There are no World Cup matches today, but the quarterfinal stage is now set and the tournament is starting to feel much more intense. After the Round of 16, eight teams are still in the running: France, Morocco, Spain, Belgium, Norway, England, Argentina, and Switzerland.
A few results from the last round stood out right away. Morocco’s 3-0 win over Canada was one of them. Canada had made it into the Round of 16, but Morocco were the stronger side and are now through to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face France. France also moved on with a 1-0 win over Paraguay, although it was a much tighter match.
Another result that turned heads was Norway beating Brazil 2-1. Brazil are usually one of the teams people expect to see go far in the World Cup, so their exit was one of the biggest surprises of the knockout round. Norway will now play England, who beat Mexico 3-2 in a close match of their own.
Spain are also through after a 1-0 win over Portugal. It wasn’t a high-scoring game, but it was enough to send Spain into the next round. They’ll now face Belgium, who had one of the clearest wins of the Round of 16 after beating the United States 4-1.
On the other side of the bracket, Argentina are still in the tournament after a 3-2 win over Egypt. It was a close game, but Argentina did enough to move on. Their quarterfinal opponent will be Switzerland, who got past Colombia in a penalty shootout after the match ended 0-0.
At this point, the quarterfinal lineup includes both expected teams and surprise ones. France, Spain, England, Belgium, and Argentina are all teams many people expected to still be here. Morocco, Norway, and Switzerland may not have been everyone’s early picks, but they’ve earned their place in the final eight.
The quarterfinals will feature France vs. Morocco, Spain vs. Belgium, Norway vs. England, and Argentina vs. Switzerland. With only eight teams left, every match matters more, and the next round will decide who moves one step closer to the World Cup final.
