Some collision courses are inevitable. France and Spain have been on an extended one for years now. And these squads are going to provide us with what might just be the true climax of a World Cup that has surpassed all the hype.
Cover photo taken from ESPN.
Some collision courses are inevitable. France and Spain have been on an extended one for years now.
It started with Les Bleus’ 2-1 victory in the 2021 Nations League Final before Spain returned the favor with the same scoreline in the 2024 Euro semifinal. Things boiled over a touch in the final of last year’s Nations League tournament with a wacky 5-4 Spanish victory. And coming into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, many a prognosticator predicted that these same two footballing titans would clash once again in the knockout rounds.
Well, here we are.
Rivals Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe will face off once again on July 14 in Dallas. (h/t ESPN)
It’s honestly a shame that the bracket seeding prevented this from being the final, because it feels like that’s what this should be. That’s nothing against the four brilliant squads on the other side of the bracket — England, Norway and especially Argentina can definitely find themselves lifting the trophy in nine days’ time. But coming into this tournament, France and Spain were undoubtedly the co-favorites to bring glory home.
Now, only one can reach that final stage.
The French have arrived at this juncture by following their tried and true formula: keep playing it forward, and the goals will come. 22 shots and nine shots on target embodied that in their 2-0 quarterfinal win over Morocco. Despite missing a first-half penalty, Kylian Mbappe curled a peach of a strike into the far corner to thrust France ahead before Ousmane Dembele provided the dagger with a perfectly-placed roller into the bottom right. That gave the all-world duo eight and five goals, respectively, at this tournament, becoming the first tandem to reach such a figure since Ronaldo and Rivaldo did it for Brazil in 2002. And when you add Michael Olise to the mix, the trio’s 23 goal involvements top that of those two and Ronaldinho 24 years ago. Oh, and that pushed the French scoring total to 16 in six games with just two being conceded. Pretty, pretty good.
Mbappe having 20 World Cup goals in as many appearances is asinine no matter how you slice it. He is likely the best World Cup performer we’ve ever seen, shining blindingly bright in just his third appearance on the ultimate global stage. Only a higher power knows what that total will be 10 years from now.
He just keeps scoring. (h/t AP Photo)
Spain once again needed some late-match heroics to pull past an opponent they could’ve and should’ve beaten more soundly, but they’ll take the result no matter what. Friday’s 2-1 win over Belgium featured their first goal conceded at the tournament, but it really never felt like the Spanish were going to lose. They won the xG battle 2.04 to 0.36, had 17 shots and eight shots on target and dominated possession with 68%.
But this reinforces the common issue that Spain have had at this tournament: it just doesn’t look like they’ve put it together yet. They’re getting by because they’re so dang good, but we just need more out of that attack. They don’t lack for chances, but the finishing needs to improve to keep up with a squad like France.
Maybe Lamine Yamal can finally catch his stride. It’s been a very lackluster summer for the player many hail as the best in the world. If he wants to retain that title, or perhaps snatch it back from Mbappe, he’ll need a signature performance on Tuesday afternoon. It’s not that he’s been bad — he’s actually won several Man of the Match awards and his impact on the game can’t be understated — but the production simply hasn’t been there. The good news for him is that he’s undefeated against Mbappe in single-elimination knockout games across club and country. The bad news is that this will be far tougher than all of those matchups.
In any case, the reality is that these squads are going to provide us with what might just be the true climax of a World Cup that has surpassed all the hype. And that’s what we as the fans deserve. I have no doubt that Norway-England will be a tremendous game, and the subsequent semifinal and eventual final will be the same level of theater that the rest of the tournament has given us.
But it’s the collision course that catches our gaze. And this is the one we’ve been waiting for this whole time.
A raucous and thrilling 2026 FIFA World Cup has reached its final stages as the quarterfinals kick off this evening in Boston. Here’s my breakdown of each game and predictions for who will advance to the final four.
Cover photo taken from France 24.
And then there were eight.
A raucous and thrilling World Cup has reached its final stages as the 2026 quarterfinals kick off this evening in Boston. I’m here to break down each of the four matchups on tap this weekend and predict who’ll make it to the final four.
