status, getting a few picks to make the quarter-finals... |
| Morocco | 12.05 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 5.38 | Trevor (followed by Brian at 6) | The only FIFA top 10 team to drop out of the top 10 in average ranking, there doesn't seem to be any faith that Morocco can repeat as a semi-finalist this time around... |
| United States | 12.45 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 4.58 | Trevor (followed by George at 7) | The Americans get a few picks to make the quarter-finals, but most entries have them as a final 16 side... |
| Uruguay | 14.00 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 3.29 | Trevor (followed by Mitchell at 8) | The third-highest ranked South American team, Uruguay seem to be a perpetual longshot, despite having won twice (albeit a long time ago)... |
| Colombia | 14.30 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 3.41 | Trevor (followed by Gabe & Alex at 10) | Returning to the World Cup, Colombia drop slightly from their FIFA ranking, but are largely a consensus final 16 side... |
| Croatia | 14.55 | 0 | 7 | 24 | 5.55 | George (followed by George & Trevor at 8) | Finalists in 2018 and semifinalists in 2022, nobody has them predicted to make the final four this time around... |
| Switzerland | 17.05 | 0 | 12 | 23 | 3.17 | George (followed by Benjy & George at 13) | With the sixteenth-highest average ranking and a relatively low standard deviation, it looks like there's a fair bit of consensus that Switzerland has a good shot at being in the final 16, but no better than that... |
| Senegal | 17.60 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 4.52 | Kirk (followed by Daphne, Gabe & Alex, & Mitchell at 13) | Senegal falls just out of the top sixteen in average ranking, but there are still quite a few entries predicting that they can make the final 16... |
| Japan | 18.10 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 4.01 | Brian (followed by Kirk & Zahir at 13) | Japan are another team toward the middle of most entries, but some outliers (including a top 8 pick) make them likely significant to the pool... |
| Turkiye | 18.60 | 0 | 11 | 30 | 4.99 | Brian (followed by Vicky at 12) | Turkiye can definitely be a difference-maker in the pool, as some entries have them in the final 16 and others nowhere near... |
| Norway | 19.60 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 7.61 | Vicky (followed by Brian at 8) | The largest standard deviation in this year's pool belongs to Norway, as the star power of Erling Haaland evidently convinces some poolies that they can go deep in the tournament, while others don't see them getting any points beyond the group stage... |
| The Faint Hopes |
| South Korea | 20.85 | 0 | 14 | 26 | 4.25 | George (followed by Mitchell at 16) | George has the Koreans in the top 16 on all of his entries, so if they can go deep, he might be in a position to sweep... |
| Ecuador | 22.55 | 0 | 15 | 31 | 4.04 | Gabe & Alex (followed by Jon at 17) | Ecuador gets one top 16 ranking (from Gabe & Alex) but is generally clustered toward the middle for most entries, so they may not make a big difference to the pool... |
| Austria | 23.00 | 0 | 14 | 32 | 4.32 | Mitchell (followed by Trevor at 15) | The Austrians get a couple top 16 rankings, although notably not from George, who has them below the average on all of his entries... |
| Canada | 24.40 | 0 | 12 | 34 | 6.66 | Benjy (followed by Vicky at 13) | Benjy wins the competition for who's the bravest patriot, and they get a few top 16 picks, but unsurprisingly there's a wide variety of rankings for Canada, giving them the fourth-largest standard deviation... |
| Ivory Coast | 24.50 | 0 | 14 | 36 | 5.47 | Trevor (followed by Benjy & George at 19) | The Elephants rise a few slots above their FIFA ranking, although perhaps mostly due to one of my entries calling for them to make the final 16... |
| Iran | 25.90 | 0 | 19 | 43 | 6.42 | Daphne, Richard, & Trevor | Once again (except even moreso) the Iranian side is overshadowed by the political situation...this might help explain why they have the fifth-highest standard deviation as well, and one of the widest spreads between top and bottom ranking... |
| Sweden | 27.30 | 0 | 15 | 34 | 4.22 | Trevor (followed by Vicky at 22) | Sweden manage to outperform their FIFA ranking, although apparently that's primarily thanks to one of my entries calling for them to make the final 16... |
