By the time a teary-eyed Lionel Messi had helped complete a sensational comeback Argentinian victory over an excellent Egypt on 7 July, football was back in focus. Just as once Mexico kicked off the World Cup, all the issues— Iran-US war, exorbitant ticket prices, travel bans for several fans and the protests in Mexico—became background noise, US President Donald Trump’s most bizarre phone call to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to overturn a suspension handed to Team USA striker Folarin Balogun was a fading memory for most of the world by the time Enzo Fernandes headed in the goal to send Egypt home. An engaging sporting contest has a way of over-writing everything else and this World Cup has presented multiple such games in the past three weeks.
A better climax couldn’t have been scripted as this expanded 104-game World Cup enters the last leg with eight contenders jostling in the quarter-finals to move closer to the ultimate prize. Six of the eight teams in the fray are from Europe, cementing the continent’s dominance of world football, and one each from South America and Africa.
Goals win matches—there have been 280 in 96 games—so it’s no surprise that Argentina’s Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappe, Norway’s Erling Haaland and England’s Harry Kane, engaged in a four-way Golden Boot shootout, have led their teams into the quarter-finals.
And let’s not forget, clean sheets also win matches. Despite scoring just nine goals Spain are among the last eight on the back of solid defensive displays. Spain’s performances have been but a shadow of their famous Tiki-Taka football and their teenage star Lamine Yamal has underperformed, but the Spanish back line has not conceded a single goal yet. The quarterfinal line-up is completed by a Belgium team in transition, a resilient Switzerland and a sparkling Morocco packed with stars who were either born in Europe, or play in the top European leagues.
The action kicked off in Boston with a repeat of the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final in Qatar featuring France and Morocco. France remain a top footballing nation overflowing with talent and led by a determined Mbappe, who has the Golden Boot in his crosshairs. Meanwhile, Morocco have shown they belong among the world’s best with consistent performances since reaching the semifinals in Qatar. In a star-studded team featuring PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, their breakout star in this tournament has been the France-born teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Los Angeles hosted the all-European contest between Spain and Belgium. Spain have struggled to move through the gears and play high-octane football leading to a glut of clear cut chances. A clear example was the slow-burn 1-0 win over Portugal to reach the last eight. Belgium have been disjointed and have struggled to break down a compact defensive line. But they thrive when the opponents control possession and hit on the counter, much like their 4-1 victory over the US, which no phone calls to FIFA can possibly overturn. This is the last hurrah for Belgium’s Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, while Spain’s rising stars Yamal, Nico Williams and Pau Cubarsi will have gone back with valuable experience from their first outing on the biggest stage.
The blockbuster of this weekend is likely to be the other all-European game between England and Norway; the latter have never come this far in the World Cup. It is likely to be a direct shootout between Norway’s goal machine Haaland—Manchester City’s top goal scorer since he joined the club in 2022—and England’s Harry Kane—the reigning top scorer at Bundesliga. Haaland has seven goals, including a brace to knock out Brazil in the Round of 16, to Kane’s six.
Apart from the greater experience of playing in multiple World Cup finals, the English team also have the X-factor in Jude Bellingham, who inspired England to the 3-2 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16, with a solid supporting cast featuring Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Marc Guehi. Another thing that should worry Norway is the fact that they have kept no clean sheets in their five matches.
Switzerland, perhaps, face the hardest test of them all when they take on Argentina. Not only are Argentina loudly supported, they are also playing like a team possessed and united to win one more trophy for their beloved talisman Messi.
Switzerland (9 goals) haven’t scored as prolifically as Argentina (14 goals) but they haven’t conceded too many either. Switzerland’s biggest goal threat Johan Manzambi is an injury doubt. They didn’t score against Colombia without him and pushed out the South Americans on penalties. However, led by the combative Granit Xhaka, they won’t roll over without a fight. Trouble is, Argentina love a fight, and the spine of the team is full of players—from Lautaro Martinez up front to Emiliano Martinez back in the goal with Rodrigo de Paul and Lisandro Martinez in between—who combine footballing talent with a big dose of the dark arts. It should be an enthralling contest.
Shrenik Avlani is a writer and editor and the co-author of The Shivfit Way, a book on functional fitness.