{"id":6393,"date":"2026-07-07T23:15:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6393"},"modified":"2026-07-07T23:15:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:15:59","slug":"2026-world-cup-quarterfinals-preview-the-key-storyline-for-every-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=6393","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup Quarterfinals Preview: The Key Storyline For Every Team"},"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>Erling Haaland. Harry Kane. Kylian Mbapp\u00e9. Lionel Messi. Lamine Yamal. The sheer amount of star power between the eight teams competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals is hard to comprehend, but easy to watch and enjoy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>These teams aren&#8217;t here to have fun, though. The teams left standing \u2014 Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland \u2014 have convinced themselves that they have a chance of lifting the World Cup trophy, and some for the first time in their country&#8217;s history. From here on out, it&#8217;s all business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Here are the key storylines for every team heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals:<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Catherine Ivill &#8211; AMA\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>At 27 years old, Mbapp\u00e9 has already made 103 appearances for France and scored 63 goals. He\u2019s the country\u2019s all-time leading goalscorer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>This is his third World Cup. The first two ended by winning the tournament and a runner-up finish. Another run to the final would put him among the best ever, and it would also likely keep him close to Messi in the race to be the leading goalscorer in the tournament\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>If France wins the World Cup this year, Mbapp\u00e9 will be the one lifting the trophy. It would be a three-tournament run that very few players in history can match.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Omar Vega\/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>Morocco made history in 2022 when it became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. Next for the Atlas Lions would be to make it to the final game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Morocco is through to the quarterfinals after beating the Netherlands in the round of 32 and then Canada in the round of 16. In both matchups, they have clearly been the superior team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Next for Morocco is a rematch of that semifinal against France. Striker Ismael Saibari left the win over Canada with an injury, but the team is hopeful he will be available to face France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Morocco will be the underdog against Les Bleus, but it has as good a chance than any team in the tournament to pull off an upset. Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored twice against Canada, while playmaker Brahim Diaz and right back Achraf Hakimi combined for the three assists. Morocco has the quality to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>(Photo by Florencia Tan Jun\/Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Spain is known for its impressive possession-first game, featuring one of the best midfields in the world. So far, though, it\u2019s the defense that has been the star of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>La Roja has played five games at this World Cup, and it is yet to concede a goal. The back line of left back Marc Cucurella, center backs Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubars\u00ed, right back Pedro Porro and goalkeeper Unai Simon have played all 180 minutes of the knockout stage together, and the unit might be impenetrable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Simon has gone 609 minutes without conceding a goal at the World Cup, which is the longest streak ever by a goalkeeper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Next up is Belgium, which has scored nine goals in its last two games against New Zealand and the United States.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Jan De Meuleneir \/ Photo News 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>Thibaut Courtois is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world at 34 years old; Romelu Lukaku is showing he can still score goals at 33; Kevin De Bruyne can still pick a pass at 35; while even winger Leandro Trossard is still one of the best playmakers at the tournament at 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Lukaku is coming off the bench and still making an impact, while De Bruyne didn\u2019t feature against the USA. This is a new-look Belgium team, but it\u2019s still synonymous with its veteran stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Facing Spain will be Belgium\u2019s toughest test yet. After an impressive comeback against Senegal and dominant display against the USA, the Red Devils will be confident. To win, though, it will need its veterans to lead the way, potentially with Lukaku having to make a key contribution off the bench.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>(Photo by Al Bello\/Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Man, Viking, Monster \u2014 call him what you want, as long as you call him the most dominant striker on this planet, and possibly others. The only player that comes close? The player that will be starting opposite of him in the quarterfinal, Harry Kane.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>But Kane can&#8217;t stop Haaland; he can only hope to cancel out his goals with his own. So who can? Marc Gu\u00e9hi, his teammate at Manchester City? Ezri Konsa, who held Haaland scoreless in their lone Premier League meeting last season? Or will it be Jordan Pickford, who Haaland scored three goals against last season?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>The answer will be some combination of the three, because though many have tried, there is no one person that can stop Haaland.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by CARL DE SOUZA \/ 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>England has been here before: a talented team with a good head of steam heading into a quarterfinals matchup it should win. And yet, the last time it made the final was in 1996, the only time it won the tournament, and the last time it won a title in any major tournament. Will this year be any different?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Thomas Tuchel is certainly hoping so. The England coach made some controversial decisions with his roster selection, and so far, it hasn't come back to haunt him. But a loss to Norway \u2014 a team ranked 14 spots below it in the FIFA rankings \u2014 would change all of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Knockout Tournament Tuchel: the floor is yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>(Photo by Rico Brouwer\/Soccrates\/Getty Images)<\/span> --><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>If the FIFA World Cup was a video game, Lionel Messi would have beaten it \u2014\u00a0platinumed it. He\u2019s the tournament\u2019s all-time leadiner in goals and assists, he\u2019s won the Golden Ball award as the tournament\u2019s best player twice, and, in 2022, he finally lifted the trophy after besting Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 and France in arguably the greatest final of all time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Now? Messi is after his second \u2014 and likely last \u2014 World Cup title. If he pulls it off, Messi will become the first player in World Cup history to win two World Cups while wearing the captain\u2019s armband, and Argentina will become first back-to-back men\u2019s World Cup champions since Brazil 64 years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>It&#8217;s more than just bragging rights on the line; it&#8217;s World Cup immortality.<\/p>\n<p><span>(Photo by Jared C. Tilton &#8211; FIFA\/FIFA 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>Despite not being a world soccer power in the modern era, Switzerland has reached the quarterfinals three times: 1934, 1938 and 1954. However, it has never gotten over the hump, failing to advance in all three of its appearances. Yes, an argument can be made that Switzerland advancing to the quarterfinals over a World Cup dark horse in Colombia is an accomplishment in itself, but Switzerland won't be thinking that way \u2014 certainly not after Argentina was nearly upset itself in the round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-a2155f14>Write Switzerland off at your own risk.<\/p>\n\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY Erling Haaland. Harry Kane. Kylian Mbapp\u00e9. Lionel Messi. Lamine Yamal. The sheer amount of star power between the eight teams competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals is hard to comprehend, but easy to watch and enjoy. These teams aren&#8217;t here to have fun, though. The teams left standing \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6393","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\/6393","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=6393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}