{"id":6391,"date":"2026-07-07T22:54:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6391"},"modified":"2026-07-07T22:54:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:54:56","slug":"2026-world-cup-bracket-the-quarterfinals-matchups-are-set","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6391","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup Bracket: The Quarterfinals Matchups Are Set"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup lived up to the hype, and the quarterfinals wouldn&#8217;t be complete without Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>As the biggest World Cup ever continues, Messi and Argentina played in another match for the ages on Tuesday. Argentina pulled off arguably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the tournament, taking down Egypt 3-2 after trailing 2-0 as late as the 77th minute. Now, Messi and Argentina are in the quarterfinals as they look to repeat as World Cup champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>That set up the stage for Switzerland&#8217;s victory over Colombia in penalty kicks, completing the field for the quarterfinals. Here&#8217;s a full look at the quarterfinals bracket.<\/p>\n<p><span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/p>\n<p><span>Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 scored on a penalty kick in France&#8217;s win over Paraguay. \u00a0Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Boston Stadium (4 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The first matchup of the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals is set. And it's a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinals, which Les Bleus won, 2-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Morocco defeated Canada, 3-0, on Saturday in the round of 16 matchup at Houston Stadium to advance, and it's now the first African team to reach back-to-back World Cup quarterfinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>While all three tournament co-hosts made it to the round of 16, by virtue of scheduling, Canada is the first home team to be eliminated from contention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Behind Golden Boot candidate Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, France knocked out Paraguay on Saturday at Philadelphia Stadium with a 1-0 win.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Morocco and France will face off in the World Cup quarterfinals game on Thursday, July 9 at Boston Stadium on FOX (stream on FOX One).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Morocco was ranked No. 7 in FIFA's latest rankings, while France was No. 3 behind Argentina and Spain, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Charles De Ketelaere (second from right) scored twice in Belgium's win over the USA. (Photo by John Todd\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images).<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Los Angeles Stadium (3 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX One)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The USA won&#8217;t be breaking its quarterfinals drought at the World Cup this year. It lost to Belgium 4-1 on Monday, ending its hopes of a dream run on home soil. Instead, Belgium&#8217;s &#8220;Golden Generation&#8221; gets another chance at fulfilling destiny, reaching the quarterfinals at the World Cup for the third time in the last four tournaments. It finished in third place at the 2018 World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Belgium will take on Spain, who defeated Portugal on Monday. Spain won 1-0 as Mikel Merino broke the scoreless tie in stoppage time. With the win, Spain is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010, when it won its last World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The Spain-Belgium match will take place on Friday, July 10 at 3 p.m. ET at Los Angeles Stadium on FOX (stream on FOX One).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span>Erling Haaland scored both goals for Norway in its win over Brazil. (Photo by Al Bello\/Getty Images)<\/span> <!--&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Miami Stadium (5 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX One)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>England has moved on to the quarterfinals for the third straight World Cup. It took down Mexico on Sunday, winning 3-2 at Mexico City Stadium as it played the majority of the second half with just 10 men. England will take on a team that's making its quarterfinals debut at the World Cup. Erling Haaland scored both goals for Norway in its upset victory over Brazil, which also put him in a tie for first place in the Golden Boot race. England and Norway will battle in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 11 at 5 p.m. ET at Miami Stadium on FOX (stream on FOX One).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Lionel Messi and Argentina came back from a 2-0 deficit against Egypt to advance to the quarterfinals. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA\/Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14><strong>Kansas City Stadium (9 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX One)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Argentina is somehow still alive. Argentina was able to escape a 2-0 deficit against Egypt, scoring three goals in the final 20-plus minutes of action to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Now, the reigning champions will take on Switzerland, who advanced after prevailing in penalty kicks against Colombia on Tuesday. It marks the first time that Switzerland has reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 1954, advancing after reaching the round of 16 in each of the last three World Cups.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Argentina is ranked third in the live FIFA rankings, while Switzerland is currently 15th. The two sides will meet in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 11 at 9 p.m. ET at Kansas City Stadium on FOX (stream on FOX One).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup lived up to the hype, and the quarterfinals wouldn&#8217;t be complete without Lionel Messi. As the biggest World Cup ever continues, Messi and Argentina played in another match for the ages on Tuesday. Argentina pulled off arguably one of the greatest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}