More Points than a Porcupine?

One wonders why they bother with a points system at all when "Goal Difference" alone would do the trick, and arguably do it better.

Goal difference is a derived statistic: the raw data shows "goals for" and "goals against", and this enables us to list the best (or perhaps luckiest) attacking sides, and likewise to list the most solid defences. For your convenience, let me present the data below:
      BEST 6 ATTACKS        BEST 7 DEFENCES      (goals scored)        (goals conceded)
      10 Netherlands        1 Belgium       9 Colombia           1 Costa Rica       8 France             1 Mexico       7 Switzerland        2 Brazil       7 Germany            2 Colombia       7 Brazil             2 France                            2 Germany
Let me just say this about "luck." Luck is like backround noise. It's random, and the only way statistics can deal with that kind of random is to assume it's evenly distributed and so, on that basis, justifiably ignorable. (Pathetically untrue, of course, but what else can we do?)
At any rate, assuming merit rather than luck, we see the Dutch attack topping the table, having just broken into double figures. I would advise caution here, since half those Dutch goals were scored against one out-of-sorts team -- Spain. No matter that Spain are (still, just about) the World Cup holders, for some inexplicable reason they played like rag dolls in that match. Go figure, as the American side of the family say.
No team managed to keep a so-called "clean sheet." Bizarre image, that, perhaps, if you're thinking beds -- in fact the metaphor refers to score-sheets. A clean sheet is said to be kept when no goal is conceded. So every team has shown it is vulnerable.
The three teams which let in but a single goal are rather unassuming sides not among the pre-tournament hot favourites. Dark horses, maybe?
The label "hot favourite" though, can be applied to at least two teams which let in two goals, i.e Brazil and Germany.
Most interesting, if it is interesting at all, is the fact that several teams appear in both lists. I in no way condone gambling, but Carter's Patented Betting System predicts from the results so far that the four teams that should appear in the semi-finals ought to be:
                   Brazil                   Colombia                   France                   Germany

Remember, folks, you heard it here first!