​There have been 100 matches played so far in the 2026 men’s World Cup, and by the time the tournament concludes, the four semi-finalists and the top four teams in the FIFA rankings will have emerged. The long-standing discourse about spreading the game and taking the World Cup to new frontiers has given way to a stark reality: Europe, with at least one South American contender, still dominates the competition. For the first time, the rankings line up with the men’s semi-final lineup, a coincidence partly due to FIFA’s draw design, which kept the top teams apart until now. Whether France, ranked number one, can maintain the form and win the trophy for a third time in New Jersey next Sunday remains far from guaranteed. Pundits agree that Didier Deschamps’ squad have been the standout team, utilizing blistering pace on the front line from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, while Michael Olise’s craft and vision thread the attack together from just behind. Olise leads the assists with five, and Mbappé sits at the top of the Golden Boot race, tied for the lead.
“We are fighting for France. We are playing with passion,” the forward said. Yet France’s defense has largely gone untroubled so far, and Tuesday’s semi-final near Dallas against European champions Spain offers the Spaniards a chance to claim a third straight victory over the French in major fixtures. La Roja defeated France in the Euro 2024 semi-final 2-1 and then edged past them 5-4 in a wild Nations League encounter last year. Is Spain’s success hinged on Simón? Third-ranked Spain have not reached their peak this tournament, depending on Mikel Merino coming off the bench to score late goals to down Portugal and Belgium. Nevertheless, their backline and goalkeeper have held firm, with Unai Simón extending a World Cup record by remaining without conceding for 649 minutes across two tournaments. “I can remain calm and composed under pressure. It is probably innate,” said the Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper. Simón will need to be at his best again against France, but his feats give his team hope for another tight win.
The other semi-final pits second-ranked holders Argentina and fourth-ranked England in Atlanta on Wednesday. Neither side has been at full tilt in this tournament, yet both possess world-class match-winners in Lionel Messi for Argentina and the England duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, each with six goals to their name. Messi and Kane were quieter in their most recent outings. In a telling sign for England, the World Cup record scorer Messi failed to find the net for the first time this edition in Argentina’s 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland on Saturday. He remains level with Mbappé on eight goals at the top of this year’s scoring chart and is unlikely to miss again in the semi-finals, though Argentina will notice that Kane also had an unusually subdued performance in the 2-1 extra-time win over Norway in the quarter-finals. The fact that Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham added two more goals to his tally demonstrates that England are not a one-man team, though Kane and Messi remain the pivotal figures for their sides. The question now is whether England can leverage their depth and Messi can spark Argentina’s campaign once more as the last four teams battle for a place in the final.