Winners, Losers

Team-by-team look at winners, losers and those in between at the World Cup:

Winners

Brazil: They didn’t always look spectacular, but the Brazilians rose above all challenges to get to the finals. But one challenge was left unanswered.

France: Already the greatest French soccer team, it proved to be the best in the world.

Netherlands: Brazil’s equal in the semifinals, losing in a shootout, some will claim nobody was better than the Dutch.

Croatia: Its first Cup appearance, and a memorable trip to the semifinals for a country in its eighth year of existence.

Denmark: Back with the elite, the ‘92 European champions had done little since, until upsetting Nigeria and not backing down against Brazil.

Paraguay: A goalie who scores was not the only news about the Paraguayans, whose defense was as staunch as anyone’s.

Chile:Lowly regarded South Americans were expected to go three and out. Instead, they went to the second round.

Mexico: Struggling when they entered the tournament, the Mexicans were comeback kids and nearly knocked off Germany in the second round.

Moderate successes

Argentina: Sought more than a quarterfinal berth, but beating England showed its strength and testing the Netherlands displayed its grit.

Romania: Always in the mix for a couple of rounds, got the most out of an aging team.

Yugoslavia: Touted by some as a contender, but rarely do Yugoslavs reach their potential in the World Cup. Perhaps the best team to lose in second round.

Norway: Much better work than in 1994, and the Norwegians even beat Brazil to advance to the second round.

Iran: Beat the “Great Satan.” Need we say more?

Jamaica: A rookie that won a game, albeit against another rookie, Japan, and showed possibilities for the future.

Japan: Three close losses, including 1-0 vs. Croatia and Argentina, allow the Japanese to look forward eagerly to being co-host in 2002.

South Africa: A loss to France and two ties in the opening round is OK for a newcomer with little soccer history.

Morocco: Only a late penalty kick for Norway kept it out of the second round. The Moroccans played good open soccer.

Losers

Germany: Sure, they made the quarterfinals, but the Germans expect more. And they looked old, in serious need of some rebuilding.

Italy: A major disappointment, it played tentatively after the first round, rarely going to its strength up front.

England: The English made lots of noise about being a title contender, but they fell into some bad luck and showed they still can’t handle shootouts.

Nigeria: Olympic champions with great natural skills, the Nigerians fell apart against the Danes in the second round.

Spain: A nation that was supposed to challenge for its first championship, instead it flopped in the first round.

Bulgaria: Just awful, after a stunning run to the semifinals four years ago, the Bulgarians often looked like they didn’t care.

Belgium: Couldn’t get by weak South Korea when presented with the possibility of advancing. That says a lot about the state of Belgian soccer.

Colombia: Kicked out its best scorer for criticizing coach, then was eliminated by England in the opening round.

Cameroon: Once the rising stars of Africa, the “Indomitable Lions” looked like kittens.

Scotland: Now 8-for-8, going out in the first round of the World Cup every time.

Austria: Perhaps the dullest style in the entire tournament, but the Austrians did find the net late twice for ties.

Saudi Arabia: Went to the second round last time. Fired its coach after two games this time.

Tunisia: Didn’t measure up in a tough group with Romania, England and Colombia.

South Korea: Also canned coach before the third game, which it tied. The 2002 co-host doesn’t have the happy memories the Japanese do.

United States: The real football season starts in September.