The first few months and fixtures following a FIFA World Cup often bring sweeping changes—particularly when things didn't go to plan during the summer tournament.
Failures are dissected and assessed, with federations across the globe attempting to pinpoint why things went wrong, what fixes can be put in place, or whether simply chucking things on the scrapheap and starting anew is the best possible strategy.
The amount of upheaval depends on how poorly things went, as administrators feel the pressure to make a statement appropriate to the level of performance. For example, you would expect Germany to embark upon some serious introspection following a group-stage exit in Russia, while perhaps Brazil might only need a few minor tweaks given they were only beaten by a marvellous Belgium team.
Here, we take a look at nine World Cup flops—defined here as teams who didn't achieve the heights they would have fancied, with three not even qualifying for the finals—and analyse what changes they have made as we enter a new international cycle.
Argentina
Argentina are under temporary charge as their federation seeks the ideal replacement for Jorge Sampaoli.
For now, the task of managing the side falls to Lionel Scaloni. Although the intent was only for him to keep things ticking over, he might have given the governing body something to think about, saying: "In the World Cup it was clear that the winning teams were those who transitioned the ball quickly. France and Croatia won the ball and were in on goal in three or four seconds. It is the way the game is going, it's what I like and this is the moment to implant it in Argentina."
This was Scaloni's opening statement upon being appointed, per Tim Vickery in The Sun, and what followed was, well, pretty much what he promised. There have also been a series of debuts awarded as the national pool is shuffled through; Gonzalo Martinez, Fabricio Bustos, Lautaro Martinez and Exequiel Palacios have been given their chance to shine.
All of this has occurred over a backdrop of question marks about Lionel Messi's future, made all the worse by a bizarre rant from Diego Maradona to Fox Sports (h/t the Mirror) claiming he can't be considered a leader because "he goes to the toilet 20 times before a match."
Scaloni has negotiated his three games so far without the world's best player and done well, but Colombia were the hardest opponent he faced. That changes on Tuesday when they line up against Brazil, and that is when we'll get a real measure of the caretaker's work to date.
Brazil
Despite it being entirely the right decision, many were still left a little surprised by Brazil's decision to retain the services of manager Tite after the World Cup.
The federation essentially bucked a long-standing trend in keeping him, as the general rule tends to be that if you don't win the tournament, you're gone. But Tite's decisions have been (largely) sensible and the football produced was good. There's no shame in losing to that powerhouse Belgium side in the quarter-finals.
For once, stability is the name of the game for the Selecao.
That said, certain subtle changes have been actioned as Tite looks to refresh this side ahead of a new cycle. It felt somewhat significant that Roberto Firmino started the first post-World Cup game as the central striker—not Gabriel Jesus—and that Richarlison started the second one from that position. Perhaps that role is guaranteed for the Manchester City man no longer.
Arthur has crept into the midfield rotation and is surely seen as the eventual successor to Renato Augusto or Paulinho. Right-back options are being judged while Dani Alves (aged 35) is injured. And Malcom has entered the reckoning following his move to Barcelona.
Colombia
Colombia's round-of-16 finish (and elimination only on penalties) at the World Cup won't be considered a flop by some, but it was a tumultuous campaign—starting and finishing in chaos—and surely didn't follow the federation's plan.
Carlos Sanchez's red card three minutes into the opener against Japan contributed heavily to a loss, while the defeat to England descended into aggressive chaos while the injured James Rodriguez watched on.
After the tournament, Jose Pekerman stood down from his position as manager, forcing Colombia to go on the hunt for a head coach for the first time in six years. That was confirmed in early September, and a replacement still hasn't been sought.
A new committee was formed in order to find a successor but they've come up with nothing so far, meaning under-20 coach Arturo Reyes continues to hold the fort.
Germany
"I was surprised as well as many other people that he kept his job," Michael Ballack told DW Sports ahead of Germany's 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands on Saturday, referring to Joachim Low and his bungling of the 2018 World Cup campaign.
Those sorry two weeks ended in fitting fashion: an overcommitted Germany side going in desperate search of a goal and left exposed on the counter-attack by a lesser South Korea outfit. An ignominious group-stage exit followed for the then-world champions.
What's changed since then? Troublingly, not that much. You expect a response, in every sense of the word, but one has not been forthcoming.
Low remains unreasonably loyal to those considered his favourites. The young crop that won the 2017 Confederations Cup don't really get a look in; instead, the coach persists with an imbalanced formation that makes life difficult for older, declining players such as Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng and Sami Khedira.
In fielding Matthias Ginter at right-back for the last three games, it feels as if Low has gone back to the future a little, replicating his strategy at the 2014 World Cup where he utilised at least three, if not four, centre-backs at one time.
