Ranking the First Round of the World Cup

Hello Rank Squad!  A slightly delayed main episode this week because we wanted to see all 48 nations play at least once in the World Cup before making any sweeping assertions, so here's our take on the first round of games now that every team has seen the pitch!  In Part One, we start with a look at the pre-tournament favourites who impressed us most in their opening encounters, who lived up to the hype and have got their fanbases very excited.  In Part Two, we dive into the team performances that got the juices flowing - from the underdogs and middleweights who either exceeded expectations or straight up flipped the script on what they put together, as well as a quick peek at three standout individual performances who lit up the biggest stage.  And in Part Three, we examine three heavy hitters who now have serious questions to answer after underperforming in their openers, as well as putting in some predictions for the group stage and beyond.  There are daily drops happening on the Ranks FC Patreon, which is linked below, if you want more from us over the course of this World Cup - reacting to the games as they happen and taking the lead from our listeners on what they want discussed, and we'd love to have you as part of it!  It's Ranks!  And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.