We're back to talk about the last round of the group stage! Teams advanced. Teams went home. We have thoughts.

First, we acknowledge Canada advancing past South Africa in their first ever knockout appearance, before moving on to the ways in which FIFA has detracted from the drama of the group stage, including the new head-to-head tiebreaker and the expanded format.

Next, we discuss some of the positive developments, including Ecuador and Bosnia and Herzegovina getting through, and the strength evident in the African contingent. Did we underestimate the depth from the continent's nations? How far Ivory Coast go?

Uruguay, Scotland, and South Korea were all dumped out unceremoniously, and we spend some time on what went wrong for each, including why Bielsa and Uruguay never meshed. We close the segment with a power ranking of all the eliminated teams.

Finally, we check in on the tournament favorites as they enter the knockouts, including considering new entries to the exclusive club. Does Colombia officially belong?

Cheers to Didier Deschamps, Lionel Scaloni, and Javier Aguirre!

Chapters:

00:00 – the start

01:08 – Canada-South Africa

03:07 – FIFA frustrations

13:09 – Saturday's games

17:07 – African succes

27:10 – more nice stories

31:25 – Scotland

37:34 – Uruguay

46:09 – South Korea

51:29 – power ranking eliminated teams

01:01:44 – favorites check-in