They defended manfully and put their bodies on the line, but a lack of striking talent places a natural handbrake on how far they can go. Iceland's campaign felt similar to Costa Rica's. They were deservedly beaten by England and Belgium but did scoop a victory against Panama in Game 3. Most sides facing the talent gap they did shrink into their shells and play it safe, yet the Eagles of Carthage played full-throttle, attacking football and left gaps for opponents to take advantage of. Tunisia were an interesting watch because they did things differently. They played well in defeat to Uruguay and squeezed a last-gasp, deserved win out of Egypt.

Little was expected of Saudi Arabia at these finals-particularly after their harrowing opening display against Russia-but things improved notably from that point on. Costa Rica defended bravely and extracted good form from goalkeeper Keylor Navas, but with a complete lack of cutting edge present at the other end, they were never going to be able to go blow-for-blow with Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia.

Total wtf japan world cup 3