FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals Begin Today: All Eyes On These Four Superstars

Boston: The quarter-final stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 gets underway after midnight tonight (Indian time), with the remaining eight teams battling for places in the semi-finals. The winners of the matches, which will be played through Sunday, will complete the tournament’s final four.
 
The spotlight will be firmly on four global superstars—Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane—whose performances are expected to play a decisive role in their teams’ fortunes.
 
Argentina will once again look to Lionel Messi to lead them into the semi-finals, while France will pin their hopes on Kylian Mbappe. Norway will depend heavily on Erling Haaland, and England will expect captain Harry Kane to deliver. However, all four teams also boast several other match-winners capable of steering them to victory.

 
Quarter-final Fixtures
The historic 48-team FIFA World Cup has now been reduced to just eight contenders after 40 nations were eliminated. The quarter-final schedule is as follows:
 
France vs Morocco
(Today after midnight – 1:30 AM IST)
 
Spain vs Belgium
(Friday after midnight – 12:30 AM IST)
 
England vs Norway
(Saturday after midnight – 2:30 AM IST)
 
Argentina vs Switzerland
(Sunday – 6:30 AM IST)

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