Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the World Cup Group J match against Jordan in Arlington, Tex. on Saturday.Tony Gutierrez/The Associated Press
If the World Cup was the NCAA basketball tournament, then teams like Morocco and the Netherlands would have some serious anger toward the selection and seeding committee right now. England, Mexico, Portugal and Spain might not be all that happy, either.
Lionel Messi and Argentina, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t complain much about their potential path to the World Cup final four.
The bracket is set for the knockout stage of the World Cup. There was no selection committee; slots were predetermined –Group A winner on this line, Group D runner-up on this line, etc. – so it wasn’t exactly like how the NCAA tournaments go. And FIFA doesn’t reseed like some sports, so a couple lower seeds are certain to get into at least the Round of 16.
So, when taking the 32 qualifiers for the knockout stage and ranking them like it’s an NCAA tournament – essentially seeding the field 1 to 32 based on the FIFA live rankings entering Sunday – it’s easy to see why some “regions” might be tougher to navigate than others.
A breakdown of the World Cup bracket:
Foxborough Region
– Quarter-final: July 9 at Foxborough, Mass.
– Round of 32 matchups (according to FIFA live rankings): No. 12 Germany vs. No. 27 Paraguay, No. 2 France vs. No. 26 Sweden, No. 25 Canada defeated No. 29 South Africa, No. 7 Netherlands vs. No. 6 Morocco.
– Outlook: Netherlands vs. Morocco in the Round of 32 means that at least one of the seven highest-ranked teams left in the tournament won’t even get to the Round of 16. France and Germany – perennial European powers – could meet in the Round of 16. And Canada, who topped South Africa on Sunday, might have to change time zones twice on its way to the quarter-finals, while Germany, Paraguay, France and Sweden will all be in either Massachusetts, New Jersey or Pennsylvania in the Rounds of 32 and 16.
– If the seeds hold: France would play Morocco in the quarter-final.
Alex Baena (15) of Spain celebrates with teammate Rodri after scoring his team's first goal during their Group H match against Uruguay at Guadalajara Stadium on Friday in Zapopan, Mexico.David Ramos/Getty Images
Inglewood Region
– Quarter-final: July 10 at Inglewood, Calif.
– Round of 32 matchups (according to FIFA live rankings): No. 8 Portugal vs. No. 13 Croatia, No. 3 Spain vs. No. 18 Austria, No. 14 United States vs. No. 30 Bosnia and Herzegovina, No. 10 Belgium vs. No. 17 Senegal.
– Outlook: The U.S. gets one of the lowest-ranked teams left in the tournament to open the Round of 32 and would remain in the Pacific time zone until the semi-finals. Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal did not get an easy draw at all, with Croatia right off the bat and then potentially Spain in the Round of 16. (Can’t imagine Spain is too thrilled with this, either.) Belgium vs. Senegal is in Seattle, and the winner will stay there to play the U.S. match winner; that’s a big break for weary legs.
– If the seeds hold: Spain would play Belgium in the quarter-final.
Miami Gardens Region
– Quarter-final: July 11 at Miami Gardens, Fla.
– Round of 32 matchups (according to FIFA live rankings): No. 5 Brazil vs. No. 16 Japan, No. 24 Ivory Coast vs. No. 19 Norway, No. 9 Mexico vs. No. 20 Ecuador, No. 4 England vs. No. 28 Congo.
– Outlook: Mexico and England will be heavily favoured in their Round of 32 matches, then would be in line to go head-to-head in the Round of 16 – in what would be a road game at Mexico City for England. And Mexico is one of only two teams not to surrender a goal in the group stage, with Spain being the other. Brazil gets a bit of an easier path to the quarter-finals, opening with Japan and then – if it wins – drawing the Ivory Coast-Norway winner.
– If the seeds hold: Brazil would play England in the quarter-final.
Colombia's Gustavo Puerta (14) heads the ball during his team's Group K match against Portugal in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Saturday.Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press
Kansas City Region
– Quarter-final: July 11 at Kansas City, Mo.
– Round of 32 matchups (according to FIFA live rankings): No. 1 Argentina vs. No. 31 Cape Verde, No. 22 Australia vs. No. 21 Egypt, No. 15 Switzerland vs. No. 23 Algeria, No. 11 Colombia vs. No. 32 Ghana.
– Outlook: Again, there is no “selection committee,” but if there was it would have gotten this one right by putting the best goal scorer in Argentina’s Lionel Messi against the tournament’s best story in Cape Verde in the Round of 32. And Messi gets to be at home in Miami Gardens, a few miles from Inter Miami’s stadium for that matchup. Australia or Egypt await the Argentina match winner, Switzerland-Algeria has potential for a lot of goals, and Colombia faces a Ghana team with nothing to lose.
– If the seeds hold: Argentina would play Colombia in the quarter-final.
Inside the bracket
News and notes about the Round of 32 matchups:
– France, Mexico and Argentina were the only teams to escape group play with 3-0-0 records.
– There are four Round of 32 matchups between unbeaten teams: Netherlands (2-0-1) vs. Morocco (2-0-1), Belgium (1-0-2) vs. Senegal (1-0-2), Brazil (2-0-1) vs. Japan (1-0-2) and Argentina (3-0-0) vs. Cape Verde (0-0-3).
– Expect some goals in France vs. Sweden (combined 17 goals in the group stage), Netherlands-Morocco (16), Belgium-Senegal (14), Brazil-Japan (14) and U.S.-Bosnia and Herzegovina (13).
– On the flip side, the first goal of Mexico-Ecuador might be that match’s decider. Mexico wasn’t scored on in group play and Ecuador surrendered only two goals in those three matches.
– The semi-final matchups are the winner of the Foxborough quarter-final against the winner of the Inglewood quarter-final (at Arlington, Tex. on July 14) and the winner of the Miami Gardens quarter-final against the winner of the Kansas City quarter-final (at Atlanta on July 15). The final is at East Rutherford, N.J. on July 19.