Then he threw the full-backs forward anyway, overcommitting again, only this time leaving himself with Ginter crossing from the flank and not Joshua Kimmich. Predictably, few of the balls found their mark.
When things derail this hard, there's usually only one solution left available.
Italy
Italy's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup was tragic. They weren't the only big nation to miss out—see also the Netherlands and Chile—but the Azzurri's fall was the most heartbreaking and the most unbelievable.
The XI that lost to Sweden (over two legs) in the play-offs contained Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, Jorginho and Ciro Immobile. They were not between eras or in need of a refresh; they were star-studded.
Roberto Mancini has set about righting wrongs, not just from a playing style perspective but also from a mentality perspective, too.
Jonathan Wilson hit the nail on the head in his Unibet column: "The characteristic Italian virtue of squeezing results from games, of finding a way to get results they perhaps do not deserve, has been drubbed out of them by 18 months of setbacks."
It's still a work-in-progress. Italy have a way of tumbling out of games they're actually playing well in, scoring more than one in a game only once in their last 14 attempts. The friendly against Ukraine on Thursday was good evidence of that.
The Azzurri are a decent watch again; Jorginho and Marco Verratti run the midfield, Lorenzo Insigne's an uber-exciting forward, while the Federicos (Chiesa and Bernardeschi) are a great wing pair. They just need to remember that sometimes.
The Netherlands
It's not just those fluorescent, oranje kits that look incredibly bright; the Netherlands' immediate future in football does, too.
The team that tore Germany apart on Saturday featured a swathe of players aged 24 or under, with manager Ronald Koeman blending the odd bit of experience (Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum) in among debutants (Denzel Dumfries, Steven Bergwijn). The tactical balance was also right—something the former Everton boss deserves great credit for.
The key to this rapid Dutch improvement is the emergence of a reliable team spine over the last year or so, with Matthijs de Ligt and Van Dijk already one of the best defensive partnerships on the international scene, Frenkie de Jong and Wijnaldum locking up the middle, and Memphis Depay growing into a striker you can really hang your hat on.
It really wasn't that long ago the Dutch line was being led by Vincent Janssen and supplied by Ibrahim Afellay. The transformation has been incredible.
Portugal
The immediate future of the Portugal national team must be decided without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, who won't play for them again in 2018.
That means manager Fernando Santos has had to reshape things a little, but he's at least been helped by the fact so many of his other forward options are in such great form.
Andre Silva has grasped the mantle up front and looks his old self again. Flanked by the mercurial Bernardo Silva and one of Bruma or Rafa Silva, the front three has a nice balance to it.
In midfield, it's clear the Ruben Neves era is upon us, and his partnership with William Carvalho looks very promising. Some young talents are also starting to make their mark, with Gedson Fernandes recently capped and Ruben Dias now a mainstay in the defensive line.
Even the full-back berths have been satisfyingly filled. Joao Cancelo, a team-mate of Ronaldo at Juventus, is looking good on the right, while Mario Rui has slotted in on the left—though he has a chequered history with regard to temperament that Santos must remain wary of.
Spain
It only took a week for Spain to turn over a new leaf beyond the World Cup. Fernando Hierro stepped down promptly, with Luis Enrique taking up the mantle the next day.
The swift change represented a signal: What La Furia Roja served up in Russia was not good enough and that underperformance stops here.
It hasn't taken long for the former Barcelona coach to place his personal stamp on the team. Talking La Liga have covered some of the hardline moves he's made, replicating the approach he took at the Camp Nou that transformed their mentality, and the early results are promising.
Personnel switches have made the headlines, too, with Jordi Alba having been unceremoniously dumped from the setup—perhaps confirming a fractured relationship that the two endured at Barca.
The faster, more direct football Enrique prefers has pushed Spain on a level, leaving behind memories of flat possession and a lack of shots taken in Russia pretty quickly.
USA
The USA have sifted their way through a lot of players in the last 12 months. The list, which is over 50 strong, reads like an existential crisis in selection form.
That's probably representative of the unsettled nature of the nation's managerial situation, with current incumbent Dave Sarachan—who took over as interim coach a year ago—still in the job having had his contract extended until the end of 2018.
You could forgive Sarachan for treating it as a temporary job and simply playing the short-term game, but he hasn't. He has handed out more than 15 senior debuts and introduced the likes of Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and Josh Sargent to international football.
On the pitch, they look a different quantity to the sorry lot who surrendered to Trinidad and Tobago 12 months ago and failed to qualify for Russia. At the board level, they're also changing, with Earnie Stewart becoming the first-ever general manager for the team.
They've made appropriate formative steps towards leaving the shambles of 2017 behind.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
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