World Cups begin by inviting everyone to dream. They end by asking who is truly great. For four weeks, this edition scattered hope among 48 nations, but now, with only four teams left, the old hierarchy has reasserted itself.
France, Spain, England and Argentina were the four highest-ranked teams entering the tournament and, for the first time since FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992, the world’s top four have all reached the semifinals.
This is also the third World Cup, after 1970 and 1990, in which all four semifinalists are former champions. Between them, the four teams have seven World Cup titles and have won three of the last four editions.
France has looked the closest thing to a complete team. Didier Deschamps’ side has balanced control with explosiveness, conceding little while allowing Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise to flourish. Mbappe (8) and Dembele (5) have combined for 13 goals, making France only the second team to have two players score at least five goals at the same World Cup, after Ronaldo and Rivaldo for Brazil in 2002. England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, with six strikes each, have since joined that exclusive list.
Deschamps, meanwhile, has become the most successful coach in World Cup history by victories, reaching a record 20 wins. His final tournament in charge is now just two matches away from ending with another title.
Spain has perhaps been the tournament’s purest footballing side. Luis de la Fuente’s young team conceded its first goal only in the quarterfinal against Belgium before Mikel Merino, once again emerging from the bench, produced another late winner. Spain now carries a 36-match unbeaten run into its meeting with France, blending the possession football that once defined it with a greater willingness to attack directly when opportunities present themselves.
England has been less convincing but no less effective. Thomas Tuchel’s side has repeatedly found solutions to every problem it has faced. While Kane continues to lead the line, Bellingham has increasingly become England’s defining player, scoring decisive goals against Mexico and Norway in the last two knockout games. England has now reached the semifinals of four major tournaments since 2018, as many as it had managed in its entire previous history.
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Defending champion Argentina’s route has been the most turbulent. Lionel Messi has once again shaped almost every important moment, though the three-time champions have repeatedly been forced to survive uncomfortable evenings rather than dominate them. Against Switzerland, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martínez eventually settled another exhausting knockout tie, continuing Argentina’s remarkable record in extra-time matches at the World Cup.
The semifinal pairings offer two contrasting contests. France against Spain is a meeting between perhaps the tournament’s two best teams, pitting Mbappe’s devastating transitions against Spain’s patient control. England against Argentina carries a different weight: the latest chapter in a rivalry stretching back decades, with Messi chasing one more World Cup and England seeking a first final since 1966.
Supercomputers, AI Nostradamuses and oracle cats have picked France as the favourite. But World Cups have always had a habit of humbling prophets. Over the next three days, football’s four biggest powers will write their own fate on the pitch.
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Published on Jul 13, 2026