Best Performing Teams in 2018 World Cup

1 Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation (RF), is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, covering over 17,125,191 square kilometres (6,612,073 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and borders sixteen sovereign nations, the most of any country in the world. It is the ninth-most populous country and the most populous country in Europe, with a population of 145.5 million. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow, the largest city entirely within Europe. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan.

2 France France, officially the French Republic, is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 675,000 km2 (251,000 mi2) and has a total population of 67 million (data from 2017).

Due to its numerous Overseas departments and territories scattered on all oceans of the planet, France possesses the largest EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) in the world, covering 11,691,000 km2 (4,514,000 mi2) just before the EEZ of the United States as the second largest (11,351,000 km2 / 4,382,000 mi2).

It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban centres include Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes, Strasbourg, Montpellier. ...read more.

3 Portugal Portugal (est.1152), officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located mostly on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain. Its territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Portuguese is its official language and is the birthplace of it and Mirandese is considered a co-official language spoken only in a small northeastern section of the country. The most predominant religion is Christianity, mainly Roman Catholism.

The total population is 10.29 million (as of 2017). Lisbon is the capitol city with a population of 505,526. Other popular cities and areas include Porto, Sintra, Coimbra, Faro, and Funchal. ...read more.

4 Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in southwestern Europe with parts of territory in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Mediterranean Sea. The largest part of Spain is situated on the Iberian Peninsula; its territory also includes the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and several minor overseas territories also scattered along the Moroccan coast of the Alboran Sea. The country's mainland is bordered to the south by Gibraltar; to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.

5 England England, previously the Kingdom of England, is a constituent country of the United Kingdom along with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England can trace its history as far back as the 10th century, but modern England didn't start till the Norman Invasion of 1066. In 1535, England annexed Wales and in 1603 shared a Monarch with Scotland, which eventually led to the Unification of the two into 'Great Britain', in 1801 Ireland was incorporated forming the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland', in 1922, 6 counties stayed in the UK while the rest of Ireland declared Independence.

England is located on the Island of Great Britain, northwest of continental Europe. It is bordered by Scotland to the North, Wales to the West, the North Sea to the East, the Irish Sea to the North West and the English Channel to the South.

It shares its capital with the UK and it's London. Other Major Cities include, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle. ...read more.

6 Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy. It has very high standards of living, quality of life, healthcare, education, and is categorized as "very high" in the Human Development Index. It also ranks as one of the safest or most peaceful countries in the world.

7 Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia (independence since 1991), is a sovereign state at the crossroads of Central Europe, Southeast Europe, and the Mediterranean. Its capital city is Zagreb. It is a member of the European Union. During the Cold War it was part of Yugoslavia. It is a cultural and scientific cradle of such names as: Nikola Tesla, Paula (nobile) Preradović - author of Austrian national anthem, Ruđer Bosković the philosopher and scientist, Slavoljub Penkala - the inventor of the penkala pen, Emile Zola was Croatian by heritage, Marin Držić - the playwriter, Vatroslav Mimica - a modenist filmmaker, actors Zrinka Cvitešić and Goran Višnjić are also Croatians, Oscar winner (animation) - Surogat by Dušan Vukotić...

8 Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At 8.5 million square kilometers (3,300,000 sq mi) and with over 214 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area and the sixth most populous. Its capital is Brasília, and its most populous city is São Paulo. The federation is composed of the union of the 26 states and the Federal District. It is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language and the only one in the Americas; it is also one of the most multicultural and ethnically diverse nations, due to over a century of mass immigration from around the world; as well as the most populous Roman Catholic-majority country.

9 Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over a part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

10 Germany Germany was formally united in 1871 under the initiative of Bismarck with King Wilhelm of Prussia as emperor. The previous 'Holy Roman Empire', basically a continuation of the empire of Charlemagne/Karl der Grosse was dissolved in 1806.

Some territory was lost after World War 1 and a lot more after World War 2, basically started by Hitler's Nazi dictatorship. Then the Soviets kept their zone - the 'DDR', East Germany, separate with a wall through the middle of Berlin, until 1990 when the country was reunited. ...read more.

The Contenders

11 Iran Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. The capital city is Teheran and the major city is also Tehran. The country's official language is Persian.

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, beginning with the formation of the Elamite kingdoms in the fourth millennium BC. The country's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and eleventh-largest in the world. Iran is a multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups. ...read more.