For the first time since the introduction of FIFA’s world rankings, the four highest-ranked national teams have all progressed to the semi-finals of a World Cup. Spain, Argentina, France, and England each topped their respective groups, allowing the tournament bracket to unfold exactly as designed.

The structure introduced for the 2026 edition ensured that the leading four teams in the rankings were placed in separate sections of the knockout draw. As a result, none of them could face one another before the last four, provided they finished first in their groups.

That sequence of results has produced two heavyweight semi-final encounters. France will meet Spain on Tuesday, while England is set to play Argentina on Wednesday.

The new draw format shapes the knockout bracket

The revised system also guaranteed that Spain and Argentina could only meet in the final if both continued winning. England and France, meanwhile, were positioned on opposite sides of the knockout stage, leaving each on course for a possible semi-final against either Spain or Argentina.

Fifa said the adjustment was made to maintain “competitive balance” by creating two independent routes to the semi-finals. The governing body publicly explained the change before the tournament, making clear that its aim was to avoid the leading-ranked nations eliminating one another too early.

Comparable seeding principles are used in other major competitions, including Wimbledon and the revamped Champions League, where top seeds are deliberately separated in the draw.

Why FIFA introduced the adjustment

Under the previous 32-team World Cup format, group winners were already protected from meeting in the round of 16. Encounters between the world’s top four-ranked sides before the semi-finals were therefore uncommon, with the 2010 quarter-final between the Netherlands and Brazil standing as the most recent example.

The expansion to a 48-team competition introduced an additional knockout round, making clashes between group winners much more likely in the early stages. During this tournament’s last 16, the United States played Belgium, England faced Mexico, and Switzerland took on Colombia.

Because of that expanded format, Fifa decided an alteration was necessary to reduce the possibility of marquee fixtures taking place before the semi-finals and to lessen the risk of one of the four highest-ranked teams being eliminated earlier than intended.

Previous tournaments followed a different pattern

Although FIFA rankings were launched in 1994, they were not used for that year’s World Cup. In later tournaments, several nations ranked among the world’s top four failed to even progress beyond the group stage.

Belgium in 2022, Germany in 2018, Spain in 2014, Italy in 2010, and France in 2002 all exited the competition before the knockout rounds despite being inside the top four of the rankings.

The governing body’s approach had already been applied during last year’s Club World Cup, where only one of the four leading seeds, Real Madrid, reached the semi-finals. At this World Cup, however, the revised draw has produced the outcome FIFA had intended.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that the governing body will evaluate the possibility of expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams once the 2026 tournament has concluded. The idea emerged last year, and Infantino believes the first edition featuring 48 nations has demonstrated that larger competitions deserve further consideration.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, Infantino said any future decisions would be examined after the upcoming World Cup. He stressed that the competition should represent the entire football community rather than being focused primarily on Europe and South America, arguing that every country should have the opportunity to dream of reaching the finals.

According to Infantino, football standards continue to improve across the globe. He suggested that increasing access to the World Cup would encourage developing nations to keep progressing, while limiting places could reduce motivation for countries still striving to compete at the highest level.

Expanded competition praised after 48-team introduction

Infantino described the upcoming 48-team World Cup as a major success before it has even concluded, pointing to the performances of African nations. He highlighted that nine of the 10 African representatives progressed to the knockout rounds, contrasting that with previous editions when the continent had only five participants.

He argued that the increase in qualification places has already demonstrated its value by creating more opportunities for countries that were previously underrepresented. In his view, broader participation allows more teams to experience football’s biggest stage while strengthening the global development of the sport.

The decision to increase the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams was approved by the FIFA Council in 2017, with the expanded format taking effect for the 2026 tournament.

Proposal divides football leaders

An official request to enlarge the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams was submitted by South American governing body Conmebol in April 2025, although no final ruling has been made. FIFA has maintained that it is obliged to consider proposals presented by members of its council and will continue discussions with relevant stakeholders before reaching any conclusion.

