Eight teams remain in contention as we move to the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with France still tipped by many as clear favourites.

Didier Deschamps’ men are gunning for a third World Cup title win and lead the field of contenders for the trophy led by Argentina, Spain and England.

France however have impressed since their opening game and boast a deep squad and arguably the strongest attack left in the tournament. ‘Les Bleus’ have won all five matches and are outscoring opponents heavily with Kylian Mbappé in contention for the Golden Boot with the Real Madrid striker having found the net seven times.

France face Morocco in the opening contest of the quarterfinals which is a repeat of the semi-final clash between both nations at the 2022 World Cup in December with France prevailing 2–0 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.

The victory ended Morocco’s historic, record-breaking run as the first African and Arab nation to ever reach a World Cup semi-final, sending Les Bleus to their second consecutive tournament final.

The winners of the France vs Morocco clash will meet the winners of the Spain vs Belgium game which is set for Los Angeles on Friday.

Luis de la Fuente’s side have yet to concede a goal in the tournament and go into the quarterfinal against Belgium on a long unbeaten run and are widely viewed as the strongest defensive side remaining in the competition.

Other side of the draw

Defending champions Argentina have been involved in two back-to-back dramatic 3-2 wins, firstly against Cape Verde last weekend in the Round of 32 and also needed a late response in Atlanta in the Round of 16 clash against Egypt with an added time Enzo Fernandez header keeping Argentine dreams alive of regaining their title.

Still going strong at the age of 39, Lionel Messi is leading the tournament scoring chart with 8 goals and the ‘Albiceleste’ have shown that they are not prepared to surrender their title without a fight.

Lionel Scaloni’s men now face probably the biggest outsider among the remaining teams after the Swiss advanced past Colombia on penalties.

The other quarter-final in this part of the bracket is an all European tie as England take on Norway.

The ‘Three Lions’ have been solid without being spectacular throughout the tournament and can count on the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham to help push them over the line with their match-winning quality.

Erling Haaland’s Norway team stunned Brazil and look capable of another upset in what on paper is a tough match-up to call.

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