The biggest World Cup in history featuring 48 teams is already beginning to shrink as we reach the business end of the group stage.
While co-hosts United States and Mexico sealed their progression to the knockout stages, joined by Germany, Argentina, France and Norway, four nations suffered a tournament exit.
So which sides have been condemned to elimination and how did their World Cup hopes come to a heartbreaking end?
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1. Haiti
Haiti qualified for only their second-ever World Cup, having last done so in 1974, when they failed to register a single point.
Fast-forward 52 years later, Haiti have suffered the same fate, exiting the group stage following two defeats with no goals scored.
Faring in a tough Group C, Haiti fell to a 1-0 defeat against Scotland in their opener, despite pushing the Tartan Army to their limits and even coming close to an equaliser. Frantzdy Pierrot's header flashed past the post late on, denying Haiti their first World Cup goal in over half a century.
Their exit was confirmed after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil, despite a valiant second-half display against the five-time world champions.
Haiti -- who entered the tournament 83rd in FIFA's ranking -- will face Morocco in their final game on the world stage. They have pride to play for, but Morocco won't be handing out any favours as they target a win to strengthen their chances of topping Group C.
2. Türkiye
Haiti's early exit may not have come as a surprise to many, but the same can't be said for the nation who crashed out two and a half hours later.
Türkiye, pipped as dark horses for a deep World Cup run, entered Group D boasting perhaps the best squad on paper with the likes of Arda Güler and Kenan Yildiz among other talents and it's safe to say they endured a nightmare tournament.
This stat just about sums it up: Türkiye registered 62 shots in two games and failed to score a single goal -- the most shots without a goal by a team in a single World Cup (since 1966).
After losing 2-0 to Australia in their opening game, many felt it was just a dip in the road and they would kick on from then. But they did not, falling behind against Paraguay and failing to score against ten men in the second half. Türkiye's fate was sealed then and there.
Despite being the better team statistically in both games, they were wasteful in possession and lacked cutting edge.
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Prior to the opening game, the Group D finale between United States and Türkiye was widely viewed as the decider for top spot, but now it presents the tournament co-hosts with a golden chance to register three wins on the bounce.
"Football is not logical. We have to accept the result," Türkiye coach Vincenzo Montella said. "That is why people dream. Not every time the team that plays better wins the game. That's the sport we're playing. That's football."
3. Tunisia
Tunisia followed suit with a tournament to forget. This was the nation's seventh World Cup tournament and they once again failed to make it out of their group, though it was certainly wishful to expect them to.
Competing in a tough Group F containing the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden, Tunisia conceded nine goals in two games.
Head coach Sabri Lamouchi was sacked after a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden but his replacement Herve Renard -- Tunisia's seventh manager since qualifying began -- did very little to prevent a 4-0 loss to Japan which came next.
There was no 'new manager bounce' as a strong Japan side swept them aside on the World Cup's 1000th game, condemning them to an inevitable elimination.
Tunisia face a stern test against the Dutch next, and will perhaps look to add another goal to Omar Rekik's against Sweden in their quest to end the tournament with some pride.
4. Jordan
The latest team to crash out of the World Cup was Jordan, who didn't quite manage the heroics of their fellow debutants Cape Verde and Curaçao.
Dealt a very tough hand in Group J, with defending champions Argentina, Algeria and Austria, it was difficult to foresee Jordan pull off any upsets but they still managed to find the net in both games.
They opened their campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Austria, with Ali Olwan scoring an equaliser to register the nation's first-ever World Cup goal and that certainly will long linger in the Jordanians' memory.
Nizar Al Rashdan added another moment to revel in, when he curled home against for a first-half lead against Algeria, but they struggled to navigate swathes of pressure and were overturned 2-1 in a late fightback.
Jordan's final group game will see debutants take on champions as their last dance on the World Cup stage will be a meeting with Lionel Messi's Argentina.