The 2030 tournament is scheduled to be jointly staged by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, while Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay will host the opening fixtures as part of celebrations marking 100 years since the first World Cup, which was held in Uruguay in 1930.

Not everyone supports further expansion. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has labelled the idea a bad one for both the finals and the qualifying campaign. Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa warned that another increase in participating teams could create chaos, while Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said the proposal does not feel appropriate and believes it could negatively affect the wider football landscape.

Meanwhile, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, said the United States could consider bidding to host the 2038 World Cup and would be capable of staging the event even if it featured 64 nations.

A larger tournament would create new challenges

When Infantino first ran for the FIFA presidency in 2016, his manifesto proposed expanding the World Cup from 32 to 40 teams. Within a year, that plan evolved into the 48-team format that will debut in 2026, while speculation over additional growth has continued ever since.

Hosting an increasingly larger competition also presents significant logistical questions. Plans to introduce 48 teams for the 2022 tournament were explored, but Qatar was ultimately unable to stage an event of that scale on its own. The 2026 edition will instead be shared across three countries, while the 2030 finals will stretch across six host nations.

Questions also remain about how Saudi Arabia would manage a 64-team World Cup with 128 matches when it hosts the 2034 tournament. At the same time, a larger field would allow almost one-third of FIFA’s 211 member associations to qualify, while generating additional revenue that could be distributed among those associations.

Although the FIFA Council would make the final decision on any expansion, there is currently no indication that such a move is expected in the immediate future.

France booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Morocco, but one of the game’s biggest talking points came long before the final whistle. Kylian Mbappe failed to convert from the penalty spot after his trademark delayed approach ended with a comfortable save by Yassine Bounou.

The opportunity arrived in a scoreless match after Noussair Mazraoui brought down the France captain. Mbappe slowed his run before striking, hoping to force the goalkeeper into an early decision, but Bounou remained patient and denied the effort with ease.

The miss did not define Mbappe’s evening. Shortly after the hour mark he produced a superb curling finish to finally break Morocco’s resistance, while Ousmane Dembele added a second goal six minutes later to secure France’s passage.

Even so, the failed penalty reignited discussion about whether the increasingly common stuttering run-up is still an effective technique.

A tactic that divides opinion

Many traditional football supporters have never embraced the delayed approach from the penalty spot, placing it alongside other modern aspects of the game they dislike, including VAR, diving, and players wearing gloves despite short-sleeved shirts.

FIFA regulations allow players to pause or feint during their approach provided they do not perform that movement immediately before striking the ball. The method has existed for decades, having previously been used by John Aldridge, Hugo Sánchez, and Pelé.

The approach is designed to persuade goalkeepers to move first, but it becomes far less effective when the goalkeeper holds position and refuses to commit early.

During this World Cup, Mbappe joined Bruno Guimarães, Jorgen Strand Larsen, Lionel Messi, and Harry Kane among players who failed to score after using a stuttering approach. Kane later converted his retaken penalty against Croatia after abandoning that technique.

Numbers suggest a changing balance

Statistics from the tournament indicate that delayed run-ups have not been especially productive. Across 26 penalties using that method, including shootouts, only 15 found the net, producing a conversion rate of 57%.

Players such as Marko Arnautovic, Raul Jimenez, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Yoane Wissa, and Kai Havertz were among those who successfully used the technique.

By comparison, players taking penalties without a stutter converted 24 of 35 attempts, giving a success rate of 68%.

Overall, penalty takers have endured a difficult World Cup. Thirty percent of penalties taken during normal play have been missed, making it the second-highest miss rate at a World Cup since records began in 1966. When shootout kicks are included, unsuccessful attempts rise to 35%, the highest figure recorded in that period.

Experts point to goalkeepers and preparation

Speaking on ITV, Ian Wright suggested that goalkeepers now appear better equipped to deal with stuttering penalties, saying they have gained the upper hand against the technique.

