Home of football statistics and historyThe 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America has reached the final week and just four teams remain in contention to lift the prestigious trophy.
Spain and France were joint favourites heading into the tournament, but only one of them will reach the final after setting up a last four tie in Texas.
The winners will face either England or Argentina in the final on Sunday. They are scheduled to meet in a blockbuster semi-final in Georgia.
Fans across the world will be clamouring to access World Cup live coverage to watch what promise to be two enthralling semi-final ties.
Viewing figures were strong for each of the quarter-final ties and will likely be off the scale for the last four matches.
Read on as we preview both fixtures and predict who we think will contest the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday.
France bid to reach their third consecutive final
France are bidding to become just the third team to reach three consecutive finals after Germany and Brazil. They won in 2018, but lost in the final four years ago.
Les Bleus have powered their way to the final on the back of a fearsome front four containing Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue.
They are the tournament’s second highest scorers with 16 goals, while Mbappe is tied on eight goals with Lionel Messi in the race to win the Golden Boot.
However, it is worth noting that Mbappe failed to score in the group stage against Norway and Spain’s defence is significantly better.
Spain will be familiar with the Real Madrid striker and will fancy their chances of keeping him quiet as they strive to reach the final for the first time since 2010.
Luis de la Fuente’s side are the master of ball retention. They have registered the most passes in the final third and are the only nation to surpass one thousand.
Belgium are the only team who have breached Spain’s defence and it would be no surprise if they frustrated France on Tuesday.
If La Roja dominate proceedings in the middle of the park, they would be a good bet to book a place in the final in New Jersey on Sunday.
Prediction: France 1-2 Spain.
England’s luck set to run out against Argentina
England face Argentina in the second semi-final on Wednesday after overcoming adversity to reach this stage of the competition.
The Three Lions were unconvincing during the group stage, before recovering from a goal down to defeat DR Congo in the round of 32.
They dug deep to beat Mexico 3-2 in the last-16, although they could count themselves fortunate that the co-hosts left their shooting boots at home.
England were made to work hard by Norway in the quarter-final, where they were aided in no small part by some dreadful decisions by the officials.
Argentina were excellent during the group stage, defeating Algeria, Austria and Jordan to sweep into the last-32 without breaking sweat.
However, they have been pushed all the way by Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in the knockout phase. Thankfully, they have Messi in their ranks.
The 39-year-old has scored in five of his six tournament appearances, extending his all-time World Cup record to 21 career goals.
If Argentina’s rugged defence can keep Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham quiet, they should secure a place in the final against Spain on Sunday.
Prediction: England 1-3 Argentina.
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