FIFA World Cup: Quarterfinal brackets, match schedule and game previews

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The top four seeds have all made it through – just – but who will remain standing after 100 of this tournament’s 104 matches are complete? Quarterfinal 1: France v Morocco – Thursday, 20:00 GMT – Boston This will be a hotly-anticipated rematch of the semifinal in Qatar in 2022 when Morocco’s fairytale run was ended by the then defending champions. After topping a group featuring Croatia and Belgium, stunning Spain on penalties in the round of 16 and then overcoming Portugal 1-0 in the quarterfinal, Morocco came into the game full of momentum and confidence but also fatigued and nursing key injuries. It felt like a bonus match at the time, but their uphill task became a mountain to climb when they fell behind after just five minutes. To their credit the Atlas Lions found their feet, enjoying 60% of the possession in the game, winning more corners than the French, having 10 shots at goal and hitting the woodwork, but only one of those efforts was on target and France made the game safe with a crucial second 11 minutes from time. Four years on and things are very different. Only nine of the 2022 squad made this one, just four of the starting eleven which faced France last time started against Canada and Mohamed Ouahbi was installed as head coach in March after the departure of Walid Regragui, who led Morocco in Qatar and to the ill-fated AFCON Final against Senegal earlier this year. After edging past the Netherlands on penalties in the round of 32 having grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser in normal time, Morocco made hard work of their last-16 tie against Canada, weathering plenty of first-half pressure and losing star forward Ismael Saibari to injury. However, they showcased their clinical edge in the second half with a well-worked set-piece to break the deadlock before two devastating counterattack goals to seal a 3-0 win. France did struggle against the counter in the first half of their opening match against Senegal, but were not punished, and it has been pretty plain sailing since, sealing a 3-1 win which they followed with victories against Iraq, a much-changed Norway, Sweden in the last 32 and then grinding out a difficult win over Paraguay in the last-16 courtesy of a late penalty. While Soufiane Rahimi deputised ably for Saibari after coming on after 21 minutes against Canada, the Bayern Munich-bound forward scored in each of Morocco’s group games, though he and his side might have had more goals and topped the group. The quartet of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and either Desire Doue or Bradley Barcola are undoubtedly the best in the world and Morocco’s hopes will lie squarely on their defence and keeper Yassine Bounou standing strong while their forwards take advantage of any opportunities they can create on the break. Quarterfinal 2: Spain v Belgium – Friday, 19:00 GMT – Los Angeles It’s fair to say not many would have expected Belgium to be lining up in the quarterfinals after their opening two group games. The Red Devils came from behind to draw against Egypt before playing out a stalemate with Iran with 10-men and only qualified by thrashing New Zealand, the lowest ranked team in the competition. Belgium were then staring elimination in the face against Senegal, trailing 2-0 with four minutes remaining, only for Romelu Lukaku to take advantage of some slack defending to pull one back and then Youri Tielemans to head an equaliser three minutes later after goalkeeper Mory Diaw missed a cross. Belgium completed the turnaround five minutes from the end of extra time with Tielemans converting from the penalty spot after a contentious VAR decision. They then benefitted from facing an out-of-sorts USA team in the last-16, running-out 4-1 winners amid the distraction of Folarin Balogun’s suspension being overturned by FIFA, and took advantage of more poor defending to make it 12 goals in three games. Their luck might be up, however, as they are unlikely to receive the same generosity from FIFA World No 3-ranked Spain, who have yet to concede at this tournament and have six straight World Cup clean-sheets overall – the longest run in history. La Roja have allowed just two shots on target before half-time across their five matches, both coming from Cristian Ronaldo in the cagey 1-0 win over Portugal in the last 16, which Mikel Merino settled with a stoppage-time winner. Red Devils coach Rudi Garcia shuffled his pack against the USA, leaving Jeremy Doku out and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench for the first