64 contestants entered the Sportsblock World Cup contest and to date it's been a rollercoaster of a leaderboard.
The early success of a few of the dark horses meant that those players who had bucked the trend with their selections were sitting pretty while groups A, B and C played out but gradually the favorites began to find their form.
Only 200 points seperate the top 30 contestants so it's still very much all to play for as we head into later stages of the tournament.
Below is an analysis of who has got what left as we enter the round of 36
Which elimanted teams were the most popular picks?
48 teams entered World Cup 2026 but only 32 remain as we head into the knockout rounds.
Of the 16 that are on a flight home, these are the sides that appeared in most team selections.
| Nation | No of Users Selected by |
|---|---|
| Turkey | 56 |
| Uruguay | 42 |
| Czechia | 41 |
| New Zealand | 13 |
| Scotland | 19 |
| South Korea | 9 |
| Tunisia | 8 |
| Saudi Arabia | 6 |
| Iran | 3 |
| Panama | 3 |
| Uzbekistan | 3 |
| Jordan | 3 |
| Qatar | 2 |
| Haiti | 1 |
| Curacao | 1 |
| Iraq | 1 |
The elimation of most of these sides is perhaps not very surprising, 7 of 16 were in pot 4 i.e. the lowest seed in their group while a further 6 were in pot 3.
However there are a few notable exceptions. Uruguay are the highest ranked team (pot 2) to go out with the likes of South Korea and Iran also pot 2 sides.
No pot 1 side, i.e. the top seed, was eliminated during the group stage.
Who is in the strongest position going into the knockout rounds?
All of the 64 contestants have lost between 2 and 5 of their original picks.
The table below also includes the aggregate total of the multipliers for the teams remaining for each player i.e. the sum of the integers between 1 and 16 less those multipliers already eliminated.
Everyone started with 16 teams and an aggregrate multiplier of 136. As you can see the 2 best performing sides both in terms of their current position on the leaderboard and how they enter the knockout rounds have lost just 2 teams and multiplier power of 6 (both lost their x2 and x4 teams).
Elsewhere it's a real mixed bag. Some players currently sitting within the top 10 on the leader board have lost both a higher than average number of teams and some significant multipliers.
@blockhchainfpl for example are 6th overall but ranked 50th in regards this specific metric.
By contrast @maxi01 are 62nd overall, over 500 points off the lead but they have taken 14 of their teams through and maintained the bulk of their high multipliers suggesting they'll be able to move up the table this coming week.
|User |Current Rank |Current Points |Teams Left |Aggregate Multiplier |Eliminated Teams | |- |- |-|- |-|-| |@rajpootg |1 |1797 |14 |130 |Turkey,Czechia | |@valentin86 |2 |1771 |14 |130 |Turkey,Czechia | |@daverick |4 |1726 |14 |126 |New Zealand,Turkey | |@workingdad |23 |1601 |14 |125 |Turkey,Czechia | |@maxi01 |62 |1293 |14 |125 |Turkey,Czechia | |@gwajnberg |7 |1700 |14 |122 |Turkey,Uruguay | |@agcoeficiente10 |16 |1640 |13 |131 |Uruguay,Panama,Turkey | |@shebe |17 |1633 |13 |125 |Uruguay,Turkey,Czechia | |@davideownzall |21 |1624 |13 |125 |Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@besheda |20 |1626 |13 |124 |Uruguay,Turkey,Czechia | |@gen-quimba |26 |1586 |13 |124 |Uruguay,Turkey,Czechia | |@jaki01 |15 |1641 |13 |123 |Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@alexgg |34 |1570 |13 |123 |Qatar,Turkey,Czechia | |@sportsgeek |24 |1597 |13 |123 |Uruguay,Turkey,Czechia | |@notsportscenter |8 |1681 |13 |122 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey | |@tortangkahoy |36 |1564 |13 |121 |Scotland,New Zealand,Turkey | |@shitsignals |47 |1508 |13 |119 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey | |@thirdson |22 |1609 |13 |116 |Jordan,Turkey,Czechia | |@uwelang |18 |1628 |12 |124 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@talesfrmthecrypt |9 |1667 |12 |123 |Turkey,Uruguay,Czechia,Uzbekistan | |@r1c4rd0 |32 |1578 |12 |123 |Uruguay,Czechia,Uzbekistan,Turkey | |@acidyo |27 |1584 |12 |122 |Uruguay,Iran,Scotland,Turkey | |@deniskj |10 |1665 |12 |121 |Tunisia,Turkey,Uruguay,Czechia | |@nupulse |55 |1479 |12 |121 |Iran,Tunisia,Turkey,New Zealand | |@mephiko |31 |1579 |12 |120 |Turkey,Uruguay,Scotland,Czechia | |@wildlifelover |45 |1515 |12 |120 |Uruguay,Scotland,Jordan,Turkey | |@leemah1 |50 |1490 |12 |120 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@paleshelter |64 |1172 |12 |120 |Czechia,Turkey,Uruguay,Tunisia | |@zusi78 |29 |1581 |12 |119 |Uruguay,Saudi Arabia,Turkey,Czechia | |@tengolotodo |25 |1594 |12 |119 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@reiseamateur |44 |1517 |12 |119 |Czechia,Uruguay,Panama,Turkey | |@emeka4 |63 |1232 |12 |119 |Scotland,Uruguay,Turkey,Tunisia | |@niallon11 |40 |1550 |12 |118 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@fullcoverbetting |13 |1644 |12 |118 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@onemanonewrite |48 |1498 |12 |118 |Turkey,Czechia,New Zealand,Tunisia | |@livinguktaiwan |46 |1513 |12 |118 |South Korea,Turkey,Czechia,Tunisia | |@vempromundo |56 |1430 |12 |118 |South Korea,Uruguay,Panama,Turkey | |@ace108 |53 |1480 |12 |117 |Saudi Arabia,Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey | |@twicejoy-sports |34 |1570 |12 |117 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@lazzvi |33 |1575 |12 |117 |Uruguay,Saudi Arabia,Turkey,Czechia | |@longganisan |53 |1480 |12 |116 |South Korea,Panama,Turkey,Czechia | |@doombot75 |38 |1557 |12 |116 |Uruguay,Scotland,New Zealand,Turkey | |@mondoshawan |27 |1584 |12 |115 |Czechia,South Korea,Turkey,Tunisia | |@teofilex11 |5 |1715 |12 |114 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@oskarl21 |18 |1628 |12 |114 |Scotland,Uruguay,Saudi Arabia,New Zealand | |@jmehta |60 |1387 |12 |114 |South Korea,Uruguay,Scotland,Saudi Arabia | |@danideuder |11 |1663 |12 |113 |Uruguay,South Korea,Turkey,Czechia | |@chris-uk |3 |1761 |12 |112 |Scotland,Turkey,Czechia,Saudi Arabia | |@racibo |29 |1581 |12 |112 |Czechia,Turkey,Uruguay,Scotland | |@blockchainfpl |6 |1713 |12 |111 |Uruguay,Scotland,Turkey,Czechia | |@friendlymoose |42 |1522 |11 |117 |Uruguay,South Korea,Tunisia,Turkey,Czechia | |@kobold-djawa |43 |1518 |11 |115 |South Korea,Czechia,Scotland,Turkey,Tunisia | |@caspermoeller89 |52 |1488 |11 |115 |Scotland,Czechia,Iraq,Tunisia,Turkey | |@tobywalter |51 |1489 |11 |115 |Tunisia,New Zealand,Turkey,Scotland,Czechia | |@kennybot |61 |1370 |11 |115 |Uruguay,Panama,Scotland,New Zealand,Curacao | |@kingsleyy |14 |1643 |11 |114 |Scotland,New Zealand,Jordan,Turkey,Czechia | |@risingstargame |12 |1646 |11 |114 |Uruguay,Scotland,New Zealand,Turkey,Czechia | |@blanchy |59 |1392 |11 |114 |Uruguay,Tunisia,Turkey,Scotland,Czechia | |@x-rain |41 |1534 |11 |113 |Uruguay,Tunisia,Uzbekistan,Turkey,Czechia | |@hatdogsensei |57 |1413 |11 |113 |Scotland,Czechia,Turkey,New Zealand,Tunisia | |@sperosamuel15 |39 |1551 |11 |113 |Uruguay,Tunisia,Turkey,Czechia,Scotland | |@palomap3 |49 |1497 |11 |113 |Uruguay,Scotland,New Zealand,Turkey,Saudi Arabia | |@treefrognada |58 |1404 |11 |112 |Uruguay,Tunisia,Turkey,Czechia,Scotland | |@louis.random |37 |1563 |11 |111 |Scotland,Haiti,Czechia,Turkey,Tunisia |
Of course, we are still quite early doors in the tournament! Only a third of the teams have been elimanted and most of those weren't popular/impactful as far as multipliers go.
