We're down to eight teams in one of the most enjoyable World Cups of all time and somehow most of them are the usual suspects.
France, Spain, England, and Argentina all made it to the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals, and each has to stare in the mirror, perhaps with the same feeling of blood rushing to the head the next morning after a long night of drinking, and decide if they want more.
Morocco, Belgium, Norway, and Switzerland come in as clear underdogs. Historically? Yes. On paper? Yes, probably also on paper. Though I think Norway has the best chance to knock off their opponent and I think Switzerland may grind us all into pepper flakes with the compactness of their defense.
Here are predictions (and fears).
France vs Morocco
Thursday, 4:00 p.m. ET
The fear.
France: Goalkeeping lets them down, or they stumble in the big moment. Deschamps could replace the entire starting XI, and I still think France would probably beat Morocco.
Morocco: Winning would be immense not only for African football but for smaller "non-footballing" nations that continue to scrape and claw their way through the FIFA glass ceiling. Does that weigh too heavily on their shoulders?
France 4-1.
Spain vs Belgium
Friday, 3:00 p.m. ET
The fear.
Spain: They drew with Cape Verde, and beat both Uruguay and Portugal 1-0. Those latter two teams were not particularly convincing, and Seleção das Quinas was basically playing 10 men. They need to keep scoring.
Belgium: Can they continue to harness the us-against-them mentality that put them over the USMNT? An upset would be massive, but I think the talent disparity is too much.
Spain 2-0.
Norway vs England
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. ET
The fear.
England: The defense finally implodes under the weight of a 200-pound Norwegian. Jordan Pickford's delicate dance with fate crumbles like a house of cards as the gel from his hair melts under the sheer velocity of Erling Haaland's shots.
Norway: No fear in their hearts. They're playing with fun. The thing that could trip them up is forgetting to get Haaland the ball, or they revert back to the short-passing build-up they tried against Ivory Coast.
Norway 2-1.
Argentina vs Switzerland
Saturday, 9:00 p.m. ET
The fear.
Switzerland: For the Swiss, their primary fear is a singular thing. Sir Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini and the supermassive black hole of balls played his way. Also Johan Manzambi being out with injury again.
Argentina: The fear is they've used every ounce of pain, sweat, black magic, lucky lottery numbers, and bruja incantations to get past Cape Verde and Egypt, and now they're just out of juice.
Switzerland 0-0, through on penalties.
World Cup 2026 Quarterfinals Fixtures
Thursday, July 9
- Match 97: France vs Morocco - 4:00 p.m. ET · FOX / Telemundo
Friday, July 10
- Match 98: Spain vs Belgium - 3:00 p.m. ET · FOX / Telemundo
Saturday, July 11
- Match 99: Norway vs England - 5:00 p.m. ET · FOX / Telemundo
- Match 100: Argentina vs Switzerland - 9:00 p.m. ET · FOX / Telemundo