Pat Nevin argued that modern goalkeepers are taller, quicker, and better prepared, making penalties increasingly difficult to score. He explained that players use delayed run-ups in an attempt to force keepers into diving the wrong way, but detailed analysis means goalkeepers are now familiar with individual preferences, creating an ongoing battle between both sides.

Mbappe’s overall record from the penalty spot remains strong. The miss against Morocco was only his second in a France shirt, leaving him with 14 successful penalties from 16 attempts. At the club level, he has converted 50 of his 62 penalties.

His opponent also deserves significant credit. Bounou has conceded only two of the nine penalties he has faced during the World Cup, including shootouts, recording four saves while three other attempts missed the target.

The delay before the kick becomes another talking point

The penalty was not taken immediately after it was awarded. A VAR review meant three minutes and 12 seconds passed before Mbappe eventually stepped up, creating another debate over whether long interruptions benefit goalkeepers.

French football journalist Julien Laurens felt the lengthy pause disrupted Mbappe’s usual preparation. He described the effort as a poor penalty, adding that the forward normally relies heavily on his established routine when placing the ball before shooting.

Laurens also praised Bounou’s ability from the penalty spot but believed the weak strike made the save straightforward. He suggested Mbappe rush once he was finally given permission to continue.

Roy Keane, speaking on ITV, questioned why players should have to wait so long before taking penalties, arguing that time works against the taker and shifts the balance towards the goalkeeper. Ian Wright agreed, saying prolonged delays give players more opportunity to second-guess their decision before striking the ball.

European teams have historically struggled at World Cups staged outside their own continent. Since the first tournament in 1930, only twice have European nations lifted the trophy away from home soil, with Spain winning in South Africa in 2010 and Germany triumphing in Brazil four years later.

However, the 2026 tournament could see another European side join that exclusive group. Six of the eight teams remaining in the competition come from Europe, with Belgium, England, France, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland joined by Argentina and Morocco in the quarterfinals.

It is the strongest European presence in the last eight of a World Cup held outside Europe since 1994. The continent’s teams have gradually grown stronger throughout the tournament, turning an uncertain opening into a dominant campaign.

The start, though, was far from perfect. Seven of the first 10 European teams to play their opening group matches failed to secure victories, raising questions about whether the conditions in North America could affect their performances.

Slow beginnings before European teams found their rhythm

The weather was one of the biggest talking points before the tournament, with several teams, including England, choosing warm locations to prepare for the opening games and adjust to the climate.

Despite the difficult starts, coaches were reluctant to blame the conditions. After Belgium drew with Egypt, manager Rudi Garcia admitted his team should have performed better regardless of the temperature. Switzerland boss Murat Yakin also focused on his side’s missed opportunities after their 1-1 draw with Qatar rather than pointing towards the heat.

As the group stage progressed, European teams began to show their quality. Against non-European opponents, they finished the opening phase with 17 victories, 12 draws, and seven defeats.

Their ability to overcome challenging circumstances also became clear during the knockout rounds. England faced a difficult test against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, dealing with both the altitude and intense atmosphere, but produced a strong display to reach the quarter-finals.

Former England striker Wayne Rooney praised the team’s performance, saying the victory demonstrated they had the ability and belief needed to compete for the World Cup trophy.

Big names delivering while unexpected teams impress

Several European contenders have lived up to expectations. France entered the tournament among the favourites and has continued to justify that status, with Kylian Mbappe playing a major role in their campaign and remaining among the leading Golden Boot contenders with seven goals.

Belgium also showed their strength by handling the pressure of facing co-hosts, the USA, and securing a place in the quarter-finals. Their reward is a meeting with European champions Spain, with a semi-final place at stake.

France’s attacking options have been highlighted as one of their biggest strengths. Analysts pointed out that players such as Rayan Cherki, Ousmane Dembele, and Desire Doue provide additional quality from the bench, especially during demanding matches played in hot conditions.