time in 38 Belgium games, but they will need an awful lot to go right if they are to emulate their fabled 1986 side and oust the European Champions again at this stage. Quarterfinal 3: Norway v England – Saturday, 21:00 GMT – Miami For the first time in this tournament two of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot race go head-to-head on the same pitch. Norway coach Stale Solbakken denied us that opportunity in the group stage when despite scoring two goals in each of the opening wins over Iraq and Senegal, he left Erling Haaland on the bench against Kylian Mbappe and France, with qualification for the knockout stage already confirmed. Haaland made up for lost time and scored the winner in the first knockout game against Ivory Coast before grabbing both goals in the 2-1 win over Brazil to reach the quarterfinals. His seven in four appearances made it 14 straight Norway appearances in which he has scored, netting 27 overall in that run, while he now has 62 goals in 54 caps. The 25-year-old lies one behind Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot and one ahead of England’s Harry Kane. The 32-year-old Bayern Munich forward scored twice in the opening group game against Croatia and accrued another in the win over Panama which sealed top spot in the group. Kane then netted both goals in the late comeback to beat DR Congo in the round of 32 and added a penalty, which turned out to be the winner, in the epic 3-2 win over co-host Mexico. While Kane and Haaland share much in common, born a week apart in late July, both having won the Premier League Golden Boot three times and both having enjoyed success in Germany, they have only shared the pitch twice before, in 2022-23. Fittingly they grabbed a win and a goal apiece as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City locked-horns home and away in the Premier League. Everything suggests this could be another tight battle, but if one of these stars is able to come out on top in Miami, it could further their claim to be the greatest striker on earth at present. Quarterfinal 4: Argentina v Switzerland – Sunday, 01:00 GMT – Kansas City They say it’s the sign of champions, coming back from the brink, but after incredibly dramatic 3-2 wins against Cape Verde and Egypt in the knockout rounds, Lionel Messi and co will be hoping for a far quieter night in Kansas City against Switzerland. The two-time winners and defending champions looked ragged against Egypt, trailing 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining, which might have been worse, but for VAR cancelling-out another Pharoahs goal on the break. Much of Egypt’s success was due to the pace and dribbling wizardy of Haissem Hassan on the flank during counter-attacks against an Argentina side with an average age of 30 years and 173 days – the second oldest they have ever fielded in a World Cup match. With the expectation that Argentina will again pile forward in pursuit of victory, Switzerland will be hoping to emulate that threat, should Johan Manzambi overcome the knee injury which ruled him out of the clash with Colombia. The speedy 20-year-old has three goals and an assist in his past three appearances, while another tricky winger, Ruben Vargas, who was only fit enough to come off the bench against Colombia, has two goals and an assist, in addition to converting the crucial penalty in the shootout. One thing in Argentina’s favour might be that Switzerland have played all five games on west coast time, the past three of them in the domed BC Place in Vancouver, but will head to Missouri to face an Argentina side who have their training base in the city and played two of their group games there. Switzerland may however feel they have a free hit at this game, with so little expectation, given they have reached their first quarterfinal since 1954 and won their first ever World Cup shootout to overcome Colombia. Advertisement AboutAboutShow moreAbout UsCode of EthicsTerms and ConditionsEU/EEA Regulatory NoticePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyCookie PreferencesAccessibility StatementSitemapWork for usConnectConnectShow moreContact UsUser Accounts HelpAdvertise with usStay ConnectedNewslettersChannel FinderTV SchedulePodcastsSubmit a TipPaid Partner ContentOur ChannelsOur ChannelsShow moreAl Jazeera ArabicAl Jazeera EnglishAl Jazeera Investigative UnitAl Jazeera MubasherAl Jazeera DocumentaryAl Jazeera BalkansAJ+Our NetworkOur NetworkShow moreAl Jazeera Centre for StudiesAl Jazeera Media InstituteLearn ArabicAl Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human RightsAl Jazeera ForumAl Jazeera Hotel PartnersFollow Al Jazeera English: