FIFA World Cup 2026: Biggest takeaways from the quarterfinals
The quarterfinals are now behind us with plenty of key moments and incidents as the tournament enters the final four. Four former champions have qualified
The quarterfinals are now behind us with plenty of key moments and incidents as the tournament enters the final four. Four former champions have qualified for the FIFA World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990. Argentina, England, France and Spain capitalised on the inexperience of lesser-pedigreed foes to reach the final four. For the Albiceleste, it was an unwise Swiss dive. For the Three Lions and La Roja, opposing goalkeepers spilled rebounds. And Les Bleus benefited from an inexplicable, forward-less, Morocco lineup. Here are the key takeaways from the quarterfinals France too good for Morocco in 2-0 route in Boston What we learned: Nothing works against France, so far. Morocco tried a unique approach to unsettling the French. Mohamed Ouahbi went with a striker-less lineup, which, predictably failed to threaten. Post-match, France’s coach Didier Deschamps said what everyone else in the room was thinking: “I was quite surprised by the starting 11. I tried to understand why [Ouahbi] made these choices, no real forwards.” Part of the reason would have been the absence of injured forward Ismael Saibari, who had a breakout tournament, though the Morocco roster included three other forwards, including Soufiane Rahimi, who entered in the 60th minute. That was just after Kylian Mbappe’s dipping right-footer inside the far post the opened the scoring for Les Bleus. Ouahbi’s reasoning remains a mystery. He might have been hoping for a France own goal, which was narrowly avoided as a Dayot Upamecano shank landed on top of the net. Or perhaps the game strategy was that goalkeeper Yassine Bounou would continue to bail out Morocco, as he did earlier in the quarterfinal tie when he saved Mbappe’s first-half penalty kick, following a two-minute-plus VAR review. Spain snatch late winner to see off Belgium 2-1 in Los Angeles What we learned: Pau Cubarsi is not in over his head.
A Barcelona teenager’s shot led to the deciding goal for Spain against Belgium – but no, it wasn’t wonderkid Lamine Yamal, who was held to a single score in the tournament. With the score even, and superb Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois on the bench injured, Cubarsi advanced and unexpectedly fired from close to 30 metres out. Reserve keeper Senne Lammens could have been taken by surprise – this was Cubarsi’s first attempt since the first half of Spain’s opening 0-0 draw with Cape Verde on June 15. In any case, the shot handcuffed Lammens (actually, Lammens handcuffed himself), leaving the rebound for Mikel Merino, who converted from close range to score the game winner in the 88th minute. So, no, Cubarsi is not there to generate offense. But the fact a 19-year-old is starting on the Spain back line is significant. Few successful World Cup teams have gone with youthful centre backs, an exception being Italy’s Giuseppe Bergomi, who was 18 when he played in 1982, as a substitute for injured Fulvio Collovati. Cubarsi struggled at times against the Belgians, but was not troubled by imposing substitute forward Romelo Lukaku. Belgium became the first team to score against La Roja in the tournament but the key to Spain’s defending is much less battening it down, but rather Barcelona-style keep-away, and that’s where Cubarsi is most comfortable. Meanwhile, substitute forward Merino is providing close to instant offense, scoring two minutes after entering against Belgium, and five minutes in against Portugal in their 1-0 last-16 victory. What we, and France, also learned is that Jeremy Doku’s double-teaming easily shut down 18-year-old Yamal, which means expect more of the same from Desire Doue in the semifinals. England defeats Norway 2-1 in Miami What we learned: First off, Norway still has a lot to learn.
The BriefWire