Argentina joins England, Spain, and France in World Cup semifinals

By Ananya Iyer — 12 July 2026 — 3 min read

England has secured a spot in the World Cup semifinals after a 2-1 victory over Norway. The win was largely attributed to a brace from midfielder Jude Bellingham. Despite the team’s advancement, England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed dissatisfaction with the performance, describing it as a “lucky” win and criticising the team’s “sloppy” tactics. Bellingham, however, dismissed the criticism, stating that the players had put in a “very tough shift.”

The match between Norway and England was held at Miami Stadium, US. This marked their first encounter in a World Cup, though they have faced each other 12 times overall. England holds a historical advantage with eight wins compared to Norway’s two, and Norway has not scored in their last four meetings. Their most recent friendly in September 2014 ended in a 1-0 victory for England.

Opta’s supercomputer had predicted England as favourites to reach the semifinals, giving them a 50.4 percent chance of winning within 90 minutes based on 25,000 pre-match simulations. Norway was given a 25.1 percent chance of winning in normal time.

Argentina advances to semifinals

Following England’s progression, Argentina also secured their place in the semifinals by defeating Switzerland. This means Argentina will join England, France, and Spain in the final four of the tournament. The match between Argentina and Switzerland took place at Kansas City Stadium, US.

Historically, Argentina has a strong record against Switzerland, being unbeaten in their seven previous meetings, with five wins and two draws. The Opta supercomputer had also favoured Argentina to advance, giving Lionel Messi’s side a 57.1 percent chance of winning within 90 minutes, based on 25,000 pre-match simulations. Switzerland had an 18.7 percent probability of winning in normal time.

The semifinals are now set, with France facing Spain on Tuesday, July 14, at Dallas Stadium. The winner of the Norway/England match will play the winner of the Argentina/Switzerland match on July 15 at Atlanta Stadium.

Player focus and other developments

Ahead of the England vs Norway quarterfinal, England captain Harry Kane addressed comparisons between himself and Norway’s Erling Haaland. Kane stated that they are “completely different players” despite both being number nines, highlighting his preference to be more involved with the ball while Haaland is known for his goalscoring ability. Haaland has scored seven goals in the tournament, one more than Kane, with both players trailing Messi and Kylian Mbappe, who each have eight goals.

The match also brought attention to the friendship between Bellingham and Haaland, which developed during their time at Borussia Dortmund. Fans have embraced the “Vikings battle” narrative for the England vs Norway match, with Haaland engaging with Mexican supporters online who adopted Norway as their team after Mexico’s elimination.

In other news, Portugal has appointed Jorge Jesus as its new coach following a disappointing World Cup campaign. The 71-year-old coach succeeds Roberto Martinez, whose departure was announced after Portugal’s 1-0 round-of-16 defeat to Spain. Jesus plans to speak with Cristiano Ronaldo regarding his international future, as Ronaldo had indicated the 2026 World Cup would be his last.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s World Cup journey ended with a 2-0 defeat to France in the quarterfinals. Morocco became the first African nation to reach consecutive World Cup quarterfinals. Attention for Morocco now shifts to 2030, when they will cohost the World Cup alongside Portugal and Spain, automatically qualifying as hosts.

Mbappe, captain of France, has stated that comparisons between the current French team and the country’s greatest teams are premature, despite their 2-0 victory over Morocco securing their semifinal spot. Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have collectively scored 13 goals in the tournament.

Source: sports.yahoo.com