As Columbia beat Poland 3-0 in Group H on Sunday, the second round of group matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup came to a close. So far, of the 32 participating teams, six have locked positions in the round of 16 while eight are doomed for elimination.

Among the 14 European teams, Russia, France, Croatia, Belgium and England have won their spots in the next round, while Poland became the only eliminated European team after losing to Colombia Sunday night. Germany, Spain, Iceland, Serbia, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark still have to fight in their final matches to make it into the knockout stage.

Uruguay is the only South American team ensured a spot in the round of 16, while Peru has already been eliminated. The other three teams from South America – Brazil, Argentina and Colombia – still need to fight. Argentina faces the toughest road to the knockout stage, needing to defeat Nigeria on Tuesday and rely on the result of the Croatia-Iceland match.

Saudi Arabia is the only one of the five Asian teams to be eliminated. Japan holds the easiest scenario, with a win over Poland on Thursday ensuring a trip to the knockout stage. By contrast, Iran has to take down Portugal while Australia needs a win against Peru and Denmark’s loss to France. South Korea's road to the next stage goes through defending champion Germany – a team that is also desperate for a win.

Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are doomed while Nigeria and Senegal are in good positions in their respective groups. Nigeria will make it into the next round with a win against Argentina and even a draw might not stop them. Senegal could join Nigeria by avoiding a loss to Colombia on Thursday.

Costa Rica and Panama, from the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), are already out, leaving Mexico as the region's lone representative. Mexico advances with a win or draw against Sweden on Wednesday. If Mexico loses to Sweden while Germany beats South Korea, the three countries will all have six points and the tiebreaker will be decided by goal differential, followed by fair play rules, to decide who advances.

After the group games, the 16 teams will compete in two divisions based on their rankings. The schedule for the first division is: A1 vs. B2, C1 vs. D2, E1 vs. F2 and G1 vs. H2. The schedule for the second division is: A2 vs. B1, C2 vs. D1, E2 vs. F1 and G2 vs. H1. (letter denotes group, while number denotes the team's rank)

Based on the latest situation in each group, the first division may become a bloody battlefield as Uruguay, Spain (or Portugal), France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil, England (or Belgium) and Colombia compete with each other. That’s seven World Cup winners (or a European Championship winner, for Portugal) fighting each other. Whichever team makes it into the final on July 15 will go through hell made of three matches.