Eight teams are left in the 2026 World Cup, and none of them hosted it. The USA, Canada, and Mexico are all out - the tournament's three home nations will be watching the rest from the stands. The action continues across their grounds from 9 to 11 July, running through Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Kansas City. Four matches, no room for error. Here is what to look for in each one.
France vs Morocco - 9 July, Gillette Stadium, Boston
Morocco are the first African side to reach back-to-back World Cup quarterfinals. Their route here has been a proper test - a penalty shootout win over the Netherlands in the Round of 32, then a composed 3-0 defeat of Canada in the last 16. They now face France, the side that ended their 2022 semifinal run in Doha, with the chance to go further than any African nation has ever gone. Can they go one better and reach the final this time?
France were pragmatic rather than expansive in reaching this stage, grinding out a 1-0 win over Paraguay in the Round of 16 - a result that showed they can get the job done without necessarily playing their best football. Kylian Mbappe trails Golden Boot leader Messi by a single goal, and he is precisely the type of player who can settle a match in a single moment - exactly the danger a Morocco side defending deep will need to manage from the first whistle. This fixture carries real history, and both sets of players will carry that weight onto the pitch.
Belgium vs Spain - 10 July, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Spain needed a Mikel Merino header in stoppage time to beat Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16 - the kind of result that sides with genuine ambitions of lifting the trophy tend to find when the football doesn’t quite flow. It is their first World Cup quarterfinal since 2010, when they lifted the trophy. The reigning European champions are nonetheless favourites to progress. Belgium were ruthless in dismantling the USA 4-1, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring twice in a display that made clear exactly how dangerous this side can be.
Belgium are in their third World Cup quarterfinal in four tournaments. They will sit deep, absorb Spain's possession, and look to exploit space with the pace and directness that has served them well throughout the competition. Spain will attempt to manufacture chances through movement and combination play, with Lamine Yamal and Pedri central to that approach. Rodri's gargantuan presence in midfield makes Spain difficult to press effectively. Whether Belgium's defensive structure can hold long enough for their threat on the break to prove decisive is the central question of this match.
England vs Norway - 11 July, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
The defining story of England's tournament has been the developing partnership between Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. Kane drops deep to receive and link play, creating the space that Bellingham exploits from midfield - a combination that tore Mexico apart at the Azteca, where Bellingham scored twice and Kane converted from the spot in a 3-2 win that England finished with ten men. Bellingham has now become the highest scoring England midfielder in World Cup history with four goals, but the subtler contribution - the way Kane's movement opens up the chances - has been just as important to how England have performed at their best.
Norway will do everything they can to disrupt that. They also have Erling Haaland, who has scored in all four of Norway's matches at this World Cup - seven goals in total - and arrives at the quarterfinals looking every bit like a player built for occasions of this scale.
The game within the game is simple enough to describe: England will look to get Kane and Bellingham combining in tight areas, Norway will look to feed Haaland on the counter. Whichever combination clicks first is likely to settle it.
Argentina vs Switzerland - 11 July, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Nobody inside the stadium in Atlanta on Tuesday night will forget what they witnessed. Egypt led Argentina 2-0 with eleven minutes remaining - Yasser Ibrahim's header and Mostafa Zico's second-half finish had the defending champions heading out, with Messi having already had a penalty saved. Then three goals in eleven minutes: Cristian Romero from a Messi cross in the 79th, Messi himself four minutes later with a first-time strike - his 21st World Cup goal, extending his own all-time record - and Enzo Fernandez's stoppage-time header to complete the first comeback from two goals down in the 75th minute in World Cup knockout history. Messi leads the Golden Boot with eight goals and has scored in six consecutive World Cup knockout matches.
Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties in Vancouver - 0-0 after 120 minutes, through on Gregor Kobel's save from Cucho Hernandez and a Davinson Sanchez spot kick against the bar. It is their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954, the last time they hosted the tournament. The goalless draw through extra time tells you exactly what Switzerland will bring to Kansas City: organised, hard to break down, and ruthlessly efficient when it matters. Kobel will need to be at his very best again. After Tuesday night, the job of stopping Messi feels like the most thankless task in world football.
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