Every team in the World Cup has officially played their first game in the World Cup tournament. There have been some incredible upsets, like Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina or Japan’s victory over Germany.
There has been dominating performances, such a Spain over Costa Rica and England’s battering of Iran. A ton of teams have impressed and disappointed, but these have been the most impressive and disappointing teams through the first games.
Winners:
Spain
There isn’t much more someone can want out of a team than a 7-0 win. That is exactly what the Spanish National Team did against Costa Rica, as it looked like any semi-dangerous run in an attacking area resulting in a Spain goal. However, maybe the most impressive stat for Spain was their defense, as they did not allow a single shot on target from Costa Rica. Spain proved to be dominant in both areas of the pitch and look like a World Cup contender.
England
England is arguably the most talked about the team heading into the tournament. The nation holds a ton of weight in terms of media coverage of the sport worldwide, with the Premier League being widely recognized as the biggest domestic league in the world.
While England are typically seen as a nation that disappoints in this competition, they exceeded all expectations in their match against Iran, winning 6-2, and could have easily had a clean sheet if they did not become lazy in the second half.
Saudi Arabia
Of course, Saudi Arabia’s massive win over Argentina has to be mentioned. Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 shock victory has now put them in a position to fight for a qualifying spot, something most fans did not expect to see. If Saudi Arabia can have another performance from goalkeeper Mohammed Alowasi again, they have a chance of getting out of the group and enjoying a cinderella story journey.
Losers:
Argentina
Argentina has to be seen as the biggest losers of the entire tournament so far. Argentina were shockingly upset by Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their first match in the World Cup. Saudi Arabia came away with a ton of offside traps, and their goalkeeper had the performance of a lifetime to pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
Germany
Germany will have find a way to bounce back quickly as their matchup against Spain becomes vastly important. Germany fell to Japan 2-1 in their first match, and although Japan are a great and underrated team, Germany has too much talent on their roster to not walk away with the win, and now the pressure on them, especially with the fact that the 2014 World Cup winners did not qualify out of the group in the 2018 World Cup.
