Then There Were 4! World Cup Quarter Finals Wrap

Photo: Getty Images

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is down to its final stages, with France, Spain, England, and Argentina securing their places in the semi-finals after four fascinating quarter-finals.

France became the first nation to book their place in the semi-finals with a professional 2-0 victory over Morocco.

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on the scoresheet as France ended another memorable World Cup run for Morocco and moved one step closer to lifting the trophy.

Morocco had already produced another outstanding tournament, reaching the quarter-finals after eliminating the Netherlands on penalties and comfortably defeating co-hosts Canada in the Round of 16. However, France proved to be a challenge too far.

Despite Mbappe also missing from the penalty spot, France had enough quality to see out the contest and record another clean sheet in the knockout stages.

France will now face Spain in what promises to be a blockbuster semi-final between two of the tournament's strongest sides.

Spain continued their impressive World Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory over Belgium to secure a place in the semi-finals, conceding their only goal of the tournament so far.

After defeating Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16, Spain faced another major European opponent and once again found a way to progress.

Belgium had entered the quarter-finals full of confidence following their emphatic 4-1 victory over the United States, but Spain proved too strong in a tightly contested match.

The victory sets up a huge semi-final against France, with two of world football's most talented squads now just one victory away from the World Cup final.

For Belgium, it is the end of a strong tournament that saw them reach the last eight, while Spain's hopes of becoming world champions for the first time since 2010 remain alive.

England are into the World Cup semi-finals after surviving a huge scare against Norway, eventually winning 2-1 after extra time.

Norway took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup's accidental cross, and threatened to continue one of the tournament's great underdog stories. Having already eliminated Brazil in the Round of 16, the Norwegians were dreaming of another famous victory.

But Jude Bellingham once again stepped up when England needed him most.

The midfielder scored the equaliser before striking again in extra time to send England through to the final four. His match-winning performance further strengthened his case as one of the standout players of the tournament.

It was far from a comfortable performance from England, but tournament football is ultimately about surviving and advancing. Thomas Tuchel's side have now done exactly that and are just one victory away from the World Cup final.

Norway leave the tournament after a historic run, having reached their first World Cup quarter-final and eliminated Brazil along the way.

Argentina are just 1 game away from another World Cup final and a chance to win consecutive World Cups, after a dramatic extra time victory over Switzerland.

Argentina took the early lead but were stunned by a Dan Ndoye equaliser. But minutes after the goal, striker Breel Embolo was sent off with his second yellow for a horrendous dive, making their job much harder.

Julian Alvarez then produced the goal of the tournament to send the Argentinian fans berserk! They will now take on England for a spot in the Final.