France vs. Morocco
Thursday, July 9, 4 p.m. ET
The quarters begin with perhaps the most enticing match of the entire round as France and Morocco get the party started in a rematch of the 2022 semifinal in Qatar. The Atlas Lions — who have become the first African nation ever to reach consecutive World Cup quarterfinals — will be looking for revenge against Les Bleus, but between France’s form and Morocco’s health, it won’t be easy.
The French have been bulldozing the competition from the opening whistle of the tournament, winning all five games and netting 14 goals along the way — half of which have come from superstar Kylian Mbappe. When he’s flanked by Ousmane Dembele with Michael Olise conducting everything from the midfield, it’s no wonder why this squad has lived up to the billing as one of the best in the world. Paraguay became the first team to hold them to under three goals at this World Cup, using brute force physicality to do so, but that didn’t stop France from grinding out a 1-0 victory courtesy of an Mbappe penalty in the second half.
Kylian Mbappe has lived up to the billing once again at the World Cup. (h/t ESPN)
Morocco also enter the quarters unbeaten, but it’s been a bit more of a grind. Entering 2026 with high hopes after reaching the semifinal four years ago, they’ve been as strong as advertised, winning each of the last four matches after opening with a 1-1 draw with Brazil. An early goal took care of Scotland before Haiti gave them a bit of a push in a 4-2 thriller. Drawing the Netherlands in a Round of 32 clash that was far too good of a matchup for so early in the tournament was daunting, but stoppage time heroics from Issa Diop led to a thrilling back-and-forth penalty shootout that saw Morocco go through to the last 16. After a very slow first half, they returned to form to knock off co-hosts Canada with an emphatic 3-0 showing.
But, that win didn’t come without a loss. Star winger Ismael Saibari — who netted three goals in the group stage — suffered a hamstring injury that is likely to keep him out of the rest of the tournament. Azzedine Ounahi scored two goals after being subbed on for Saibari against Canada, but the tasks only get tougher from here. Morocco will need the finest performances possible from Brahim Diaz and Achraf Hakimi to continue the dream and reach their second consecutive semifinal.
Unfortunately, I just don’t see that happening. France’s form is arguably the best in the world, and I don’t think any defense in this tournament has what it takes to stop the Mbappe-Dembele-Olise triumvirate. It should be a close fight, similar to their matchup in Qatar four years ago, but I see a second-half French flex en route to their third straight trip to the semis, where they’ll be hunting a three-peat of World Cup Final appearances.
Prediction: France win 2-0
Spain vs. Belgium
Friday, July 10, 3 p.m. ET
Spain have been ironclad at this World Cup, still standing as the only team to not concede a single goal despite facing some heavy hitters. We may have thought the sky was falling after opening the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, but in retrospect, that was just a sign of things to come for the underdog story of the year. The defending European champions easily dispatched of Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Austria before grinding out a 1-0 win over Portugal in the Round of 16 that was much more lopsided than the final result would indicate.
Yet, it still feels like we haven’t seen this Spanish team play its best ball. Lingering injuries have meant superstar winger Lamine Yamal and maestro midfielder Rodri have been letdowns, but we all know how scary this attack can be if they figure it out. And that’s what the missing piece is; we can clearly see that this defense is the best in the world, they just need the consistent production from the offense to complement them. He has been outstanding as usual, but Mikel Oyarzabal can’t do all the goalscoring for this team.
The Spanish need Lamine Yamal to be his usual self if they want to win this World Cup. (h/t ESPN)
As such, all the pressure is on Spain in this game. Belgium are essentially playing with house money, still riding the high of a roller coaster tournament highlighted by a dramatic comeback against Senegal in the Round of 32 and an emphatic thumping of the co-host Americans earlier this week. The Belgian “golden generation” is certainly over, but you wouldn’t know it watching this squad, which has played some inspiring ball as of late.
Needless to say, Belgium will play freely and apply the same pressure that the whole nation saw them enforce on the USMNT on Monday. But, it’s much harder to do that against a Spain team that’s certainly more in lockstep than the Americans were. The key to victory for the Spanish is the same as it has always been: let the defenders do their thing and finish off those one or two attacking chances that are necessary to pull away. That strategy has served them well at this tournament, so I don’t see any reason why it’ll stop now. And if the attackers put it together like I mentioned before, this could be the game where Spain emerge as the frontrunners to win the whole thing.