The above table is a good guide for who heads into the knockout stages in good shape but ultimately, if your top picks can go deep into the tournament then you're still in with a shout of collecting some big points.
The fixtures that matter
The great part about the knockout format we now enter is that every single fixture has something riding on it for most users.
In fact, many users will find their selected teams going head to head. On the glass half full side of things, that guarantees one of your picks to progress. If you're more a glass half empty type of person you'll know that it also means you're guranteed to lose a team.
Of the round of 32 matches these 3 fixtures feature nations that are both very popular
Brazil vs Japan Germany vs Paraguay France vs Sweden
By contrast, these 3 fixtures have some true differentials with the Netherlands, USA and Cape Verde not popular picks
Netherlands vs Morocco USA vs Bosnia Argentina vs Cape Verde
Below is a full analysis of the first 4 fixtures of the round of 32, I'll release the others later in the week.
The opening game of the round of 32 sees a couple of contestants who have gone big on Canada and to date, have benefited from their less conventional pick.
You'd back the joint hosts to beat South Africa who are a more popular pick but generally with a lower multiplier attached to them.
|Selected South Africa |Multipler |Selected Canada|Multiplier |Selected both|Multipliers| |- |- |-|- |-|-| |@paleshelter |11 |@tortangkahoy |15 |@hatdogsensei |6, 14 | |@ace108 |9 |@longganisan |14 | | | |@sperosamuel15 |8 | | | | | |@palomap3 |8 | | | | | |@treefrognada |8 | | | | | |@chris-uk |7 | | | | | |@onemanonewrite |6 | | | | | |@nupulse |6 | | | | | |@valentin86 |5 | | | | | |@agcoeficiente10 |3 | | | | | |@alexgg |3 | | | | | |@risingstargame |3 | | | | | |@louis.random |3 | | | | | |@reiseamateur |3 | | | | | |@niallon11 |2 | | | | | |@thirdson |2 | | | | | |@mondoshawan |1 | | | | | |@caspermoeller89 |1 | | | | | |@friendlymoose |1 | | | | |
This one has the makings of a classic. The individual brilliance of the Brazilians versus the collective ability of the Japanese.
Japan certainly have the talent to put the 5 times champions out of the tournament but do they have the belief?
There's plenty riding on this game from the SB World Cup contest point of view with a good number of players picking Brazil as one of their high multipliers while Japan too have some strong backing.
Another 9 Hivians have picked both these teams!
|Selected Brazil |Multipler |Selected Japan|Multiplier |Selected both|Multipliers| |- |- |-|- |-|-| |@besheda |16 |@treefrognada |15 |@paleshelter |2,8 | |@mondoshawan |16 |@tortangkahoy |13 |@uwelang |14,9 | |@x-rain |16 |@danideuder |12 |@kobold-djawa |14,9 | |@lazzvi |16 |@fullcoverbetting |12 |@valentin86 |14,11 | |@jmehta |16 |@doombot75 |12 |@thirdson |14,11 | |@tobywalter |16 |@livinguktaiwan |12 |@gwajnberg |13,8 | |@mephiko |15 |@gen-quimba |11 |@blockchainfpl |13,12 | |@niallon11 |15 |@sportsgeek |11 |@alexgg |13,10 | |@ace108 |15 |@rajpootg |10 |@maxi01 |1,7 | |@workingdad |15 |@jaki01 |10 | | | |@nupulse |15 |@agcoeficiente10 |10 | | | |@vempromundo |15 |@wildlifelover |10 | | | |@oskarl21 |14 |@daverick |9 | | | |@louis.random |14 |@longganisan |9 | | | |@reiseamateur |14 |@kingsleyy |9 | | | |@notsportscenter |13 |@hatdogsensei |8 | | | |@twicejoy-sports |11 |@davideownzall |7 | | | | | |@tengolotodo |7 | | | | | |@onemanonewrite |7 | | | | | |@shitsignals |7 | | |
Another game where the underdogs have greater backing than the favourites. However, if Paraguay were to prevail then this would be a really significant scalp with a good number of Hivians banking on the Germans going deep into this contest.
