Verdict for Group A:
Three teams that were roughly equally good played for the two spots in the round of 16. The Netherlands had the ounce of luck to get four points against their competitors, so taking care of the underdog today was merely a formality. Between Ecuador and Senegal, the African team wanted it more, so no complaints here.
None of the teams in group A had the potential to go beyond the quarter finals and even that is a long shot already, although the second place team from group B won't be all that either. Group A was one of the least attractive groups of the draw.
Qatar looked hardly ever competitive; a short stretch in one half against Senegal was as good as it got for them. Otherwise they looked so outclassed that they were lucky to play in a group without any truly strong team. With 0 points and 1:7 goals they likely finished above most expectations. I've heard they won the Asia Cup in 2019, so I can only assume that a lot of money went around, because otherwise it's a piss poor image for the quality of Asian football.
15 goals scored for an average of 2.5 goals per game. Acceptable.
...
Performance per continent:
Here's a summary of how many teams of each confederation have advanced to the round of 16, only accounting for already completed groups. Australia is a member of the Asian federation.
Africa: 1/1 - 100%
Asia: 0/1 - 0%
Europe: 1/1 - 100%
North America: N/A
South America: 0/1 - 0%
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
