MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.—When the World Cup kicked off over a month ago, the gargantuan 48-team event was billed as the equivalent of 104 Super Bowls.
But it turns out this tournament has actually played out like another classic institution of American sports.
With Cinderella runs, a sprawling bracket, and survive-and-advance drama nearly every day, it’s clear that what we’ve really experienced is a summer version of March Madness. And this one has delivered an epic Final Four of blue bloods who have all proven they can go the distance: France, Spain, England, and Argentina.
Never before in the modern history of the World Cup have the top-four ranked teams in the world all reached the semifinals. It’s even more remarkable considering the fact that the largest ever field means that each have played an extra round. That’s one extra opportunity for a fluke, a referee’s decision, or a Cape Verde to break against them.
“It’s a privileged space in football, not an easy feat,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “We will try to make it to the end with every last drop of sweat.”
What makes this lineup so compelling is that the two semifinals couldn’t feel more different, with something for every kind of sports fan. On one side is France vs. Spain, a highbrow matchup for the soccer purists. On the other is England vs. Argentina, a shot of pure adrenaline, straight to the veins.
In other words, it’s cinéma d’auteur vs. a blockbuster disaster movie in dazzling, deafening IMAX .
The first semifinal, in Dallas on Tuesday, pits two of the most technically and tactically sophisticated teams at the tournament against each other in a duel that feels more like a chess match.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarter Final – Spain v Belgium – Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, California, U.S. – July 10, 2026 Spain’s Lamine Yamal in action REUTERS/Hannah Mckay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarter Final – France v Morocco – Boston Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, U.S. – July 9, 2026 France’s Kylian Mbappe scores their first goal REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
Led by Kylian Mbappé and his eight goals, Les Bleus have proven to the world that they have the most overpowering attack in soccer, with a suffocating defense to match—they haven’t conceded in any of the past three games. Spain, meanwhile, has allowed just one goal all tournament and proven that the guys it can bring off its bench are better than the starters on practically any other team in the world.
The other half of the bracket definitely won’t be mistaken for a chess match. This one is closer to a bout of no-holds-barred mud wrestling, with a side of psychological warfare.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarter Final – Norway v England – Miami Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S. – July 11, 2026 England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates after the match as England qualify for the semi finals of the World Cup REUTERS/Paul Childs
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – Quarter Final – Argentina v Switzerland – Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. – July 11, 2026 Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after the match with Jose Manuel Lopez as Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji looks dejected IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Jay Biggerstaff
England vs. Argentina is the latest installment in one of soccer’s most ferocious grudge matches, a cocktail of sporting controversy and colonial history that will be waged by two sides who have chaos-balled their way through the tournament, staggering from one opponent to the next while mixing brief moments of outrageous skill with long periods of absolute agony.
In the quarterfinals, both teams needed to survive nerve-shredding periods of extra time that could easily have sent them tumbling out of the tournament. England survived its clash with Norway with a virtuoso performance by its 23-year-old hotshot, Jude Bellingham. And Argentina advanced past Switzerland despite a quiet night from its 39-year-old genius in residence, Lionel Messi.
But ahead of the semifinal, all the talk will be about a different Argentina genius—the one whose “Hand of God” goal has gone unforgiven by England fans for 40 years, Diego Maradona.
But if Maradona was English soccer’s public enemy no. 1, his successor hasn’t had a chance to traumatize 60 million English men and women all at once. At least, not yet. In 20 years at the top of the game, Messi has never before faced the Three Lions. That will finally change on Wednesday in Atlanta.
“It is always special to play against the big teams,” Messi said. “It never happened to me against England, it’s the first time, so it’s going to be a special match, a World Cup semifinal.”
