Preview: What to watch in the World Cup quarter-finals
With the FIFA World Cup's Round of 16 concluded, we look at some of the key storylines for the Quarter-finals, which starts tomorrow.
The Battle of Bouaddi
Six players in the Morocco squad were born in France: Samir El Mourabet, Neil El Aynaoui, Issa Diop, Gessime Yassine, Redouane Halhal, and Ayyoub Bouaddi. It is the latter who most recently committed his international future to the Atlas Lions. And not entirely without controversy.
It was only last season that the Lille midfielder was captaining Les Bleus' U21 side. However, he had a dream of playing in the World Cup and it was Morocco, who pushed hard behind the scenes, who offered him that opportunity. And so he has committed to Morocco.
Dominating everywhere and everyone. Ayyoub Bouaddi ran the show for Morocco 💎🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/tStosMpTtm
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 14, 2026
France's assistant, Guy Stéphan, has said that there is no bad blood and that Bouaddi's decision is "respected". In any case, this is a game against two sides who know each other very intimately, despite them coming from different continents.
These two sides, of course, came up against each other back in the 2022 World Cup at the semi-finals stage. Back then, it was France who came out the victors (2-0) and they will look to repeat the feat in order to progress.
Another quarter-final, another dual national
It is another dual national and another Dogue that unites Spain and Belgium, who will face each other in the quarter-final. Like Bouaddi, Matias Fernandez-Pardo only committed himself just before this summer's tournament. He opted for Belgium. "I thought about it a lot," said the forward, who also revealed that he spoke about his decision with LOSC teammates Nathan Ngoy and Thomas Meunier, both of whom also play for the Diables Rouges.
Baller. Matias Fernandez-Pardo 🇧🇪⚡️ pic.twitter.com/aijqKx1T3r
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) June 21, 2026
"It was a clear decision," added Fernandez-Pardo, who has played in three of Belgium's five World Cup encounters. Having knocked out Portugal in the last round, a Spain side containing PSG midfielder Fabián Ruiz will look to advance and add the World Cup to their trophy cabinet, having won the European Championships in the summer of 2024.
Haaland v Kane
There was never a question that Erling Haaland would play for Norway, even if he was born in England, as his father was playing in the Premier League at the time. Norway are thankful for that. It was his brace, his sixth and seventh of the tournament (which puts him level with Kylian Mbappé and one behind Lionel Messi in the goal-scorer standings), that stunned Brazil in the last round.
It is another tough task that awaits the Scandinavian side. England progressed to this stage thanks to a battling win over Mexico at the Azteca. It was Harry Kane, now on six goals in the tournament, who scored the decisive goal from the spot. That was England's third and came after a red card for Jarell Quansah. The right-back is suspended for the quarter-final, which could provide an opportunity for former Rennes defender Djed Spence to start in Miami on Saturday.
Messi and Argentina back from the brink
79 minutes into Argentina's game against Egypt, the reigning world champions were 2-0 down. But it was Argentina who went through as former PSG forward Messi put in an inspired display. His goal ensured that he once again tops the goalscoring charts and leads Haaland and Mbappé by one goal.
What a moment 🐐🇦🇷 Messi pic.twitter.com/2YEcGFPzn0
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) July 7, 2026
He and the France captain are also battling to be the all-time top scorer in the competition. And they could yet meet again in the final. To do so, they will first have to beat Switzerland, who overcame Colombia on penalties.
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