Group A

Germany, Costa Rica

Germany, Ecuador

Ecuador does much better than I'd expected here. They'll face England in the next round.

Group B

England, Sweden

England, Sweden

In spite of some inconsistent play, England won this group. Sweden could have won it in the head-to-head game, but didn't quite manage. Sweden will face Germany next, while England tackles Ecuador.

Group C

Netherlands, Argentina

Argentina, Netherlands

No real surprises in this group: the two top teams were so well-matched that their 0-0 draw in the last game was emblematic.

Group D

Mexico, Portugal

Portugal, Mexico

Portugal played a bit better, while Mexico played a bit worse, but other than that, this group followed the script. Angola certainly put in a creditable performance.

Group E

United States, Czech Republic

Italy, Ghana

Yikes! What was I drinking when I predicted that? The only hope for Team USA was for the US to beat Ghana and Italy to beat the Czechs, which would give the USA the second spot. Instead, by losing 2-1 to Ghana, the USA makes an early exit. The Czechs were expected to advance, but they couldn't muster the firepower when it was needed.

Group F

Brazil, Croatia

Brazil, Australia

Croatia gave Brazil quite a fright in their head-to-head matchup, but that was the limit of their surge. Australia shocked everyone by advancing to the round of 16 (a lot of Australians claim that they don't play soccer . . . Aussie Rules Football is the favorite national game).

Group G

France, [Switzerland/Korea]

Switzerland, France

France, even more than England, appeared to be coasting through the round-robin. They needed to win their final game against Togo with a two-goal differential to advance. They'll now face Spain in the elimination round. Switzerland knocked off Korea 2-0 to take top spot in the group, so they'll play Ukraine in the round-of-16.

Group H

Spain, Tunisia

Spain, Ukraine

This one came down to a head-to-head between Tunisia and Ukraine to determine the second-place team to advance. Tunisia was in a must-win situation, but Ukraine could advance on a draw. The final score was 1-0 for Ukraine.