NEW YORK, JUL 9 (AP): Eight teams are left in the World Cup, and the quarterfinals feature the top four countries in FIFA’s pretournament men’s world rankings plus two others in the top 10.
France looks like a juggernaut and is the betting favorite at just under 2-1, followed by Spain and defending champion Argentina at 7-2 and England at 9-2. Norway is 14-1, while Belgium, Switzerland and Morocco are 28-1.
France Vs Morocco
Where: Foxborough, Massachusetts
France dominated in group play, outscoring opponents 10-2, an impressive showing even considering Norway rested Erling Haaland and almost all its starters, and rolled over Sweden 3-0 at the beginning of the knockout stage. Kylian Mbappé scored his 19th career World Cup goal in a hard-fought, 1-0 victory against Paraguay. Four years removed from reaching the semifinals, Morocco tied Brazil in its opener, knocked out the Netherlands on penalty kicks and bounced back from a rough start to beat co-host Canada to reach the quarterfinals. France is favored to advance.
Spain Vs Belgium
Where: Inglewood, California
A surprising draw against Cape Verde early only seemingly prepared Spain for handling tight games. It eliminated Uruguay 1-0, and after cruising past Austria 3-0 in the round of 32 got past Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal thanks to Mikel Merino’s goal in stoppage time. Belgium rallied from down two with five minutes left in regulation time to beat Senegal, then blew out the U.S. in Seattle after FIFA let Folarin Balogun play despite his automatic red-card suspension. Spain is favored.
Norway Vs England
Where: Miami Gardens, Florida
The underdog story of the tournament is Norway, with Haaland leading the way and fans and players doing the Viking Row all over the U.S. and giant crowds celebrating back home. Haaland scored his sixth and seventh goals to upset five-time champion Brazil and get the Scandinavian country into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. England endured a raucous crowd at Estadio Azteca to beat Mexico in a round-of-16 thriller but lost veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson to a wrist injury from a postgame celebration. England is a slight favorite.
Argentina Vs Switzerland
Where: Kansas City, Missouri
Lionel Messi leads all players with eight goals this year and set the World Cup record at 21 — and counting — in his illustrious career. Messi’s latest trick was scoring to complete a rally from down 2-0 against Egypt in an instant classic Tuesday that Argentina won 3-2. Switzerland has scored just nine goals through five games, relying on defensive style to get through. It took penalty kicks to defeat Colombia in the round of 16 after neither team scored in regulation or extra time. The Swiss are in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. Argentina is favored. 2nd quarter final
Spain vs Belgium
12:30 am (July 11)
Egyptian Football Association ‘’cannot remain silent’’: EFA The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said Wednesday it “cannot remain silent” after what it believes was unfair and biased officiating in Egypt’s 3-2 round of 16 loss against Argentina.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and several players criticized the officiating after being left in disbelief as Argentina scored three unanswered goals in 13 minutes to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in World Cup history.
“Defending the rights and interests of the Egyptian national team is not a matter that can be ignored, minimized, or treated as secondary,” the EFA said in a statement. “It is a responsibility that we carry with full conviction and determination.”
The EFA said that the referee failed to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system appropriately, leading to the loss to Argentina.
Egypt appeared to have netted its second goal in the 58th minute, but a VAR review determined that Marwan Attia had fouled Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez early in the buildup up to the goal.
Mostafa Ziko netted later to give Egypt a 2-0 lead, but all momentum shifted onto Argentina’s side when Lionel Messi assisted Cristian Romero in the 79th minute — the first of three consecutive goals.
Hassan held his arms up in an “X” shape to signal racial abuse after Argentina’s game-winner two minutes into stoppage time. After the game, Hassan said his team was the victim of a soccer establishment that favored Messi and Argentina.
In the dramatic climax to the game Egypt’s goalkeeping coach Saafan Elsaghir was red-carded and several yellow cards were dished out to Egyptian players. The EFA’s statement said that a number of experts and analysts have defended Egypt, underlining the importance of integrity, fairness and transparency in officiating on soccer’s biggest stage.
The EFA statement expressed the frustration among Egypt players, staff and supporters.
“Every player who wears the Egyptian shirt, and every supporter who stands behind the team, deserves fairness, respect, and equal application of the laws of the game.”
‘Nobody can question officials’ integrity’, says FIFA referee boss Pierluigi Collina
FIFA chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina has strongly defended the integrity and independence of match officials at the 2026 FIFA World Cup following criticism that emerged after Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the Round of 16 stage.
Speaking amid calls from the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) for an investigation into the officiating and the removal of the refereeing team from the tournament, Collina dismissed the allegations and reiterated FIFA’s confidence in its officials. “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right,” Collina was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. The EFA sought action after two second-half decisions went against Egypt in the dramatic knockout fixture, with manager Hossam Hassan also alleging, after the match, that his side had been unfairly treated. Addressing the criticism, Collina said debate over refereeing decisions is part of football but drew a clear distinction between discussion and accusations aimed at the officials. “Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” he said. Collina also rejected suggestions that FIFA’s refereeing department could be influenced externally, including by the governing body’s own leadership.
“Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the Fifa president (Gianni Infantino). “He (Infantino) has always shown his full support for FIFA Team One while trusting us to work with complete independence. Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best,” he added.
Despite FIFA’s longstanding practice of avoiding commentary on individual refereeing decisions during major tournaments, Collina explained why the governing body believed the two contentious incidents in the Argentina-Egypt match had been handled correctly.
The first involved an Egyptian goal that was overturned after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) identified a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez during an attacking phase.
“After every goal is scored, the VAR checks the attacking possession phase (APP). If a foul is identified in the build-up and is deemed to have had an impact on the goal, the VAR will recommend an on-field review. There is no defined limit regarding either the distance from the goal or the amount of time between the incident and the goal,” he stated.
Referring directly to the incident, Collina added, “An example of this came in the Argentina v Egypt game where Egypt number 19 Marwan Attia clearly trod on the foot of Argentina number six Lisandro Martinez.”
He further explained the principle applied by the VAR team, saying, “We believe that a foul is a foul. Regardless of whether the foul appears ‘obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
Collina also defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty after Mohamed Salah went down inside the box moments before Argentina scored the winning goal. “Equally, if no foul is identified in the build-up to a goal, the VAR will advise the referee accordingly. Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,” he said.
Pointing to the challenge involving Salah and Julian Alvarez, he said, “Again, an example of this came at the end of the same game. The referee and the VAR deemed it normal football contact between Egypt number 10 Mohamed Salah and Argentina number 9 Julian Alvarez.”
While acknowledging that officiating can never be entirely free from interpretation, Collina expressed satisfaction with how referees and VAR officials have applied the laws of the game throughout the tournament.
“Of course, there will always be an element of subjectivity in some decisions, but we are happy with how this principle has been applied throughout the tournament,” Collina mentioned.