​Two massive games are on tap today at the World Cup, with the defending champions and the ever-hopeful Three Lions both in action. The opening two quarterfinals didn’t deliver peak excitement: France never looked under threat from Morocco in that Mbappé-fueled 2-0 victory, while Spain have become a relentless machine, steadily chewing through every opponent in their path. Belgium flirted with a chance but never really threatened, and when Mikel Merino comes on as a substitute, you can sense the outcome has been sealed.
Yet even as France and Spain have sliced through the tournament like a hot knife through butter, England and Argentina have also endured their hiccups. They’ve produced three of the most memorable games not just of this World Cup, but in modern competition history, all of them finishing 3-2: England versus Mexico, Argentina versus Cape Verde, and Argentina versus Egypt.
There’s an unwritten rule in World Cup narratives that one of the final four should be a “lesser” power. It’s unwritten for a reason and isn’t always followed (think Brazil in 2014), but could this year bring Norway or Switzerland as the surprise deep-boat to rival Morocco, Bulgaria in ’94, or South Korea in ’02? Let’s see how it unfolds.
England’s victory over Mexico at the Azteca will long be remembered—not only because it marked only the third time in 90 competitive encounters that Mexico lost there, but because it sets up a distinctly different challenge against the physicality and size of Norway. Should England ride the emotion of that Round of 16 win to the finish, or recalibrate to keep emotion in check as the tournament demands?
Meanwhile, Norway has earned their status as a genuine sleeper hopeful, living up to pre-tournament expectations by pushing deeper than their ranking suggested and even beating Brazil along the way. The one blemish in their run was that late group-stage defeat to France, a game in which Erling Haaland did not feature; he has played every minute of the other four matches, contributing seven of Norway’s eleven goals. He is as inevitable as any forward in football.
Of course, if there’s a team you’d expect to neutralize him, it’s England, armed with a crop of Premier League stars who know his game better than most. It’s one thing to know how Haaland operates; it’s another to stop him. Thus far, very few have managed it, whether in this World Cup or in the Premier League.
Yet England haven’t faced a similar stopper if you ask about Harry Kane. The England captain continues to lead from the front, with six goals to his name and a share of the Golden Boot race alongside Haaland, while Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi sit a notch ahead on eight goals each as things stand.
On the injury front, there is a glimmer of good news: Reece James has been cleared to play, though his hamstring remains a concern and could complicate Thomas Tuchel’s plans at right back. Jarrell Quansah is suspended after his red card, something that will weigh on selection and strategy as England prepare for the next hurdle.