The 2026 FIFA World Cup is down to its final four, and the semifinals could not have set up better. France faces Spain in Dallas on July 14, while England takes on Argentina in Atlanta a day later. The final is on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and whichever two sides make it there, this tournament has already given football fans more than enough to talk about.
Getting here was its own story. The quarterfinals delivered exactly what fans had hoped for. Argentina edged past Switzerland, England outlasted Norway in extra time, France swept Morocco aside, and Spain eliminated Belgium. All three host nations had already exited by the Round of 16. Canada fell to Morocco, Mexico lost to England, and the United States were knocked out by Belgium. A tournament that began with 48 nations, spread across three countries and 16 cities, is now down to four.
This edition of the World Cup is unlike anything that came before it, and the numbers reflect that well. For the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history, three nations share hosting duties: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The expanded 48-team format means 104 matches in total, with 1,248 players from across the globe competing for the same prize.
Some of those players are chasing records that will be difficult to match. Lionel Messi, who opened his campaign with a hat-trick and leads the tournament’s all-time goalscoring charts with 21 goals, is appearing at his sixth World Cup, a distinction he shares with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa. Six World Cups over 24 years is a kind of dedication that statistics alone cannot fully capture. “My whole family supports different teams,” says Melwyn Pereira from Panjim, “but I’m rooting for Argentina because I’m a die-hard Messi fan.” Across Goa, plenty of living rooms look exactly the same right now.
There were shocks along the way too. Germany, four-time world champions, were knocked out in the Round of 32 by Paraguay on penalties. Curaçao, a nation of just over 150,000 people, made it to the World Cup and scored in it, becoming the smallest nation ever to do both.
The records keep arriving. Spain set a new mark for the most consecutive World Cup matches without conceding a goal, with their defensive run stretching back to 2022. The prize fund this year stands at 871 million dollars, with the winning team taking home 50 million. Six female match officials were appointed to a men’s World Cup, matching the record set at the previous edition.
Back in 1930, Uruguay lifted the trophy at the very first edition of this competition. Since then, only eight nations have ever won it. Brazil remain the most successful with five titles and are the only team to have featured in all 23 editions of the tournament. Argentina are the reigning champions and are one win from the final. For fans like Saish Kakodkar from Navelim, the conversation is already settled: “Has to be Spain or Argentina for me. The best squads in this tournament by far.” With both sides still in contention, that debate will have an answer by the end of the week.
The FIFA World Cup has always produced football that stays with people long after the final whistle. The 2026 edition, for all its scale and all its surprises, is proving to be no exception.
