We are down to the final four but which of the teams left in the 2026 World Cup will make it to the final at MetLife Stadium, near New York City, on Sunday?
“The semi-final between France and Spain should be the final based on what I’ve seen,” said BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton.
“Spain are the best footballing side in terms of the way they play and control games, while France have the firepower and the flair.
“In the other half of the draw, England have not been anywhere near their best.
“Instead, they have been the team who have produced big moments to get through matches, and have been helped by a pretty gentle draw so far… but I actually think they have got a great chance of getting past Argentina, for many reasons.”
Sutton, AI and the users of the BBC’s new predictor game are predicting the results of all 104 games at this World Cup.
All three correctly picked the winner of the four quarter-finals, meaning the users now have an insurmountable overall lead with 100 of the tournament’s 104 matches completed.
Chris and AI have both been right 65 times (65%), but you lot are on top with a score of 72 (72%).
AI’s predictions have been generated using Microsoft Copilot Chat. We simply asked the tool to ‘predict the results of the World Cup semi-final ties’.
The BBC predictor game allows readers to pick a winner from each knockout tie.
SEMI-FINAL TIES
Tuesday, 14 July
France v Spain
Dallas / 20:00 BST
I am at this tie for BBC Radio 5 Live and I can’t wait.
As far as I am concerned, France and Spain have been the best two teams at this tournament – for me, whoever wins this game also wins the World Cup.
The only disappointment with Spain has been Lamine Yamal’s form so far, because we’ve not seen the best of him.
He’s been on the periphery in a lot of their games and, when I was at their win over Portugal in the last 16, Nuno Mendes saw him off comfortably.
Yamal will be up against France left-back Lucas Digne this time and he may well fancy his chances one-on-one in that battle.
Spain will definitely need him to turn up. Yamal scored when they beat France in the semi-final of Euro 2024 and how he plays this time will have a large bearing on how the game goes.
I still can’t look past France as winners, however. They have scored 16 goals in their six games to get here and have won them all in 90 minutes – only Argentina, with 17, have more and four of their goals have come in extra time.
France are likely to play on the counter-attack and, because of how brave Spain are with the way they play with the ball and press without it, I can see France having quite a few opportunities on the break.
Spain have only conceded one goal so far but Belgium had a few sniffs against them on the break in the last round and, with the pace and quality France have up front, I feel like they can definitely punish them.
Whether Yamal comes alive or Mikel Merino pops up again, Spain will score. I just think France will score more.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
AI’s prediction: 2-1
Wednesday, 15 July
England v Argentina
Atlanta / 20:00
England will never get a better chance of winning a World Cup semi-final than this.
Argentina are the holders and they are streetwise and, of course, they have got Lionel Messi… but this is an average Argentina side compared to some of their great teams of the past. I look at France and Spain in the other semi-final and they are not in their ballpark.
I covered Argentina’s win over the Swiss in the quarter-finals and they were extremely lucky.
It was Breel Embolo’s red card that changed the entire dynamic of that tie because, until he was sent off, Switzerland were the better team in the second half.
The Swiss can moan as much as they like about the video assistant referee getting involved for his second yellow card, but it was simulation by Embolo.
The frustration for them is that they will see Djed Spence throw himself to the floor to try to win England a penalty against Norway, and he did not receive a yellow card when that decision was reversed.
Still, the way the game went after Embolo’s dismissal was good news for England.
I’d definitely rather be playing Argentina than the Swiss and I reckon Thomas Tuchel and the England players will be absolutely delighted too – they will think they can get at Argentina.
In wide areas, Argentina looked vulnerable. Nahuel Molina, who started at right-back, was given a torrid time by Dan Ndoye, who ended up scoring.
Molina got hooked in the end but, whether it is him or Gonzalo Montiel who starts against England, they will have their hands full with Anthony Gordon.
Similarly, whether it is Noni Madueke or Bukayo Saka on the right, I think they will have the better of Argentina left-back Nicolas Tagliafico in one-on-one duels too.
And, in the centre of their defence, Lisandro Martinez has made mistake after mistake in this tournament. He has got another rick in him, I’m sure of that.
The way Argentina set-up, they overload the middle of the pitch and play really narrow, then try to get Messi on the ball and hope he can produce something.
I know it is easy to say ‘you stop Messi, you stop Argentina’ but watching them, that was literally the case. Apart from Messi they are hoping Julian Alvarez bends one in from 25 yards rather than playing through teams.
Alvarez is usually in midfield but he played slightly differently against Switzerland, and was the one trying to stretch their backline. If he wasn’t doing it, no-one else was.
Messi certainly isn’t going to be making those runs and he was really quiet for long periods against the Swiss, but once they were down to 10 men he was probing and looking more of a threat.
If Declan Rice is fit, then it will be his job to deal with him. The Swiss realised you could not give Messi an inch and Granit Xhaka was brilliant at that.
Messi will still be dangerous but he is 39 now and, as long as Tuchel has a plan to stop him drifting into space, I think England will have enough quality everywhere else to win.
Look, it will be a brilliant tie because of all the history between the two countries at World Cups, with the Diego Maradona handball and the David Beckham red card.
The previous meetings have been pretty feisty, and I am expecting more of the same here.
I would not be surprised to see some antics from the Argentina players because they love that side of it. They will be happy if it turns into that kind of game, where things get a bit wild and England players might lose their heads.
But, if they can keep their cool, I am expecting England to win comfortably – and my other prediction is for Argentina to finish the game with nine men.
Messi has never played against England, and maybe he will make his mark, but England have got their own superstar now in Jude Bellingham.
His first goal against Norway was sensational, with his power, poise and the finish. He is absolutely flying at the moment and if it comes down to one player deciding this game, it is likely to be him.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
AI’s prediction: 1-2
