Down to the Last Eight: Your Quarter-Final Guide, from Foxborough to Kansas City
Available in USThree weeks in, and the field of forty-eight has been whittled to a last eight with no host nation and no Brazil among them. The rest day is over, the quarter-finals land this evening, and for the Irish supporter watching from the couch there is a proper spread of it — a heavyweight opener tonight, a Saturday double-header that runs past the pub’s last orders, and a market that has finally found its favourite. Here is the shape of the last eight, the prices for the euro books, and when to set the alarm.
Tonight’s opener: France v Morocco, a semi-final rematch
We start with the tie of the round. France v Morocco (9:00pm IST tonight, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough) is a straight replay of the Qatar 2022 semi-final that France won 2-0 — only this time Morocco arrive not as a fairytale but as an unbeaten, hardened contender. France are strong favourites at around 4/7 to win in 90 minutes, the draw 3/1, with Morocco a tempting 5/1 to 6/1. Didier Deschamps’ side have won all six of their matches, but a stubborn Paraguay dragged them to a 1-0 in the last round, settled by a Mbappé penalty. Aurélien Tchouaméni is a major doubt with a thigh problem, which muddies the French midfield.
The Saturday double-header the Irish punter will love
Skip Friday’s Spain v Belgium for a moment and look at Saturday 11 July, because it is built for an Irish sitting room. Norway v England (10:00pm IST, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami) carries the British-Irish flag, with England around 10/11 favourites and Erling Haaland’s Norway — at their first World Cup since 1998 and first-ever quarter-final — out at 14/5. Then the night owls get Argentina v Switzerland at a brutal 2:00am IST Sunday (Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City), with Lionel Messi’s Argentina 4/5 to 5/7 and a resolute Switzerland 17/4.
Friday’s tie: Spain v Belgium at the SoFi
The one for the purists is Spain v Belgium (8:00pm IST Friday, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles). Spain have been the tournament’s meanest side — four clean sheets on the spin and only two goals conceded all told — and are 8/13 favourites, with Belgium out at 17/4 and the draw 3/1. The history is lopsided: Spain have lost none of the seven meetings between them. Belgium, missing Amadou Onana to a cruciate injury, have leaked goals even while advancing, so De la Fuente’s back line will fancy another shut-out.
The outright market: France clear, Argentina charging
France have hardened into the clear favourite at around 9/5 after the last-16 shocks cleared the top of the board. Behind them it is congested: Spain around 15/4, Argentina 4/1 (British books go as short as 3/1 off Messi’s surge), and England 9/2. The dark horses lengthen out — Norway 14/1, Morocco 27/1, Belgium 30/1 and Switzerland 33/1.
The road to the semis
The bracket is already mapped. The winners of tonight’s France-Morocco and Friday’s Spain-Belgium meet in the first semi-final on Tuesday 14 July in Dallas; the winners of Saturday’s Norway-England and Argentina-Switzerland clash in the second semi on Wednesday 15 July in Atlanta. A note for the accumulator crowd: several players are one booking from a semi-final suspension, including Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel, so team news will matter before you commit.
The Irish angle
No Irish side in it, but no shortage of reasons to stay up. England fly the British-Irish flag on Saturday night — at a punter-friendly 10:00pm kick-off — while the romantics have Haaland’s Norway gate-crashing their first quarter-final in a generation and Messi chasing one last World Cup at 2am Sunday. With France clear but beatable and value stacked underneath, the sensible play is to wait for team news on Tchouaméni and England’s patched-up defence before backing anything. Our winner-odds page has the fuller market picture, the teams hub tracks every side still standing, and the match schedule in Irish time has every kick-off converted.
Odds shown are converted to fractional format for Irish bookmakers and were accurate as of 8 July 2026; always check the live price before betting. 18+, gamble responsibly. Please play within your limits — support is available at GambleAware.ie.