Prediction: Spain win 1-0
Norway vs. England
Saturday, July 11, 5 p.m. ET
It’s been about a millennium since the Vikings last attacked the British mainland, but we’re about to see one hell of an encore from this upstart Norway team that you just can’t seem to take your eyes off of.
We know why that is, of course. Erling Haaland has been an international revelation since the day he netted nine goals in a World Cup qualifier, but it seems like Norway’s golden boy has reached a whole new level of stardom with his dominance at this tournament. Two goals in the opener against Iraq, then two more against Senegal (in a thrilling match that I was lucky enough to attend in-person) before netting the winner in the waning moments of a Round of 32 clash with Ivory Coast was just the setup for a dramatic brace to put away five-time world champions Brazil on Sunday. His seven goals lead the way at this tournament as he’s put an entire nation on his back. Reaching the knockout rounds for the first time wasn’t enough; Haaland has the whole dang thing in his sights.
Erling Haaland has the world in the palm of his hands. (h/t TIME)
Though Brazil may have boasted the flash, it really is England that will be the Norwegians’ toughest test yet. The Three Lions have been on a roller coaster at this tournament, going from an electric 4-2 win over Croatia to a lifeless 0-0 draw with Ghana and 2-0 win over Panama. Harry Kane heroics got them out of a stunning 1-0 hole against DR Congo in the Round of 32 before they overcame the tall task of playing Mexico at Estadio Azteca, escaping with a shorthanded, thrilling 3-2 victory that will live on forever in the English history books. In short, we seem to get a different England side every time we flip on the television, but each iteration we’ve gotten has shown a level of quality that we know is capable of achieving great things.
As such, I can easily visualize another back-and-forth affair between these two teams that have given us no shortage of theatrics. If there’s any matchup in these quarterfinals that screams penalty shootout to me, it’s this one. I can already see the Haaland goal followed by a dramatic Kane or Jude Bellingham equalizer that leads to an enthralling shootout. And, in that case, I just trust the experience and pedigree England a little bit more to get the job done as they continue the search to bring football home.
Prediction: England advance on penalties (1-1)
Argentina vs. Switzerland
Saturday, July 11, 9 p.m. ET
To say that Argentina have taken years off the lives of their fans this summer is probably putting it lightly. The defending champs breezed through a very weak group, winning all three games by a combined score of 8-1, but the knockout stage has been quite the opposite. Tournament darlings Cape Verde pushed them to the brink, responding to every punch with one just as heavy before an own goal off the arm of a defender pushed Lionel Messi and co. through to the last 16. It seemed as though that was where the title defense would come to an end, staring a 2-0 — should have been 3-0, but I digress — hole in the face with less than 15 minutes to go against Egypt. But, perhaps the most furious comeback in World Cup history saw Christian Romero, Messi and finally Enzo Fernandez reach the back of the net and turn the match, and perhaps the whole tournament, upside down.
To beat the champ, you gotta knock ’em out. (h/t CNN)
The Swiss’ journey to the quarterfinal has been much quieter. They’re almost certainly the most under-the-radar squad left, but that doesn’t mean they’re without quality. We saw that shine through in their penalty shootout victory over Colombia on Tuesday night, where keeper Gregor Kobel delivered a masterpiece to help send his team through. It was by far the top moment this Switzerland side has had this summer; I mean, that distinction isn’t exactly going to a 1-1 draw against Qatar or a breezy 2-0 Round of 32 victory over Algeria.
This feels like the most straightforward of the quarterfinal matchups: Argentina are still a top-5 side in the world even through these ups and downs of the knockout round and should be able to dispatch of this Swiss team. But, this will still be a fight. I can definitely see the Argentines getting off to another hot start — probably supplanted by another Messi goal, extending his all-time record — and holding off a late Switzerland push to get back to the semifinals, where their toughest test by far will await them.
Prediction: Argentina win 2-1
Needless to say, these four games should continue to provide the drama and theatrics that this World Cup just can’t seem to stop giving us.
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