Strip away the flags and look at the table: France, ranked first in the world. Argentina, second. Spain, third. England, fourth. For the first time in the World Cup’s 96-year history, the semi-finals belong to the top four ranked teams on the planet — no fairytale, no interloper, no asterisk. The quarter-finals were a filter, and only the heaviest metal passed through.
Here is how each of them earned it.
France 2–0 Morocco: the miss, then the masterpiece
Boston hosted the rematch of the 2022 semi-final, and for a first-half moment the script wobbled: Kylian Mbappé, of all people, missed a penalty. Morocco — the first African nation ever to reach back-to-back World Cup quarter-finals, with Yassine Bounou defiant behind them — dared to believe the revenge story was on.
Mbappé’s answer defined the tie. A strike from the edge of the area, hit with the venom of a man settling an argument with himself, and France breathed again. Ousmane Dembélé added his fifth of the tournament to finish it — 2–0, the same score as Qatar, the same outcome, the same quiet French certainty. They remain the only team at this World Cup to win every match inside ninety minutes. It is starting to look less like form and more like a verdict.
Spain 2–1 Belgium: the cruellest way to lose a quarter-final
Los Angeles produced the round’s tragedy. Belgium, fresh from dismantling the USA, traded blows with the European champions and stood level at 1–1 — the first goal Spain had conceded all tournament — with extra time beckoning. Then Thibaut Courtois, their wall, went off injured.
What followed will haunt his replacement. Senne Lammens, thrown into the biggest match of his life, spilled Pau Cubarsí’s swerving 25-yard drive in the 88th minute, and Mikel Merino planted the rebound into the roof of the net. Merino: the substitute who broke Portugal in stoppage time, now the substitute who broke Belgium at the death. Spain have a super-sub whose entire tournament consists of ending other nations’ World Cups, and they haven’t trailed for a single meaningful minute of the knockout rounds.
England 2–1 Norway (AET): Bellingham twice, and the Cable of God
Miami staged the tie the world circled: Haaland’s Norway, slayers of Brazil, against the England side that survived the Azteca. Norway landed first — Andreas Schjelderup’s brilliant strike midway through the first half — and for twenty minutes the Row celebration felt like prophecy.
Jude Bellingham decided otherwise. His equaliser before the break was all balance and blade, slicing through Norway’s defence; his extra-time winner — a sixth goal of the tournament — carried England to within one match of their first men’s World Cup final since 1966. Haaland, seven goals in the tournament, was held goalless when it mattered most.
And because this World Cup refuses to stage a quiet classic, the match birthed its own controversy: an incident fans instantly christened the “Cable of God” — Norway’s new entry in the conspiracy canon, forty years after Maradona’s original sin against the same opponent. Even the winning manager declined to celebrate: Thomas Tuchel called his semi-finalists lucky and their play sloppy, a piece of public candour that split England supporters between admiration and alarm.
Argentina 3–1 Switzerland (AET): the champions’ third escape act
Kansas City completed the set, and Argentina completed a pattern. Alexis Mac Allister converted Messi’s tenth-minute invitation, Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye levelled in the 67th, and for the third consecutive knockout tie the world champions were dragged into deep water — this time by a nation playing its first quarter-final since 1954.
The difference, again, was the next generation around the old king. Julián Álvarez detonated a 112th-minute golazo from outside the box, and Lautaro Martínez buried ten-man Switzerland late. Cape Verde took them to extra time; Egypt had them dead with eleven minutes left; Switzerland took them to the 112th minute. Argentina keep writing cliffhangers and keep surviving the final page — the question stalking them into Atlanta is how many escapes one squad, averaging over thirty years old, has left in it.
The last four days of the World Cup
France vs Spain in Dallas today — arguably the two most complete teams alive. England vs Argentina in Atlanta tomorrow, a fixture that needs no introduction and gets a long one anyway. Third place in Miami on Saturday; the final at MetLife on Sunday, 19 July.
Four matches left in the biggest World Cup ever staged. Every one of them is heavyweight against heavyweight. Pick your finalists now, in writing, so history can judge you.