Ranking every World Cup Team Performance after the First Round of Group Games

#4 Spain

Crisis? What crisis?

The Spanish football federation relieved Julian Lopetegui of his duties just days before Spain's opening game against Portugal and this decision was expected to ruin their chances. Fernando Hierro took over and there was an air of negativity surrounding the Spanish camp.

Sergio Ramos, the Spanish captain, stressed on the unity of the Spanish team and said that the squad was capable of surviving this ordeal. He was right. The Spanish played some very good football and could have come away with a good victory against Portugal if not for Ronaldo's exploits.

Spain played very fluid football which was pleasing to the eye. Isco, Iniesta and Silva played some intricate football and always found Alba and Nacho who were pushing forward as full backs. Busquets and Koke provided stability through the middle.

Diego Costa was his aggressive and troubling self. The Spanish striker has improved leaps and bounds for his national team. He is now able to join in the link up play and make space on his own. Spain like pressing and closing down spaces and Costa's aggressive style suits them well.

The Spanish defence, however, will need to improve. Nacho redeemed himself by scoring a wonder goal after conceding a penalty. Alba was average going forward. Pique and De Gea will both be expected to do better.

Spain will surely be a team to be reckoned with in the World Cup if they continue to play the level of football they displayed against Portugal. The individual errors can be cut out since they have an experienced defence.

Diego Costa was at his bullish best and scored two goals for Spain

#3 Russia

A stunning 5-0 win for the host nation against Saudi Arabia. Russia picked up their first win since defeating another Asian side, South Korea, way back in October 2017. This team was considered the worst Russian team in twenty years. They were dismal and uninspiring in the pre World Cup friendlies.

The Sbornaya started really well. The Saudi centre-backs were forced into giving away the ball and the sudden interceptions helped the likes of Golovin and Dzagoev to get into attacking third and look for Fedor Smolov. The first goal was extremely critical and the Russians grew in confidence.

The loss of Dzagoev was bad news for Russia but it actually helped them in this game. Aleksandr Golovin, who initially started on the left, was moved to a more comfortable central role. With Cheyshev's introduction, the Russians had an outlet to stretch the Saudi defence. Cheryshev scored two brilliant goals and his impact will soften Dzagoev's loss.

Aleksandr Golovin, a reported target for Italian giants Turin ,showed exactly why he was so highly coveted. He was on a different plane compared to the Saudi Arabian players.

The Saudi Arabians looked nervous on the ball and the defending was dreadful at times. However, no credit can be taken away from a confident and dominating performance from the Russians. They forced and took advantage of the errors and bad passes.

The Russians face the Egyptians next. One game has turned the nervousness in the Russians' minds into cautious optimism. A victory against Egypt will help them achieve qualifications for the knockouts. Since the splitting of the Soviet Union, no Russian team has ever gone past the group stages of the World Cup. This would not be a bad achievement for the "worst" Russian team in 20 years. Not bad indeed.

Russia started with an uplifting thrashing of the Saudi Arabians