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Who would win a World Cup determined by architecture? Not who you think 

What if we took the World Cup draw, and chose winners based on architecture? What country would reign supreme?

The World Cup is coming to America, but not until 2026. Meanwhile, this year's competition starts on Thursday, in Russia. But what if it wasn't to be decided by soccer? What if we took the World Cup draw, and chose winners based on architecture? What country would reign supreme?

Admittedly, without the participation of the United States (Frank Lloyd Wright), Italy (Palladio), and Greece (Phydias), it is a diminished field, but the competition would still be fierce. How we see it:

A picture taken on June 10, 2018 shows a view of construction work undergoing at the site of...
A picture taken on June 10, 2018 shows a view of construction work undergoing at the site of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza on the southwestern outskirts of the capital Cairo, with the Pyramid of Menkaure seen in the background. (Khaled Desouki / Agence France-Presse)
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GROUP A

Russia

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In his Soviet days as a paper architect, Alexander Brodsky was a

master of the absurd

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, and there is no more absurd organization than FIFA.

Uruguay

Eladio Dieste doesn't have the name recognition of his South American peers, but his work is tough and beautiful, like Luis Suárez without the antics.

Saudi Arabia

The criminally awful Abraj al-Bait historicist towers lumbering over the historic mosque of Mecca are an automatic disqualifier.

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Egypt

Mohammed Saleh is great, but Egypt has the Pyramids.

— Uruguay and Egypt advance.

Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and Antoni Gaudi, a devoted Catholic,...
Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and Antoni Gaudi, a devoted Catholic, became the architect of the project soon after. Some hope the construction will be completed in 2026.

GROUP B

Portugal 

The solidity of Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura make for an impregnable defense.

Spain

Gaudí's niggling obsessiveness resolves into majesty, just like the Spanish tiki-taka style.

Morocco

Colored tiles in sybaritic ease.

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Iran

If only we could visit.

— Spain and Portugal advance.

This file picture taken in 1961 shows Swiss-French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret,...
This file picture taken in 1961 shows Swiss-French architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier. (Agence France-Presse)

GROUP C

France 

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Le Corbusier: adored, hated, brilliant, essential, just like the French.

Australia

Glenn Murcutt is a very good architect from a very nice country.

Peru

Machu Picchu remains the high point, the very high point, of Peruvian architecture. But can their team soar?

Denmark

Bjarke Ingels is the Cristiano Ronaldo of contemporary architecture, a preening bad boy who craves adoration, and sometimes deserves it.

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— France and Denmark advance.

Lagos, with a population of about 20 million, is larger than many countries. It is the most...
Lagos, with a population of about 20 million, is larger than many countries. It is the most commercially oriented part of Nigeria, and it grew so large only in the last few decades. (Sunday Alamba / The Associated Press)

GROUP D

Argentina

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Clorindo Testa

attacks with force and invention. Sound familiar?

Iceland

Olafur Eliasson is tactician who brings color to all he does. Will that be enough to escape this group?

Croatia

Good luck breaking through the famous walls of Dubrovnik.

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Nigeria

Who needs Wakanda when you have Lagos?

— Argentina and Nigeria advance.

Visitors check out the distinctive Museum of Contemporary Art October 15, 2006, in Niteroi,...
Visitors check out the distinctive Museum of Contemporary Art October 15, 2006, in Niteroi, Brazil. Legendary Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer designed the museum, which has become one of his most popular projects. (Jack Chang / MCT)

GROUP E 

Brazil

Oscar Niemeyer is sexy formal joy, the architectural equivalent of the jogo bonito.

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Switzerland

Peter Zumthor mans the back line with solidity, Herzog and de Meuron bring invention to midfield, Gigon and Guyer finish.

Costa Rica

Why look at buildings when we can go to the beach?

Serbia

The brutalist Spomenik monuments betray a tough national character that is resilient and hardened and will make you suffer.

