World Cup power rankings - all 32 teams ranked in order

1 SPAIN

Slamming seven goals past Costa Rica provided a thrilling reminder of Spain’s creative strengths, with Gavi putting down an early marker in the battle to be Player of the Tournament. Tougher tests lie ahead, but Spain could not have been any more impressive in their opening display.

2 ENGLAND

There might be question marks over the defence, but England’s attack will be the envy of pretty much every other side in Qatar. Gareth Southgate has a host of creative options – and this also looks like being the tournament where Jude Bellingham truly comes of age.

3 FRANCE

No Benzema, no problem. Olivier Giroud remains as reliable as ever, and in Kylian Mbappe, France boast a world-class attacking talent at the top of his game. Crucially, the reigning champions remained unruffled after falling behind.

4 BRAZIL

Richarlison celebrates after scoring against Serbia (Image: PA)

Richarlison’s acrobatics hogged the headlines, but it was the quality of Brazil’s all-round display that really stood out as the tournament favourites opened their account with an impressive 2-0 win over Serbia. They have a host of attacking options – but this is a Brazil side that can also defend.

5 JAPAN

There was no fluke in Japan’s remarkable second-half display against Germany – they have been a strong international side for quite a while now. Their counter-attacking threat will cause problems for any team they come up against.

6 SAUDI ARABIA

Yes, they rode their luck in the first half when Argentina’s inability to stay onside proved so important. The quality of their defending in the second was remarkable though as they repelled a series of Argentinian attacks after claiming the lead.

7 PORTUGAL

With Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way, Portugal turned it on in the second half of their win over Ghana. They boast an excellent midfield, although the concession of two goals highlighted defensive flaws that could be an issue in the latter stages.

8 NETHERLANDS

It took a while, but the Netherlands’ patient attacking gradually wore down Senegal. Cody Gakpo made an extremely bright start to the tournament, but it is the strength of the Dutch defence that is likely to be their key asset.

9 ECUADOR

It was hard to get a proper handle on where Ecuador stand in relation to the rest of the teams in the tournament as they effectively stopped playing after putting their opening-day game against Qatar to bed in the first half hour or so. They were expected to win though, and they did.

10 BELGIUM

Thibaut Courtois saves a penalty against Canada (Image: PA)

An opening victory is never something to be sniffed at, but Belgium were well below-par for much of their game against Canada. Thibaut Courtois’ penalty save cemented his status as arguably the best goalkeeper in Qatar, but the Belgian attack lacked cohesion.

11 SWITZERLAND

Beating Cameroon was essential given the difficulty of the group in which they find themselves, but the Swiss made hard work of their success. They look defensively sound though, which could be crucial for the games that lie ahead.

12 USA

For 45 minutes, the US were easily the most impressive of all the sides that have drawn their opening game. Their second-half no-show against Wales was a worry, but the pace and creativity of their midfield should continue to cause problems.

13 WALES

The Welsh were surprisingly subdued in the first half of their game with the US, but to their credit, they changed things around and improved markedly after the interval. Whether throwing on Kiefer Moore is a viable long-term tactic remains to be seen, but Gareth Bale is up and running.

14 CANADA

They might have lost against Belgium, but after creating a host of good opportunities, Canada emerged from their first World Cup game since 1986 with a huge amount of credit. They will justifiably fancy their chances in their remaining two group games.

15 TUNISIA

Their opening game against Denmark was hardly a classic, but Tunisia showed enough against highly-fancied opposition to suggest they could be a factor at this tournament. Their defence was especially impressive, giving up very few chances to the Danes.

16 ARGENTINA

Argentina's players trudge off after their defeat to Saudi Arabia (Image: PA)

They were on the wrong side of the biggest World Cup upset of all time, but Argentina didn’t produce a performance that was completely devoid of merit. On another day, they could easily have scored three or four, although their defeat means they now have no more room for error.

17 SOUTH KOREA

The South Koreans deserve credit for putting in a solid and organised defensive display against Uruguay, and in that respect, they probably performed better than expected. Failing to record a single effort on target is an obvious concern though.

18 URUGUAY

Having entered the tournament as many people’s ‘dark horses’, Uruguay were fairly underwhelming as they laboured to a draw with South Korea. Admittedly, they hit the woodwork twice, but Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani were both looking their age in attack.

19 DENMARK

The Danes were as solid and well-organised as ever as they drew with Tunisia, but their lack of any kind of cutting edge was a worry. They remain extremely reliant on Christian Eriksen, but need someone to finish off whatever he creates.

20 MEXICO

Their run of getting out of the group stage at seven successive World Cups could be under threat unless they improve on their lacklustre display in a goalless draw with Poland. They didn’t give a lot away, but never looked like scoring.

21 CROATIA

They might have made the last World Cup final, but Croatia looked an ageing side as they failed to find a way through the Moroccan defence. On paper, the Croatians have a good side, but they will need to step up significantly if they are to make it out of a tight-looking Group F.

22 GERMANY

Losing to Japan was clearly alarming, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Germany were the better side for an hour and should probably have been more than one goal clear before they imploded. The big problem, of course, is that it is Spain up next.

23 GHANA

They were wide open in the second half of their defeat to Portugal, but this is a Black Stars side that knows how to attack. They caused the Portuguese plenty of problems and almost emerged with a point, and could still be a factor in Group H.

24 MOROCCO

Morocco’s goalless draw with Croatia was probably the poorest game of the World Cup so far, and while Hakim Ziyech briefly threatened to flicker into life, the Moroccans looked largely devoid of an attacking threat.

25 POLAND

They might have Robert Lewandowski, but that doesn’t really matter if Poland are unable to get the ball to their star striker. Their performance against Mexico was disappointing and they already find themselves in a difficult position in the group.

26 SERBIA

They were playing against Brazil, so they have to be given a degree of leeway, but Serbia’s failure to seriously threaten the opposition goal was still a surprise given their attacking assets. An immediate improvement is required in their remaining two matches.

27 SENEGAL

While containing the Netherlands for more than 80 minutes was an achievement of sorts, ultimately Senegal were found wanting. They will, however, hope that with their toughest group game out of the way, they can build their way back into the tournament.

28 CAMEROON

There wasn’t an awful lot between Cameroon and Switzerland, but ultimately, the African side were deservedly beaten. Their work rate cannot be questioned, but they lack a little bit of quality at both ends of the field.

29 AUSTRALIA

Aaron Mooy is crowded out against France (Image: PA)

It all started so brightly when Craig Goodwin gave Australia a surprise lead against France, but things quickly unravelled as the Socceroos’ defensive frailties became all-too-apparent. They will have to tighten up significantly for their remaining two group games.

30 IRAN

There were flickers of attacking threat in Iran’s defeat to England, but the defensive lapses that led to the concession of six goals were a major worry, along with the general passivity that handed the initiative to their opponents.

31 QATAR

They only conceded two goals, but the hosts were dreadful for most of their tournament-opening display against Ecuador. Perhaps the nerves got them, but an inability to complete even the simplest of passes is hardly a good sign.

32 COSTA RICA

Where do you start with Costa Rica’s defensive implosion against Spain? Yes, they were taking on one of the best attacking line-ups in the world. But Costa Rica looked like conceding every time Spain attacked and are clearly a side lacking top-class talent.