World Cup quarterfinals feature soccer powerhouses from Argentina and Spain to France and England

As Switzerland defeats Colombia in the final World Cup match in Vancouver, the city reflects on the wild ride of being a host city. Andrew Johnson reports.

Eight teams are left in the World Cup, and the quarterfinals feature the top four countries in FIFA’s pretournament men’s world rankings plus two others in the top 10.

France looks like a juggernaut and is the betting favourite at just under 2-1, followed by Spain and defending champion Argentina at 7-2 and England at 9-2. Norway is 14-1, while Belgium, Switzerland and Morocco are 28-1.

France vs. Morocco

When: Thursday, 4 p.m. EDT

Where: Foxborough, Massachusetts

France dominated in group play, outscoring opponents 10-2, an impressive showing even considering Norway rested Erling Haaland and almost all its starters, and rolled over Sweden 3-0 at the beginning of the knockout stage. Kylian Mbappé scored his 19th career World Cup goal in a hard-fought, 1-0 victory against Paraguay. Four years removed from reaching the semifinals, Morocco tied Brazil in its opener, knocked out the Netherlands on penalty kicks and bounced back from a rough start to beat co-host Canada to reach the quarterfinals. France is favored to advance.

Spain vs. Belgium

When: Friday, 3 p.m. EDT

Where: Inglewood, California

A surprising draw against Cape Verde early only seemingly prepared Spain for handling tight games. It eliminated Uruguay 1-0, and after cruising past Austria 3-0 in the round of 32 got past Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal thanks to Mikel Merino’s goal in stoppage time. Belgium rallied from down two with five minutes left in regulation time to beat Senegal, then blew out the U.S. in Seattle after FIFA let Folarin Balogun play despite his automatic red-card suspension. Spain is favored.

Norway vs. England

When: Saturday, 5 p.m. EDT

Where: Miami Gardens, Florida

The underdog story of the tournament is Norway, with Haaland leading the way and fans and players doing the Viking Row all over the U.S. and giant crowds celebrating back home. Haaland scored his sixth and seventh goals to upset five-time champion Brazil and get the Scandinavian country into the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. England endured a raucous crowd at Estadio Azteca to beat Mexico in a round-of-16 thriller but lost veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson to a wrist injury from a postgame celebration. England is a slight favorite.

Argentina vs. Switzerland

When: Saturday, 9 p.m. EDT

Where: Kansas City, Missouri

Lionel Messi leads all players with eight goals this year and set the World Cup record at 21 — and counting — in his illustrious career. Messi’s latest trick was scoring to complete a rally from down 2-0 against Egypt in an instant classic Tuesday that Argentina won 3-2. Switzerland has scored just nine goals through five games, relying on defensive style to get through. It took penalty kicks to defeat Colombia in the round of 16 after neither team scored in regulation or extra time. The Swiss are in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. Argentina is favored.

What’s next

The France-Morocco and Spain-Belgium winners meet in the first semifinal next Tuesday, July 14, at 3 p.m. EDT in Arlington, Texas. The Norway-England and Argentina-Switzerland winners play in the other one Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta, also at 3 p.m.

The final is the same time on Sunday, July 19, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press