We’re now almost a week into the World Cup in Qatar and every team taking part has played at least once, giving fans an idea of who is going to progress to the next stage and who is among the favourites as we head towards the knockout stages.
Spain have been the most impressive side so far, hammering Costa Rica 7-0 on Wednesday. France, too, were in ominous form against Australia, racking up a 4-1 win after an early scare which saw them fall behind. Brazil looked good at times in their 2-0 over Serbia, while England put on a fine attacking display in a 6-2 victory over Iran, a result made to look even more impressive given Iran’s subsequent 2-0 win over Wales.
Rob Page’s men need a minor miracle to make it to the last-16 : they need to beat England and hope other results in Group B go their way in order to stay in the tournament beyond next Tuesday night. Group B is not the only group with plenty of possible scenarios, however, as shock defeats for Argentina and Germany in their opening fixtures against Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively have left things wide open in Groups C and E.
