World Cup quarter-finals preview: Here’s why every team left could win
IS IT COMING HOME?: England's Harry Kane celebrates after the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match.
When Ruben Vargas slotted home the spot-kick which sent Colombia out and Switzerland on, this World Cup could finally breathe.
The final game of the Last 16 had been the longest slog of the lot but Switzerland’s win signalled something rare and welcome: a rest.
The first off day of the tournament provided a brief moment to breathe because the end game is now upon us.
The Swiss-Colombia clash was the last match to take place outside the US. Now just eight teams and seven games of consequence remain. Just seven host cities too.
Through the longest group stage and already the longest knockout stage in World Cup history we’ve been left with something familiar: a Europe-dominated last eight, one each representing South America and Africa. In their own way, all will believe this journey can go all the way.
Here’s why every team left could win…
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Didier Deschamps’ swansong had been going so smoothly he may end up grateful for the street-fight a shamefully blunt Paraguay put Les Bleus through. It proved his 2026 vintage can win another way.
It had been preceded by four emphatic victories, on an aggregate of 13-2. Well, three and a half. Nearly a month ago now, The Examiner was present to see Kylian Mbappé and co. toil in their first tournament half, against Senegal.
We wrote that Mbappé and Michael Olise have been scintillating since, Ousmane Dembele not far behind and Bradley Barcola rounding out a new fab four which none of the seven other defences can live with.
A lingering concern is midfield. Would Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot or Manu Kone be able to live with Rodri and co. in a semi-final?
At Euro 2024 they couldn’t but the quartet in front of them may do it on their own.
In the past 10 days the Netherlands and Canada found out something Spain and Portugal knew four years ago: Morocco are a proper tournament team.
In Mohamed Ouahbi they have a more astute tactician at the helm than last time around and it has shown.
They have received a huge boost with the news Ismael Saibari’s tournament isn’t done and he may start against France here on Thursday.
The Atlas Lions had more than enough for Canada without him: teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi a revelation and Azzedine Ounahi immense alongside him.
They will face France with a 34-match unbeaten run and so much more on the line. It’s not beyond the realms that that record stretches to 37.
A couple of partial stinkers either side of three brilliant displays leaves more room for debate than you’d expect.
But against a Portuguese side who could have done so much, Luis de la Fuente’s men limited them to almost nothing. They hung tough and then found the dagger.
Mikel Merino’s winner typified how Spain find contributions from so many places. If defences win league titles, midfields usually decide knockout tournaments.
La Roja have the best and a miserly defence too.
Donald Trump 1 Roberto Martinez 0? Not quite. The US President’s intervention was able to bring Belgium together for a signature knockout stage win but is this even the tail end of their golden generation now? Perhaps the last gasps.
Romelu Lukaku’s supersub era is going splendidly well. He could continue to find joy against tired men. The heroic fightback against Senegal and deeply satisfying dismissal of the Yanks was achieved with Kevin De Bruyne watching on.
Instead it is Youri Tielemans who is driving this new era on, Charles De Ketelaere (belatedly) and Nathan Ngoy impressing in front and behind him.
Rudi Garcia faces the toughest path now: Spain and perhaps France. But they have momentum, a new togetherness and a man who is still the game’s best goalkeeper too.
Christ above, this is all going dangerously well for them, isn’t it? Turning the Azteca into the Alamo helped give Thomas Tuchel a seismic triumph. How good Mexico actually are is debatable but the nature and context of England’s win wasn’t.
They now find themselves on the softer side of the draw and, in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, have two totems who have risen higher here this month swing contests by themselves.
Fatigue and a defence which has conceded five in five without facing a decent attack remain the biggest roadblocks but Reece James may return in Miami.
The Wonderwall salutes and dressing room vibes all add to a sense of serious momentum. Over to Erling, then.
What would the vikings have really thought of Miami? We might get a small taste on Saturday night. Having had his field day with Gabriel, Erling Haaland now has Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa in his way.
The golden boot race has been as compelling as any contest here but Ståle Solbakken’s team have so much more than their giant up top. For a start, they’ve plenty of other large men and as the tournament tightens up, their set-piece prowess could count for plenty.
Martin Odegaard hasn’t owned a contest because he hasn’t had to but that changes now. Outside him, Patrick Berg has been stellar.
The defence hasn’t kept a tournament clean sheet but Haaland has been scoring at such a clip that leaking one is fine. Of the eight teams left, they’ve knocked off the biggest gun. The row must go on.
Maybe this is the only way they can do it. In Atlanta Tuesday’s lunchtime epic gave way to a sweltering afternoon. Argentine fans never let up, chanting and jumping through the downtown into the evening.
Their team puts them through every possible emotion because emotional overload appears to be their sole route to glory. Even the mantle of reigning champions hasn’t changed that.
The tears flowed from Lionels Messi and Scaloni after Egypt had been stunned. Their run has been incredibly soft — a route to the semi-final without facing any team ranked higher than 19th in the world.
While the rest of the supporting cast ebbed and flowed, Cristian Romero and Leandro Paredes have been key contributors. Ultimately, Messi will decide all things.
Sepp Blatter is already having a wonderful World Cup. Why not top it all off?
Murat Yakin’s men looked woefully blunt against Colombia — just two shots on target in 131 minutes — but were missing the electrifying Johan Manzambi. Everything after this would look to hinge on his health.
Against an Argentine middle which struggled to handle Egypt, Granit Xhaka could find plenty of joy.
Statistically, Gregor Kobel has been the tournament’s best net minder. But this does feel like the biggest stretch.
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