The 2026 World Cup has reached the quarter-final stage, with the final eight teams now just three victories away from lifting football’s biggest prize.
After an expanded tournament featuring 48 nations and the introduction of a new round of 32, the knockout phase has narrowed the field to eight sides competing for a place in the semi-finals.
France will face Morocco in the opening quarter-final on Thursday, with the winners progressing to the last four. Spain take on Belgium on Friday in what promises to be another closely contested encounter.
England’s reward for their extra-time victory over Mexico is a quarter-final meeting with Norway on Saturday, while Argentina complete the line-up against Switzerland later the same day.
The semi-finals will be played on 14 and 15 July, with the third-place play-off scheduled for 18 July before the tournament concludes with the World Cup final on 19 July.
Lionel Messi
AFP/Getty
Why is there no World Cup football today?
But all of this means that there is a pause in the action.
After 27 consecutive days of action across the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA has built a rest day into the tournament schedule, allowing the eight remaining teams additional time to recover, travel and prepare for the final stages of the competition.
The expanded 48-team tournament has featured 104 matches, making it the longest World Cup in history.
As the knockout rounds progress, fixtures become more spread out to provide teams with adequate recovery time between matches.
The one-day break is the first of several scheduled pauses before the tournament concludes on 19 July.
Additional rest days are planned between the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and again before the final, helping to reduce player workload during the latter stages of the competition.
While supporters may have become accustomed to daily World Cup football over the past four weeks, the tournament now follows a more traditional knockout rhythm, with fewer matches and greater emphasis on preparation and recovery.
England’s Harry Kane (centre), England’s Declan Rice (centre left), Jude Bellingham (left) and team-mates celebrating the win over Mexico (PA)
PA Wire
England booked their place in the last eight after overcoming Mexico in the round of 16, while Norway produced one of the surprises of the tournament by eliminating five-time champions Brazil.
France advanced with a narrow victory over Paraguay, Morocco comfortably defeated Canada, Spain edged past Iberian rivals Portugal, Belgium saw off the United States, Argentina overcame Egypt and Switzerland progressed on penalties after a goalless draw with Colombia.
The winners of France vs Morocco and Spain vs Belgium will meet in the first semi-final, while the victors from Norway vs England and Argentina vs Switzerland will contest the second, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.
- Argentina vs Switzerland (2am)
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