🏆 Quarter-final bracket! Mbappé-Morocco to Haaland-Kane: who goes through? | OneFootball

From France-Morocco to Norway-England, via Spain-Belgium and Argentina-Switzerland. The World Cup has officially entered its hottest phase, with the best 8 teams ready to battle it out to lift the World Cup into the sky on the night of the New York New Jersey Stadium, where the final will be played on Sunday, July 19. 

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A World Cup that, so far, has already given us plenty. Between unexpected comebacks, big surprises, controversial stories, and historic feats, one thing is certain: nothing can be taken for granted. Quite the opposite. It has also been the World Cup of tears and farewells, like CR7’s, who left with his Portugal at 41 without fulfilling the dream of winning a World Cup, then Luka Modric, Manuel Neuer, Guillermo Ochoa, and others as well. 

Now only eight remain. The best eight teams. Four matches in four days, from July 9 to 12 — overnight between July 11 and 12 in Italy — to decide the four national teams that will keep their title hopes alive by reaching the semifinals. In the top half of the bracket, Morocco will face favorites France, while La Roja will take on Belgium. On the other side, the real surprise of this World Cup — even if they had already shown their strength — is Haaland’s Norway, who will face England in what promises to be a fantastic clash. Rounding things off are the Albiceleste champions, who will take on Switzerland, 72 years after the Swiss last appeared in a World Cup quarterfinal.

🏆 The bracket

📆 Quarterfinal schedule

💥 A bracket that promises fireworks

As mentioned before, this is the World Cup of big surprises. So, all the more now that the stakes keep getting higher, nothing is guaranteed. But if we wanted to make some predictions, a semifinal between France and Spain seems plausible in the top half of the bracket, even though Morocco are having a very good World Cup and Belgium are coming off an impressive win over the USA.

On the other side, the real puzzle is Norway-England, with the English looking to “bring it home” and the Vikings hoping to pull off a huge upset led by their leader Erling Haaland, who is becoming more decisive with every match. Perhaps the most “comfortable” path through is Argentina’s, led by the usual, seemingly endless Leo Messi. Switzerland, however, have shown they have no intention of giving up, and that was clear again in last night’s match, won on penalties against Colombia.

In short, everything is still to be seen. Let’s sit back and enjoy the show. The World Cup gives no discounts to anyone, and every mistake can mean a flight back home — which now, with the destination getting closer and closer, would be even more painful. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors