FIFA World Cup 2018: Ranking the Top 5 Teams of the World Cup

The FIFA World Cup has begun and the football fever is catching up with fans in a viral manner. The fans can't wait for the action to begin and this World Cup promises to be an extremely exciting affair.

WC 2018 seems to be amongst the most open tournaments in the recent times with a number of teams in contention for the Cup. The top teams are all evenly poised and the character of the teams might just decide the fate of the teams in this competition.

The teams will try to give their best in this quadrennial event but there are some teams who are stronger than the other. The top 5 teams especially are in a league above the rest and rating these teams might help the fans to get an idea of where their favourite team stands.

This article rates the squads on the basis of their strengths and weaknesses on paper and on the basis of how these clubs have performed in the recent past. The following are the Top 5 teams in the competition.

#5) Belgium

Belgium is one of the fairytale stories in World Football at present. From nowhere the country has produced some phenomenal talents who have displayed their skills in various leagues across the world and have started performing pretty well both for their clubs as well as their country.

These young stars have taken their game to the next level and on the back of these wonder kids, the Belgium team is punching above its weight in International matches. Belgium team is amongst the favourites to at least reach the Semifinals this time if not to go all the way.

The likes of De Bruyne, Hazard, Lukaku, Fellaini, Tony Alderwield, Courtois, and Kompany are all quality players who have been extremely successful in the Premier League and have become an integral part of their clubs.

The Midfield, in particular, looks extremely strong and definitely, this is their best chance to win the cup. One disadvantage with the Belgium side is that it has underperformed whenever the team has been tagged as the favourites which indicate that it doesn't have the ability to handle the pressure and this might prove to be costly in a competition like the World Cup.

#4) Spain

Spain will be entering this year's World Cup with the poor show of the last World Cup in mind. Spain had a disastrous World Cup as the defending champions were knocked out in the group stage itself in 2014.

This year though things are totally different. Spain has corrected a number of its past mistakes and is looking like the team to beat in the competition. It has the best Goalkeeper in the World in De Gea.

With the likes of Ramos, Pique, and Alba it has a defence which any team would envy. One area which the team lacked last year was the lack of goalscorers and to nullify that weakness it has Iago Aspas this time who is a unique kind of a forward. He has scored 22 goals and had five assists for Celta Vigo in La Liga and it would be interesting to see if he can deliver for Spain at the front.

The biggest drawback with Spain is the removal of its coach at the eleventh hour which could prove to be a costly mistake for the side. The team has performed well under him and adapting to the new coach in a World Cup might just be too much to ask for from the talented team.

#3) France

France was the favourites to win the Euro in 2016 but it managed to lose in the final to Portugal. This example perhaps explains the story of France in International Competitions as it has somehow managed to perform below expectations.

France on paper looks like an extremely strong team and it is definitely among the top two teams in the competition. The likes of Mbappe, Griezmann, Kante, Pogba, Lemar, and Giroud make the team look extremely strong.

France has quality players in all positions and all its players are young and raring to go. It definitely has the quality to go all the way but it is their inconsistency which is coming in the way. Inexperience is another factor which could hamper France's progress.

#2) Germany

Germany is a name which is synonymous with big tournaments and this World Cup is no different. As usual, Germany starts as one of the favourites of the tournament and are a team to watch out for.

Germany is the current title holder and was the only team to have won all its matches in the World Cup qualifiers and had finished with an astonishing goal difference of +39. The team is extremely strong both on paper and on the field.

The likes of Neuer, Hummels, Kroos, Reus, Ozil and Muller make the German squad extremely formidable. The German team is known for its precision and this squad is phenomenally strong.

The German team has all bases covered and there are no big defects in the team as such but its performance in the warm-up matches before the World Cup hasn't been satisfactory and that might be the only area of concern.

#1) Brazil

Brazil and Football are inseparable and as soon as anyone takes the name of Football Brazil will probably be the first team that comes to your mind. Brazil is coming into the competition with the intention of avenging its loss in 2014 in its home.

With the likes of Marcelo, Luis, Thiago Silva and Miranda one can't ask for a better defensive line-up coming into the World Cup. The defence is the strongest in the competition and its attack isn't weak either.

With the likes of Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus and Neymar the Brazilian flair of the early 2000s seem to be back and this makes the Brazilian team the strongest going into the tournament. The team doesn't have any apparent weakness as such and this campaign might well be a good one for the Selecao.

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