--- title: "Messi, Haaland and a Swiss Surprise: The World Cup Quarterfinals Are Set" description: "The 2026 World Cup is down to its last eight: Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. Lionel Messi's holders meet Switzerland's fairytale side, Erling Haaland's Norway face England, and France take on Morocco as the tournament reaches the quarterfinals." category: "Sports" category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/sports author: "Chloe Bennett" published: 2026-07-08T13:56:00.000Z updated: 2026-07-08T13:56:00.000Z canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/messi-haaland-and-a-swiss-surprise-the-world-cup-quarterfinals-are-set tags: ["world-cup-2026", "quarterfinals", "messi", "haaland", "football"] --- # Messi, Haaland and a Swiss Surprise: The World Cup Quarterfinals Are Set The 2026 World Cup is down to its last eight: Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. Lionel Messi's holders meet Switzerland's fairytale side, Erling Haaland's Norway face England, and France take on Morocco as the tournament reaches the quarterfinals. The 2026 World Cup has reached its final eight, and the draw for the quarterfinals mixes familiar heavyweights with a couple of genuine surprises. Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland are the teams still standing, [ESPN reported](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49294844/fifa-world-cup-quarterfinal-preview-predictions-odds-argentina-belgium-england-france-morocco-norway-spain-switzerland). ## The holders, and the fairytale Argentina go in as the reigning champions and the team to beat, carried again by Lionel Messi, who at 39 has been among the tournament's leading scorers. In the last 16 they trailed Egypt by two goals before rallying to win 3-2, the kind of escape that has followed Messi throughout his career. Their reward is a quarterfinal against Switzerland, who are enjoying their best World Cup in generations after knocking out Colombia on penalties, the goalkeeper Gregor Kobel the hero. It is a classic mismatch on paper, holders against outsiders, which is exactly why neutrals will watch. ## Haaland's Norway meet England The story of the tournament's lower half has been Norway, appearing in the last eight for the first time and driven by the goals of Erling Haaland. Their run included a memorable win over Brazil in the round of 16, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/8/world-cup-which-teams-made-the-quarterfinals-and-whats-the-schedule). Now they face England, who came through a 3-2 win over Mexico with two goals from Jude Bellingham. It sets up a duel between Haaland's power up front and an England side that has found its rhythm. ## France, Spain and the rest Elsewhere, France, one of the pre-tournament favorites, take on Morocco, the last African side in the draw and a team carrying a continent's hopes as it did four years ago. Spain, who beat Portugal, meet Belgium, who ended the run of the co-hosts the United States. Between them the four ties offer a bit of everything: a holder in Argentina, former winners in France and Spain, and first-time or long-absent contenders in Norway, Morocco and Switzerland. ## What to watch The quarterfinals will thin this field fast. The obvious storylines write themselves, whether Messi can push Argentina toward another final, whether Haaland can drag Norway further than anyone expected, whether France or Spain impose their class. But knockout football rarely respects the form guide, as Switzerland and Norway have already shown. For a few days, at least, every one of the eight can believe the final is still within reach. ## Sources - [World Cup quarterfinal preview: the last eight and how they got there](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49294844/fifa-world-cup-quarterfinal-preview-predictions-odds-argentina-belgium-england-france-morocco-norway-spain-switzerland) - [Which teams made the World Cup quarterfinals, and what's the schedule?](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/7/8/world-cup-which-teams-made-the-quarterfinals-and-whats-the-schedule)