Plenty of contestants have picked both these sides but again, the weighting of the multipliers which without exception is in Germany's favours shows that for most, it's the European side that they want to see go through.
|Selected Germany |Multipler |Selected Paraguay|Multiplier |Selected both|Multipliers| |- |- |-|- |-|-| |@louis.random |15 |@maxi01 |14 |@risingstargame |16,6 | |@blockchainfpl |14 |@paleshelter |12 |@x-rain |15,6 | |@chris-uk |14 |@kennybot |10 |@danideuder |15,5 | |@r1c4rd0 |14 |@vempromundo |8 |@racibo |15,5 | |@doombot75 |14 |@gen-quimba |7 |@kobold-djawa |15,5 | |@onemanonewrite |14 |@wildlifelover |7 |@reiseamateur |15,2 | |@nupulse |13 |@blanchy |7 |@palomap3 |14,6 | | | |@tortangkahoy |6 |@sportsgeek |14,5 | | | |@uwelang |6 |@mondoshawan |14,3 | | | |@daverick |6 |@livinguktaiwan |14,3 | | | |@longganisan |6 |@oskarl21 |13,7 | | | |@kingsleyy |6 |@mephiko |13,6 | | | |@lazzvi |6 |@shebe |13,6 | | | |@acidyo |5 |@ace108 |13,6 | | | |@shitsignals |5 |@rajpootg |13,5 | | | |@besheda |4 |@talesfrmthecrypt |13,3 | | | |@gwajnberg |3 |@thirdson |10,9 | | | |@treefrognada |3 | | | | | |@jaki01 |2 | | | | | |@workingdad |1 | | |
This one is a fascinating match. Morocco have been well back by the commuunity in this World Cup and with good reason as the African champions came through a group containing Brazil unbeaten.
The Dutch too took 7 points from their opening 3 games and might have had more support had they not have found themselves in pot 1.
Should they fall here, they'd be the first pot 1 side out of the contest. If they succeed then they'll take out a good number of picks, including many at the higher end of the spectrum.
@teofilex11 know they will lose either their x13 or x11 pick at the end of this game...
|Selected Netherland |Multipler |Selected Morocco|Multiplier |Selected both|Multipliers| |- |- |-|- |-|-| |@treefrognada |14 |@thirdson |13 |@lazzvi |13 , 4 | |@friendlymoose |13 |@blanchy |13 |@teofilex11 |13 , 11 | |@emeka4 |4 |@rajpootg |12 | | | | | |@r1c4rd0 |12 | | | | | |@alexgg |12 | | | | | |@twicejoy-sports |12 | | | | | |@danideuder |11 | | | | | |@shebe |11 | | | | | |@notsportscenter |11 | | | | | |@besheda |11 | | | | | |@gwajnberg |10 | | | | | |@uwelang |10 | | | | | |@daverick |10 | | | | | |@nupulse |10 | | | | | |@sperosamuel15 |10 | | | | | |@valentin86 |9 | | | | | |@jaki01 |9 | | | | | |@racibo |9 | | | | | |@tengolotodo |9 | | | | | |@blockchainfpl |8 | | | | | |@chris-uk |8 | | | | | |@talesfrmthecrypt |8 | | | | | |@livinguktaiwan |8 | | | | | |@deniskj |7 | | | | | |@mondoshawan |6 | | | | | |@workingdad |5 | | | | | |@tobywalter |5 | | | | | |@caspermoeller89 |4 | | |