| Algeria | 27.60 | 0 | 20 | 33 | 3.41 | Bruno (followed by Jon at 21) | Algeria returns to a World Cup seemingly heavy in North African sides, but clusters close to the middle in the pool, so may not make much difference to the pool results... |
| Australia | 27.70 | 0 | 15 | 44 | 7.42 | George (followed by George at 16) | The Socceroos sport the second-largest standard deviation, and the widest spread between top and bottom ranking, so they will likely have an impact on the pool outcome... |
| Egypt | 27.75 | 0 | 16 | 35 | 4.80 | George (followed by Brian at 17) | Mo Salah's side proves somewhat divisive in the pool, and could be a difference-maker... |
| Czechia | 31.35 | 0 | 26 | 38 | 3.07 | Benjy & Mitchell | Czechia appears expected to get some points, but little confidence in advancing beyond the group stage... |
| Scotland | 31.85 | 0 | 27 | 37 | 2.73 | George (followed by Benjy, Bruno, & Vicky at 28) | With a particularly low standard deviation, Scotland is well clustered in the third quartile... |
| Paraguay | 33.40 | 0 | 27 | 40 | 4.25 | Jon (followed by Gabe & Alex & Trevor at 28) | Not many surprises with Paraguay, almost exactly matching its FIFA ranking spot in the middle of the lower half... |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 33.55 | 0 | 22 | 43 | 6.41 | Brian (followed by Mitchell at 25) | Bosnia & Herzegovina gets one of the biggest lifts from its FIFA ranking, perhaps due its placement in a Group B where it has a real chance of advancement... |
| Congo DR | 36.15 | 0 | 31 | 41 | 2.54 | Trevor (followed by Bruno & Jon at 33) | Congo DR moves up from its FIFA ranking, presumably due to its placement in a competitive-looking Group K... |
| Panama | 37.10 | 0 | 26 | 48 | 7.33 | Trevor (followed by Daphne, Kirk, & Trevor at 29) | With the third-largest standard deviation, Panama's fate could make a difference to the pool... |
| Tunisia | 37.15 | 0 | 26 | 47 | 4.25 | Bruno (followed by Trevor at 33) | The lowest-ranked team in Group F, Tunisia slides just a little from their FIFA ranking... |
| Uzbekistan | 38.30 | 0 | 32 | 48 | 3.51 | Trevor (followed by Vicky at 33) | The first central Asian side to ever qualify, Uzbekistan gets just a little support for perhaps a few points... |
| Saudi Arabia | 38.70 | 0 | 27 | 48 | 4.51 | Trevor (followed by George at 34) | After outperforming a bit in recent World Cups, and not being the lowest-ranked team in their group, the Saudis get a slight boost in the pool... |
| Ghana | 39.00 | 0 | 30 | 46 | 4.75 | Mitchell (followed by Benjy, Gabe & Alex, Jon, & Zahir at 34) | Ghana get a bit of a boost compared to their FIFA ranking, but are still the lowest of the Group L teams... |
| South Africa | 39.55 | 0 | 36 | 45 | 1.91 | Jon (followed by Brian at 37) | The 2010 hosts don't get much pool support this time around... |
| Qatar | 40.70 | 0 | 34 | 46 | 3.47 | Vicky (followed by Jon at 35) | The hosts of the last World Cup actually still qualified for this edition, and become the lowest-ranked side in Group B... |
| Iraq | 40.70 | 0 | 35 | 48 | 2.93 | Vicky (followed by Larry at 36) | Iraq drops a few spots from their FIFA ranking, in a fairly tough Group I, likely the converse of Norway's outperformance in the rankings... |
| Cabo Verde | 42.10 | 0 | 29 | 47 | 4.09 | Trevor (followed by Vicky at 37) | With a relatively large standard deviation, Cabo Verde could make a difference to the pool, although it seems it's just me who ranked them comparatively high... |
| Jordan | 43.90 | 0 | 38 | 48 | 2.77 | Larry (followed by Mitchell at 40) | In their first ever World Cup, Jordan doesn't get a lot of pool support... |
| New Zealand | 44.90 | 0 | 36 | 48 | 2.49 | Benjy (followed by Brian at 43) | Despite being the lowest-ranked team, New Zealand escapes the basement, although it's mostly thanks to Benjy, who could really benefit from some Kiwi points... |
| Curacao | 46.25 | 0 | 43 | 48 | 1.51 | Jon (followed by Trevor at 44) | The smallest country in this year's World Cup must just be happy to be there...and with the smallest standard deviation, they won't be much of a factor in the pool... |
| Haiti | 46.45 | 0 | 42 | 48 | 1.63 | Brian (followed by Benjy & Mitchell at 44) | At the very bottom is poor Haiti, with very little hope of any points... |
