2026 World Cup Quarterfinals: Spain vs. Belgium and More
Seven left standing. Forty-one gone.
The 2026 World Cup has reached the part of the tournament where every mistake is a memory and every decision can define a generation. From a field of 48, only France, Spain, Belgium, Norway, England, Argentina, and Switzerland remain in the hunt for the biggest prize in the sport.
Three quarterfinals. Three tickets to join France in the last four. And a continent-spanning stage built for drama.
Europe collides in Los Angeles
First up: Spain vs. Belgium in Los Angeles, a meeting of two nations who have spent the last decade flirting with greatness and, at times, agonisingly short of it.
Kick-off is set for July 10 at 3 p.m. ET at Los Angeles Stadium, a venue made for big nights and bigger narratives. Spain bring their familiar blend of control and incision, a team that can suffocate opponents with the ball and then slice through them when the tempo rises. Belgium, reshaped but still dangerous, arrive with the memory of their Round of 16 win over the United States fresh in the mind.
That victory did more than end Team USA’s campaign. It wiped all three host nations off the map. With Canada and Mexico already gone, North America now watches as a neutral, its stadiums full but its teams out.
Spain vs. Belgium feels like a clash of eras as much as a quarterfinal. One side trying to prove its style still rules the world, the other desperate to show the so‑called golden years weren’t their last shot.
Norway, England, Argentina, Switzerland: a crowded path to France
The next day, July 11, the picture will sharpen.
At 5 p.m. ET in Miami Stadium, Norway face England. It’s a matchup that pits England’s depth and tournament experience against a Norway side that has quietly navigated the chaos of a 48-team format to reach this point. Miami brings the heat, England bring the expectation, and Norway bring the chance to tear up a script many assumed was already written.
Four hours later, the spotlight swings to Kansas City Stadium, where Argentina meet Switzerland at 9 p.m. ET. Argentina, always under a global microscope, know this stage well. Switzerland, often cast as the stubborn spoiler, have once again pushed their way into the latter rounds and now stand one win from the last four.
Waiting for one of these four in Dallas? France.
The defending world champions (or perennial contenders, depending on how you frame their modern history) are already locked into the first semifinal on July 14 at 3 p.m. ET at Dallas Stadium. Their opponent remains to be decided. The second semifinal, a day later on July 15 at 3 p.m. ET in Atlanta Stadium, will complete the bracket.
From there, it’s a straight sprint: semifinals, third-place match on July 18, and the final on Sunday, July 19. No safety net. No second chances.
A World Cup on three frontiers
This tournament has already rewritten the geography of the World Cup. Sixteen cities across three countries—Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, East Rutherford, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver—have shared the load of hosting the first 48-team edition.
The expanded format delivered 12 groups in the opening phase:
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia
- Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye
- Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
- Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
- Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
- Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
- Group K: Portugal, Congo DR, Uzbekistan, Colombia
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
From that maze, the seven survivors have emerged, leaving the host nations on the outside looking in. With ticket prices soaring and political tensions around immigration and global fandom simmering in the background, many fans have turned their focus from the turnstiles to the remote.
How to actually watch it all
For viewers in the United States, the broadcast map is as sprawling as the tournament itself.
Fox holds the keys to 70 matches, including every knockout tie from the Round of 16 through the final, with another 34 games on FS1. On the Spanish-language side, NBCUniversal controls the rights: Telemundo is carrying 92 matches, Universo the remaining 12.
To see every game without a cable subscription, fans need to navigate a crowded streaming landscape:
- DirecTV’s $50 MySports base pack (for the first two months) unlocks Fox and FS1, without committing to the full $90 base package.
- Fox One, the network’s own app, puts every match in one place at $20 per month.
- Fubo offers its Sports plan at $45.99 for the first month, then $55.99, including Fox and FS1, with a $5 4K add-on for existing subscribers.
- Hulu’s live TV option comes in at $90 per month for Fox and FS1, with an extra $4.99 for its Español add-on (including Universo) and $11.99 more for Telemundo.
- Peacock’s $10.99 Premium tier is the gateway to Telemundo and Universo’s Spanish-language coverage.
- Sling’s $30-per-month Sling Select plan includes Fox and FS1.
- YouTube TV has introduced a $65 Sports package that covers Fox and FS1, undercutting its standard $83 plan.
For those watching at home, the advice is simple: if you’re investing in a big-screen television for the knockouts, switch on motion smoothing for live sport to sharpen the action—then switch it off again before your next drama series to avoid the notorious “soap opera” effect.
Free football, with limits
There are ways to sample the tournament without opening your wallet, but they come with strings attached.
FIFA’s own platform, FIFA+, is streaming select matches for free. FIFA and YouTube have also struck a deal that allows rights holders to show the first 10 minutes of games and a limited number of full matches on YouTube at no cost. Tubi, Fox’s free streamer, is offering specific group-stage fixtures such as Mexico vs. South Africa (June 11) and United States vs. Paraguay (June 12).
Free trials add another layer. FuboTV offers seven days, Hulu three. Enough to catch a slice of the knockout drama, not enough to ride the tournament from opening game to final whistle.
Anyone hoping to watch every minute without paying will come up short. At some point, a subscription becomes unavoidable.
The VPN factor
One tool has quietly become part of the modern fan’s kit: the VPN.
A virtual private network can mask your location and route your connection through servers in other countries. That matters when broadcasters in different markets have different rights—and different price tags.
Some overseas platforms offer free or more flexible coverage. With the right VPN, viewers can attempt to access streams from services such as BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub in Britain, L’Equipe TV and TF1 Player in France, RTÉ Player and Virgin Media Play in Ireland, or RTVE Play in Spain.
Free VPN options exist—Proton VPN and TunnelBear among them—but compatibility is a moving target. Streaming services constantly update their systems, and what works one day might not the next.
Still, for fans chasing a particular commentary team, language, or price point, a VPN can open doors that geography tries to close.
The soundtrack of a scattered World Cup
Even the music reflects the fractured, sprawling nature of this tournament.
Instead of a single anthem looping endlessly through highlight reels, each host city has its own remix of the official FIFA World Cup 26 Theme. The idea is simple: let the local sound define the local stage.
Philadelphia turned to DJ Jazzy Jeff. Kansas City handed the brief to Tech N9ne. Other cities have followed suit, each remix carrying the flavour of its streets into the stadium.
Different cities. Different sounds. One trophy.
Now the quarterfinals take centre stage. Spain and Belgium in Los Angeles. Norway and England in Miami. Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City. France watching, waiting in Dallas.
Seven nations still believe. In a week’s time, only two will be left to sing.
