BBC Sport Experts Rank France No. 1 Among 48 World Cup Teams After Opening Games

Q: Do blowout wins like Germany's 7-1 victory prove the new 48-team format weakens the World Cup's quality?

No. Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao is evidence for concerns about the 48-team format, but it does not by itself prove the World Cup’s quality has been weakened. The concern is real. Expansion has brought in more debutants and lower-ranked teams, increasing the chance of mismatches in the group stage. Curaçao’s heavy loss, Sweden’s 5-1 win over Tunisia and the USA’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay all fit the argument that a larger field can dilute early-round competitiveness. Analysts had warned before the tournament that the new format could produce more one-sided games. But one blowout is not enough to judge the whole tournament. The opening round also produced strong counterexamples: Morocco drew with Brazil, Cape Verde held Spain 0-0, Japan came back to draw with the Netherlands, and Egypt frustrated Belgium. Those results suggest the expanded field is not simply producing pushovers. History also matters. Blowouts happened in smaller World Cups too. Germany beat Saudi Arabia 8-0 in 2002, and there have been other lopsided results long before the 48-team era. That means heavy scorelines are not unique to expansion. There is also a longer-term argument behind the format. FIFA and smaller federations see expansion as a way to widen access, drive investment and improve development in emerging football nations. In the short term, that may mean some uneven matches. Whether the trade-off is worth it will be judged over several tournaments, not one Germany result.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 18

France topped BBC Sport experts' rankings of all 48 World Cup teams after round one, ahead of England, Argentina and Germany despite Argentina's 3-0 opening win over Algeria.
The panel put France first after a 3-1 win over Senegal, citing a dominant second half and strength across the pitch, while England's 4-2 win over Croatia and Germany's 7-1 rout of Curacao also drove high placements.
Argentina placed third because Lionel Messi's influence still lifted the defending champions, while the United States cracked the top five after a 4-1 win over Paraguay in front of home support.
Morocco's 1-1 draw with Brazil earned eighth place and left Brazil ninth, while Spain's scoreless draw with World Cup debutants Cape Verde was labeled the tournament's biggest shock so far.
At the bottom, Curacao ranked 48th after the 7-1 loss to Germany, with Tunisia 46th after a 5-1 defeat to Sweden that was followed by their manager's dismissal.