Argentina have crumbled. Germany have stumbled. Brazil have stuttered. Spain have spluttered. Belgium, meanwhile, seem to be ticking along just fine while others' dramas occupy the World Cup group stage narrative.
Their dismissal of Panama commanded minimal attention when set alongside the travails of their rivals; Tunisia seem ideal opponents for a continuation of that trend and maybe a group of players whose talent has been loudly trumpeted for so many years is, uncharacteristically, sneaking up quietly along the tracks.
Perhaps, after promising so much but falling short of glory in their last two major tournaments, that is exactly what Belgium need. Jorge Sampaoli can fret about how to manufacture a bailout act from Lionel Messi; Joachim Low can look to coax form from out-of-sorts stars like Thomas Muller; Fernando Hierro can concern himself with rediscovering Spain's zip after such a turbulent lead-up to Russia 2018. But Roberto Martinez could not be happier if, just now, there is nothing to say about Belgium at all.
"We do want to be boring," he said in his prematch news conference when asked about exactly that lack of obvious headlines.
"We are a football team. We're not here to bring stories or try to fill pages for the wrong reasons. We want to be a group that cares about each other, and find a way to feed all the exceptional individual talent we have.
"We're not here to find blame, we're not here to find a way out, we're here to try and fulfil [our] potential. The focus since Day 1 has been really good. I'm sure it's been really boring from the other side, but I'm pleased in the way we've been growing in the last few days."
It sounds like the polar opposite of what is happening elsewhere and, by common consent, Martinez has succeeded in imposing calm on a squad that used to struggle for it. Belgium have that rarity -- a team of stars who appear comfortable side by side. The manager has worked hard on making sure each one prioritises his role in relationship to the team and gave the example of Romelu Lukaku, who scored two of their three goals against the Panamanians.
"He will tell you -- he's not here to be the top goal scorer in the World Cup and that pleases me," Martinez said.
"He's here to try and help the team win and do his role, and his role of is someone who can score goals ... I wouldn't expect any player to work towards an individual award in this tournament."
He suggested that, in the past, Lukaku has been asked to do too much at international level and that, in order to be productive, he should focus on what he is best at. Lukaku is not the only player to have taken heed: It was instructive, on Thursday, to hear Kevin De Bruyne talking about the importance of taking responsibility in his playmaking role behind the front three.
"I didn't do it before because I was young and didn't have the profile I have now," De Bruyne admitted, and the Manchester City schemer was on to something.
As his teammate Axel Witsel said before the Tunisia game, three-quarters of this Belgium squad played together at the last World Cup and they are that bit more mature now, a golden generation now in their mid-20s and older. When Martinez spoke of "a real focus on being accountable," he did so in the knowledge that Belgium now have the experience not to let their gaze waver.
It still has to bear out on the pitch and nobody in the Belgium camp is pretending everything about the Panama game was perfect. Belgium were rusty in the first half and will not face weaker opponents in the coming weeks; Tunisia, desperate for a win, will offer their defence a stiffer test and composure will, once again, be a buzzword.
The real assessment of Belgium will come when stronger foes, perhaps England, have been battled but for now they can hardly have done much more.
"We just need to play a football game, to get away from the pressure [of a] World Cup and simplify it," Martinez said.
To the envy of his illustrious peers, Belgium have succeeded in doing exactly that so far.