World Cup 2026 Knockout Draw: Quarter-final Fixtures, Bracket and Route to the Final

We’re down to the final eight teams of the World Cup 2026 following Tuesday’s final last-16 matches.

All three co-hosts - Canada, Mexico and USA - fell to respective defeats to Morocco, England and Belgium over the last few days.

The latter trio are joined by France, Spain, Norway, Argentina and Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the summer showpiece as eight nations battle for international glory.

And ahead of the World Cup 2026 quarter-final clashes, we run through the respective fixtures and potential route to the final.

Left side of the bracket

France v Morocco

France battled through the last-16 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Morocco. It took a second-half Kylian Mbappe penalty to get the better of South American side Paraguay in a sweltering Philadelphia Stadium.

Paraguay kicked lumps out of Mbappe and co., but it wasn’t enough as Didier Deschamps’ men secured their spot in the next round of the World Cup.

They’ll face a tough test in order to progress to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Morocco breezed past co-hosts Canada last time out. Azzedine Ounahi bagged a second-half brace, while substitute Soufiane Rahimi added a late third.

A meeting with one of the competition favourites will prove easier said than done to navigate for the Atlas Lions, but having already knocked out one European giant in the Netherlands; they’ll fancy their chances of another upset.

Spain v Belgium

It took until the 90th minute for Spain to find the breakthrough as La Roja and Portugal resumed their Iberian rivalry on Monday.

Second-half substitute Mikel Merino came up trumps for Luis de la Fuente’s side, tucking past Diogo Costa having been picked out brilliantly by Ferran Torres.

And they discovered their quarter-final opponent in the early hours of Tuesday morning as Belgium unceremoniously dumped co-hosts USA out of the World Cup.

The Red Devils eased to a 4-1 win over the Stars and Stripes. Pre-match was dominated by Folarin Balogun’s suspension being overturned, not that it made much of a difference as Charles De Ketelaere, Hans Vanakan and Romelu Lukaku all struck in a resounding victory.

The win did come at a cost, however, after Amadou Onana suffered a suspected ACL injury and was forced off midway through the first half.

Right side of the bracket

Norway v England

Like Thanos and the Infinity Gauntlet, Erling Haaland is inevitable. He’s collecting World Cup goals like Infinity Stones having scored his sixth and seventh of the tournament in Norway’s 2-1 win over Brazil.

That it’s Haaland’s debut international tournament has proven a help rather than a hindrance. He has shouldered the goalscoring weight of his nation so far, and thrived with such a burden.

And Haaland will face familiar opposition in their quarter-final clash with England.

The Three Lions overcame a feisty Azteca crowd to claim a 3-2 win over co-hosts Mexico. Jude Bellingham played a starring role for Thomas Tuchel’s men, bagging a brace, as England held out for well over 30 minutes with 10 men to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

They’ll need to be at their best to contain Haaland, though in Bellingham and captain Harry Kane, who has struck six times at the World Cup, England themselves have the personnel to secure a semi-final spot at the Vikings’ expense.

Argentina v Switzerland

Having won in a five-goal thriller in the round-of-32, albeit having been taken to extra time by Cape Verde, Argentina claimed a second successive 3-2 victory against African powerhouse Egypt on Tuesday.

Egypt were two goals to the good with 10 minutes to go, only for Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez to strike late on to secure their spot in the quarter-finals to keep their 2026 dream alive.

The 2022 champions will come up against European outfit Switzerland after Murat Yakin’s side got the better of Colombia on penalties in the final last-16 clash.

It marks quite the turnaround in fortunes for the Swiss, who were held to a 1-1 draw with Qatar in their opening group match.