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

#2 Iceland

One of football's greatest underdog achievements from little known Iceland. Some of the Icelandic players are part-time players who stood tall against the rich and famous footballers from Portugal and England in the latest edition of European championships. It was now Argentina's turn to play a role in this stunning football fairytale. Iceland secured a 1-1 draw against the two-time champions led by the magician Lionel Messi.

When asked about Iceland's performance against Argentina, Jose Mourinho used the word "compact" a lot. The defense and midfield were a cohesive unit. Any attempt to break through the defensive line was swatted away by the tall and passionate Icelandic players.

Special praise is reserved here for the Icelandic goalkeeper Hannes Thor Halldorsson. He was able to prevent Ronaldo from scoring in the European championships. He now stood face to face against the "Immortal" Lionel Messi who was about to take a penalty. Halldorsson saved the penalty and now has his place in Viking folklore alongside his namesake Thor. Messi, perhaps burdened by a poor penalty record and a nation's hopes, failed to beat Halddorsson just like this arch-rival Ronaldo.

No matter how far the Icelandic squad goes in this World Cup, they will remain etched in the memory of football fans. They are the neutrals' favorites and possibly the second team for many fans around the world.

Thor Halldorsson saves Messi's penalty.

#1 Mexico

Mexico have come close before to causing an upset in the World Cup. In the last edition, they drew to Brazil and lost narrowly to the Dutch.

North America's ever-present representatives Mexico turned in a performance of the highest quality against the reigning and defending World Champions Germany. The Germans decided to gamble by playing a system of attacking full backs without a holding midfielder. Mexico repeatedly exploited these weaknesses. Hector Herrera and Carlos Vela were running the German midfield to the ground. Toni Kroos was reduced to a player who was only chasing the Mexican midfielders who found a way behind him time and again.

The Mexicans pressed very well and used their wide players on the counter to devastating effect. The Germans had no answer to the Mexican counters and could not unlock the Mexican defence.

The 1-0 victory could and should have been more. Javier Hernandez played his part in Hirving Lozano's goal. But he was inefficient and his first touch and passing failed him many times. He could not take advantage of the Mexican counter attacks. Another player who was profligate was Miguel Layun. His decision making could have been better in many instances.

The fact that Mexico could have won by a bigger margin is a testament and tribute to the team and the manager Juan Carlos Osorio. The Mexican manager has been criticized for his tactics and his player rotation before. But he will have no criticism after this game. The manager had the following to say when asked about his team talk for the game against Germany which perhaps summed up their brilliant performance.

"I told them to play for the love of winning and not the fear of losing."

Hirving Lozano lived up the hype against Germany