🔎 What to look out for in the World Cup quarter-final action 🔥 | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup has produced plenty of drama so far and that is only set to increase as we enter the quarter-final phase of the tournament.

We look at four questions to watch out for from the upcoming action.

Users in Australia can bet on their picks with Ladbrokes here.

Destiny for Messi?

After cruising through the group stage, Argentina have had a much tougher time of it in the knockout phase.

After being given a big scare by being taken to extra-time by the unfancied Cape Verde, they hauled themselves off the canvas with one of the greatest World Cup comebacks of all time in the last 16 against Egypt.

They have been helped to their heroics by their inspirational captain Lionel Messi, who seems determined not to give up the trophy he worked so hard for four years ago.

He has scored more goals than any other player this summer heading into the quarter-final and the only South American to net more in a single edition of the World Cup is Brazil's Ademir in 1950, with Messi now just one goal off the mark of nine he set.

Back him to do the business again against Switzerland given his current form.

Who wins Haaland v Kane showdown?

Two of the tournament's top goalscorers go head to head as Norway's Erling Haaland faces off with England captain Harry Kane.

The Norwegian is on seven goals in his maiden tournament having found the net in every game so far, while the Bayern Munich hero is just one behind.

In the international purple patch of his career, Haaland has netted in each of his last 14 straight competitive caps (scoring 27 in total during that time) as he looks to become the first European man since Gerd Müller in 1970 to score in each of his first five World Cup appearances.

Kane's six goals so far make it only the third time an Englishman has netted that amount at a major tournament and he himself was responsible for one of those previous occasions (at the 2018 World Cup), while he also has a formidable recent record of 11 goals from his last 12 international knockout ties.

This one will likely come down to which defence can keep the opposition's star man quiet - but don't be surprised if neither can manage it, such is the form that both men are in.

Can France's dynamic duo be stopped?

This will be the seventh meeting between France and Morocco and Les Bleus have never been beaten yet, winning four and drawing two.

With Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise in the fantastic form they've shown so far, will Morocco's defence be able to find a way to keep them quiet? Nobody else has so far.

Mbappé has the most goals (seven), goal involvements (nine) and chances created for his country so far this summer and relished the 'edge' that Paraguay provided to the contest in the last round.

Only Olise has more line-breaking passes than Mbappé and at this tournament, became the first player to hit double figures for dribbles, open play chances created and through balls in his debut tournament since the legendary Zico of Brazil in 1978.

It is hard to envisage any other outcome than them doing damage again.

Can Belgium breach the Spanish wall?

Spain have been the outstanding defensive team of this summer's World Cup.

They have now kept a clean sheet in each of their last six games in the tournament, which is the longest run by any side in the competition's history.

In their five games so far this year, they are averaging a xG against of just 0.30 - a sign of just how badly teams are struggling to create chances against them, let alone take them.

That is the lowest on record since such stats began being tracked in 1966 for any team at any edition of the tournament.

They may have scored four in the last round but can Belgium come close to replicating that against this cast-iron defence?

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