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Erling Haaland. Harry Kane. Kylian Mbappé. Lionel Messi. Lamin Yamal. The sheer amount of star power between the eight teams competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals is hard to fathom, but easy to watch and enjoy.
However, these teams are not here to have fun. The teams remaining – Argentina, Belgium, England, France, Morocco, Norway, Spain and Switzerland – have convinced themselves they have a chance to lift the World Cup trophy, and some for the first time in their country’s history. From here it’s all business.
Here are the key storylines for each team heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals:
France vs Morocco
Kylian Mbappé can join the all-time greats with another World Cup
(Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
At 27, Mbappé has already played 103 games for France and scored 63 goals. He is the country’s all-time leading goalscorer.
It is his third world championship. The first two ended up winning the tournament and a second place. Another run to the final would place him among the all-time greats, and would also likely keep him close to Messi in the race to become the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer.
If France win the World Cup this year, Mbappé will be the one to lift the trophy. It would be a three-way sweep that very few players in history can match.
Can Morocco become the first African nation to reach a final?
(Photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Morocco made history in 2022 when they became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final. Next up for the Atlas Lions would be to reach the final game.
Morocco are through to the quarter-finals after beating the Netherlands in the round of 16 and then Canada in the round of 16. In both matchups, they have clearly been the superior team.
Next up for Morocco is a rematch of that semi-final against France. Forward Ismael Saibari left the win over Canada with an injury, but the team hopes he will be available to face France.
Morocco will be underdogs against Les Bleus, but they have as good a chance as any team in the tournament to pull off an upset. Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored twice against Canada, while playmaker Brahim Diaz and right back Achraf Hakimi combined for the three assists. Morocco has the quality to win.
Spain vs Belgium
How long can Spain go without conceding a goal?
(Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)
Spain is known for its impressive possession-first game, with one of the best midfields in the world. So far, however, it has been the defense that has been the star of the tournament.
La Roja have played five matches at this World Cup and are yet to concede a goal. The back line of left-back Marc Cucurella, centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsí, right-back Pedro Porro and goalkeeper Unai Simon have played all 180 minutes of the knockout stage together and the unit can be impenetrable.
Simon has gone 609 minutes without conceding a goal at the World Cup, the longest streak ever by a goalkeeper.
Next up is Belgium, who have scored nine goals in their last two games against New Zealand and the United States.
Last stand for Belgium’s old guard
(Photo by Jan De Meuleneir / Photo News via Getty Images)
Thibaut Courtois is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world at 34 years old; Romelu Lukaku shows he can still score goals on 33; Kevin De Bruyne can still pick a pass at 35; while even winger Leandro Trossard is still one of the best playmakers at the tournament at 31 years old.
Lukaku comes off the bench and still has an impact, while De Bruyne did not feature against the USA. This is a new Belgian team, but it is still synonymous with its veteran stars.
Facing Spain will be Belgium’s toughest test yet. After an impressive comeback against Senegal and a dominant display against the USA, the Red Devils will be confident. To win, however, it will need its veterans to lead the way, potentially with Lukaku having to make an important contribution from the bench.
Norway vs England
Who can stop Erling Haaland?
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Man, viking, monster – call him what you will, as long as you call him the most dominant striker on this planet, and possibly others. The only player who comes close? The player who will start opposite him in the quarter-finals, Harry Kane.
But Kane can’t stop Haaland; he can only hope to cancel out his goals with his own. So who can? Marc Guéhi, his teammate at Manchester City? Ezri Konsa, who kept Haaland scoreless in their lone Premier League meeting last season? Or will it be Jordan Pickford, against whom Haaland scored three goals last season?
The answer will be a combination of the three, because although many have tried, no one can stop Haaland.
Is it really coming home?
(Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP via Getty Images)
England have been here before: a talented team with a good head heading into a quarter-final match it should win. And yet, the last time it reached the final was in 1996, the only time it won the tournament and the last time it won a major tournament title. Will this year be different?
Thomas Tuchel certainly hopes so. The England manager made some controversial decisions with his squad selection and so far it hasn’t come back to haunt him. But a loss to Norway – a team placed 14 places below it in the FIFA rankings – would change all that.
Knockout tournament Tuchel: the floor is yours.
Argentina vs. Switzerland
Messi has the chance to make history as a World Cup-winning captain
(Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
If the FIFA World Cup was a video game, Lionel Messi would have beaten it – platinumed it. He is the tournament’s leader in goals and assists, he has won the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player twice, and in 2022 he finally lifted the trophy after overcoming Kylian Mbappé and France in arguably the best final ever.
Now? Messi is after his second – and probably last – World Cup title. If he pulls it off, Messi will become the first player in World Cup history to win two World Cups while wearing the captain’s armband, and Argentina will become the first back-to-back men’s World Cup champions since Brazil 64 years ago.
It’s more than just bragging rights; it’s World Cup immortality.
Can Switzerland reach the semi-finals?
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Despite not being a world football power in the modern era, Switzerland have reached the quarter-finals three times: 1934, 1938 and 1954. However, they have never got over the hump, failing to progress in all three appearances. Yes, it can be argued that it is an achievement in itself for Switzerland to progress to the quarter-finals over a World Cup dark horse in Colombia, but Switzerland will not think so – certainly not after Argentina almost upset themselves in the round of 16.
Depreciate Switzerland at your own risk.
