5 World Cup 2023 teams who shockingly got knocked out of the group stages, including Germany, Brazil

And then, there were 16.

We’re up to the elimination rounds of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, with the round-robin group stages finishing on Thursday morning. The top-two teams in each group will be moving on to the win-or-go-home games next.

But before we look ahead, we have to look back. Because there are some surprises when it comes to certain national teams who failed to be top-two in their groups.

It’s bound to happen, right? After all, the World Cup has the best of the best, and any tournament is never going to be completely chalk.

So let’s run through some of the more surprising teams to miss moving on:

1

Brazil

(Photo by WILLIAM WEST / AFP) (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)

The No. 8 ranked team in the world entering the tournament tied with Jamaica in its final game and was eliminated.

2

Canada

(AP Photo/Hamish Blair)

They lost to Australia and tied with Nigeria. Despite the win over Ireland, the No. 7 team is out.

3

China

(AP Photo/James Elsby)

Losses to England and Denmark sent the 14th-ranked squad home.

4

Germany

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The biggest upset of them all — the No. 2 team in the world is out.

5

Italy

(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

They were the 16th-best team in the world and didn’t move on.