— Brazil and Switzerland advance

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A visitor tours architect Luis Barragan's home, 2004, in Mexico City. More than 10,000...
A visitor tours architect Luis Barragan's home, 2004, in Mexico City. More than 10,000 people come each year to tour the house, restored after Barraga's death in 1988. (Jose Luis Magana / The Associated Press)

GROUP F

Germany 

Mies van der Rohe

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, clinical and cool, just like the Mannschaften.

Mexico

Barrágan, flair and color, just like El Tri.

Sweden

Gunnar Asplund, good, just like Sweden.

South Korea

Seoul was among the first major cities to rip out a central highway. Mobility is a key to the beautiful game.

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— Germany and Mexico advance.

This Aug. 15 , 1914, file photo shows the New York-registered SS Ancon crossing the Culebra...
This Aug. 15 , 1914, file photo shows the New York-registered SS Ancon crossing the Culebra cut of the Panama Canal on opening day, as seen from Cerro Luisa, looking north. (AFP / Getty Images)

GROUP G

Belgium

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The Antwerp Six

will make sure this group is the best kitted out. (Dirk Bikkembergs even owned a club team.) And with concrete masters

Renaat Braem

and

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Juliaan Lampens

on the back line, nothing is getting through.

Panama

A man, a plan, a canal, Panama. Can their infrastructure hold?

Tunisia

A crossroads, Tunisian architecture is mix of styles and forms. Will adaptive play get them through group play?

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England

The Smithsons are tough, but the defense of Robin Hood Gardens couldn't hold, and neither can England.

— Belgium and Panama advance.

The Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum opened on Oct. 7, 2006, doubling...
The Frederic C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum opened on Oct. 7, 2006, doubling the size of the facility. It was designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. Libeskind is known for his design of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the War Museum in Manchester, England, and is the master planner for the new World Trade Center space in New York City. (See Caption)

GROUP H

Poland

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Poland's most famous architectural export is Daniel Libeskind. His empty formal gestures suggest a team that makes a show of it, but bows out quickly on sloppy play.

Senegal

The former French colony has its share of modern architecture, but its strength is its vernacular tradition of adobe and thatch. Can it combine its traditions into winning football?

Colombia

Alejandro Echeverri turned around Medellin by figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B with clever design. Watch the football team try the same dynamic movement.

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Japan

The organizing force of Kenzo Tange backed up by the inventive power of the Metabolists, a force difficult to combat.

— Japan and Colombia move on.

Architect Mies van der Rohe
Architect Mies van der Rohe

KNOCKOUT ROUND

France vs. Nigeria

Le Corbusier reigns. France advances.

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Uruguay vs. Portugal

Dieste is destiny. Uruguay advances.

Spain vs. Egypt

Tiki-Taka is nice but the Pyramids are impregnable.

Egypt advances.

Argentina vs. Denmark

Testa prevails. Argentina advances.

Brazil vs. Mexico

Niemeyer bonito. Brazil advances.

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Belgium vs. Colombia

Trappist beer and trapping football

Belgium advances.

Germany vs. Switzerland

Mies is too rigid for the Swiss. Germany advances.

Japan vs. Panama

Tange rules supreme. Japan advances.

QUARTERFINALS

France vs. Uruguay

Le Corbusier, the formgiver, is invincible.

France wins.

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Egypt vs. Argentina

The Pharoahs's sphinx-like defense holds..

Egypt advances.

Brazil vs. Belgium

The Niemeyer joyride continues.

Brazil wins.

Germany vs. Japan

Mies over Tange in a heavyweight battle.

Germany
advances.

SEMIFINALS

France vs. Egypt

In showdown between the modern and the antique, the Pyramids win.

Egypt on to the final.

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Brazil vs. Germany

Discipline conquers joy. Mies leads a German win.

The ancient pyramids of Giza
The ancient pyramids of Giza (Carolyn Cole / MCT)

FINAL

Egypt vs. Germany

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It's pure geometry vs. pure geometry, power vs. power, old vs. modern. It goes to a shootout, but in the end the monumental gravity of the pyramids is supreme.

Egypt wins the architectural World Cup.

Mark Lamster is the architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture.