England and the Netherlands are through and the top half of the draw is done. The bottom half fills in over two days. Spain against France on Friday afternoon at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, in what is almost a rematch of the 2024 Euros semi-final that Spain won 2-1. Then Mexico against Norway on Saturday at Estadio Azteca, the tie the host nation has been building toward since the group stage and the tie Erling Haaland has spent five matches proving Norway were correct to build around.
The two ties at a glance
Spain vs France: the rematch
Spain arrive as the tournament's best passing team and the second-best defensively. Rodri has controlled the middle of the pitch for six matches. Lamine Yamal has scored three and assisted four, doing to full-backs what he has been doing to Barcelona's opponents in La Liga for two seasons. Pedri, back after the calf strain that kept him out of the round of 16, walks straight into the eleven. Luis de la Fuente has been criticised for his substitutions all tournament and vindicated in every knockout round when the goals came from the second wave.
France come out of a Portugal round of 16 that was not the performance they wanted. Kylian Mbappé had his quietest knockout match in a France shirt. Aurélien Tchouaméni was booked and now sits one yellow away from a semi-final suspension. Didier Deschamps has hinted publicly he may rotate the midfield: Adrien Rabiot in for Youssouf Fofana, Warren Zaïre-Emery to start on the bench. The back four is fixed and it is the youngest back four Deschamps has ever fielded at a knockout tournament — Théo Hernandez the only player over 25.
The 2024 Euros semi-final Spain won 2-1 in Munich hangs over this. Yamal scored the equaliser at 16, Dani Olmo the winner, and Mbappé, playing with a broken nose, was substituted at 71 minutes. Nothing about that game feels three years distant. The tactical rematch would ask two questions: can France pin Yamal back with a Nuno Mendes overlap that never quite worked at the Euros, and can Spain play through the France press before Antoine Griezmann drops in to double up on Rodri?
Prediction: Spain 2-1. Yamal opens the scoring in the first half, Mbappé equalises from a break, Ferrán Torres finishes from the bench.
Mexico vs Norway: the host and the outsider
Mexico have taken the tournament on their own terms. The 2-1 win over Portugal in the round of 16 was a controlled, low-energy performance from a team that was 3-0 up at half-time in the group finale against Czechia and rested seven starters. Guillermo Ochoa, 40 next month, has kept three clean sheets. Santiago Giménez has scored in every knockout. The Azteca crowd will be at capacity for the third time in a fortnight and the atmosphere on Saturday afternoon will be the loudest sporting event held anywhere in the Americas this year.
Norway are the story the tournament did not see coming. Haaland has five goals in five games. Martin Ødegaard has run the midfield the way he runs Arsenal's. The 2-0 win over Switzerland in the round of 32 and the 3-1 win over Croatia in the round of 16 were both performances that looked easier than the fixture list suggested. Ståle Solbakken has built a system that gives Haaland one runner in behind, one crosser from the flank, and asks the rest of the eleven to hold shape. It is not innovative and it is not pretty. It is working.
The tactical hinge is what Mexico can do about Haaland. César Montes and Johan Vásquez have played every minute in the knockout and neither has faced a striker of Haaland's size and speed at the same time. Jaime Lozano is expected to bring in Édson Álvarez in a deeper midfield role than he has played all tournament, screening the centre-backs rather than joining the attack. On the other end, Norway's back four has been solid against direct strikers but has been tested by wide play by exactly no one in the knockout — and Mexico's width is Alexis Vega and Uriel Antuna.
Prediction: Mexico 2-1. Haaland scores an early one from a Ødegaard through-ball, Giménez levels before half-time from a set piece, Antuna finishes the tie with a run down the left in the 78th.
Team news and lineups
Spain will start Pedri back at 8. Nico Williams is a doubt with a hamstring niggle from the Portugal tie; if he sits, Ferrán Torres shifts left and Mikel Oyarzabal enters on the right. Aymeric Laporte partners Dani Vivian at the back. Unai Simón in goal.
France will bring Rabiot back into the midfield. Ousmane Dembélé at 7, Kylian Mbappé at 10, Marcus Thuram preferred to Randal Kolo Muani up top. Ibrahima Konaté and William Saliba in the middle of the back four. Mike Maignan in goal.
Mexico will start Álvarez as the deepest midfielder. Luis Chávez alongside him. Julián Quiñones through the middle with Giménez if Lozano goes to a front two, or Giménez alone if he wants an extra midfielder. The back three of the round of 16 becomes a back four again against Norway.
Norway will start Haaland, Ødegaard, Alexander Sørloth in the front three. Sander Berge and Patrick Berg the double pivot. Jørgen Strand Larsen a substitute changer. The back four unchanged from the Croatia win.
How to watch
In the United States, Fox has both matches in English and Telemundo in Spanish. Spain-France kicks off at 4 p.m. ET Friday; Mexico-Norway at 4 p.m. ET Saturday. In the UK, BBC One has Spain-France and ITV has Mexico-Norway. Follow both live on the Scorelisto soccer scoreboard or the tournament digest on the Scorelisto blog.
FAQ
When is the bottom-half semi-final? Wednesday July 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Whoever wins Friday plays whoever wins Saturday for a place in the final.
Are any players suspended for the quarter-finals? None on Friday. On Saturday, Norway are without Jens Petter Hauge, who picked up his second yellow in the round of 16.
What time is the World Cup 2026 final? Sunday July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, 4 p.m. ET kickoff. The winner of the top-half semi-final (England or Netherlands) plays the winner of the bottom-half semi-final for the trophy.
Where can I follow live scores? Full fixtures and live updates on the Scorelisto soccer scoreboard.