The chasing pack cut off by a World Cup glass ceiling

From Mexico to Japan to the USA, Richard Jolly looks at why some nations repeatedly fail to make the quarter-finals

- Richard Jolly

In Mexico, they call it "la maldicion del quinto Partido". The curse of the fifth game. The curse being, in fact, that there isn't a fifth game for El Tri, the side with the unwanted record of going out of the World Cup in the last 16 on most consecutive occasions. This year, it was the curse of the fourth game: for the first time since 1990, Mexico were not found in the knockout stages.

But others can testify to the curse. Since they were quarterfinalists in 2002, the United States have gone out in the first knockout round three times. Japan can beat that, falling at the same hurdle in 2002, 2010, 2018 and 2022. South Korea were semi-finalists on home soil 20 years ago; abroad, however, they cannot reach the last eight. Switzerland, too, could progress further in front of their own crowds but, since hosting the tournament in 1954, they have five last-16 exits, including the last three in a row.

"We had great plans, we wanted to make history," said Switzerland manager Murat Yakin. In one respect, his side did: they lost 6-1 to Portugal. Yet perhaps the outcome of half of the first eight knockout matches was inevitable: a quartet of sides go out when they always do.