Spain and England have also been viewed as serious contenders, with former France defender Gael Clichy naming those two nations alongside France as teams capable of making a deep run.

Norway and Switzerland create their own stories

While teams like France, Spain, and England were expected to challenge for the title, Norway and Switzerland have emerged as two of Europe’s most impressive performers.

Norway are enjoying their first World Cup appearance since 1998 and have benefited from Erling Haaland’s outstanding form. The Manchester City forward has scored seven goals at the tournament and has the opportunity to add more when Norway face England.

Switzerland has also exceeded expectations, maintaining their composure during a tense penalty shootout victory over Colombia in the last 16. Their success has taken them into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1954.

Manager Murat Yakin described the achievement as a historic moment for Swiss football but insisted the team’s journey was not over.

Europe chasing rare success away from home

European representation was always expected to be strong because the continent received the largest number of World Cup places, with 16 available spots. Yet their performance remains notable given the expanded 48-team format and the additional knockout round they had to navigate.

Their progress has also come while major teams from outside Europe have fallen short. Five-time champions Brazil were eliminated, while co-hosts Canada, Mexico, and the USA all exited in the last 16.

With six European teams still alive, the continent has a chance to end a long wait for another World Cup winner outside Europe. The remaining challenge is turning dominance into the rare achievement of lifting the trophy on foreign soil.

It had long been considered a certainty in World Cup football that any player sent off would automatically miss the next match, with no appeals or exceptions. However, that expectation was challenged in the case of United States forward Folarin Balogun.

Balogun, who was sent off during the last-32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, had initially been expected to serve a suspension that would rule him out of the last-16 match against Belgium. Instead, he will now be available for selection after a decision that effectively removed or suspended his ban.

Across World Cup history, there have been 189 red cards, and only two cases in which players did not go on to serve suspensions. One of those dates back to 1962, involving Brazil’s Garrincha, when disciplinary decisions were handled differently and there was no automatic ban system in place.

Questions over the FIFA disciplinary code

FIFA’s disciplinary committee has not provided a public explanation for the decision, instead referencing article 27 of its disciplinary code. That article allows the governing body to fully or partially suspend the implementation of disciplinary measures, giving it broad authority without requiring detailed justification.

The rule had never previously been applied in a World Cup context. In Balogun’s case, the suspension is also noted as being for one match rather than the standard two-match ban for serious foul play outlined in the disciplinary regulations.

The situation has raised comparisons with previous disciplinary cases, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspended ban for an incident in international qualifying, as well as pre-tournament disciplinary decisions involving players such as Laurent Koscielny, Moisés Caicedo, and Nicolás Otamendi.

Reactions from Belgium and pundits

The decision prompted strong reactions from Belgium’s football authorities, who said they were “astonished” that Balogun had been cleared to play. They argued that tournament regulations state a player receiving a red card “will automatically be suspended” for the next match.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia criticised the ruling in strongly worded comments, suggesting that the situation made the World Cup feel inconsistent with its own rules. His remarks reflected wider frustration over what was seen as an unexplained departure from established disciplinary practice.

Media and pundit reaction was also critical. BBC Sport analyst Micah Richards described the situation as a “farce,” arguing that it undermined confidence in how disciplinary decisions are applied during major tournaments. The lack of published reasoning from Fifa was repeatedly highlighted as a key concern.

Political involvement and wider implications

Reports cited by CBS News indicated that the decision followed communication between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and US president Donald Trump, with other US officials also reportedly involved in discussions about the suspension. FIFA did not provide a detailed public explanation for how the final decision was reached.

The involvement of political figures led to further scrutiny, particularly given FIFA statutes that emphasise political neutrality in football governance. Questions were raised about whether external pressure influenced the disciplinary outcome.

The case has also sparked broader debate about precedent and consistency in football discipline. Critics argued it could encourage future challenges to red cards, while others pointed to previous controversial cases involving on-field incidents and varying lengths of bans across competitions.