The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some epic moments and exciting soccer. We started to see some upsets and close calls, as we now head into the quarterfinals at the tournament.
So, with only eight teams remaining, who are the best nations still playing at the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW crew of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals.
“I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8,” Kljestan said.
Edu agreed with the evaluation, noting that Belgium should move up after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium got to move up a spot.
Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 at this tournament.
No. 7 Belgium
Belgium, which was originally ranked eighth, moved up one spot following a 4-1 rout over co-hosts United States in the round of 16. Belgium has displayed the ability to score in bunches, but it looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 32, having to mount a comeback for the ages to advance. That also came after Belgium went 1-2-0 in the group stage, but it has now won three straight matches.
No. 6 Norway
Norway occupied the No. 6 position with unanimous consent from the World Cup NOW crew, with Edu even leading a quick Viking row with his crewmates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation’s history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 win over Brazil on Sunday. Norway has also won all four games Haaland has played in this tournament as he battles for the Golden Boot.
No. 5 Morocco
For the No. 5 spot, the crew agreed on Morocco to finalize the bottom half of the power ranking. Ortiz added that Morocco should not be taken lightly, something the rest of the crew agreed with.
Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals after its 3-0 win over Canada on Saturday. But its most impressive match might have been against the Netherlands in the round of 32. After battling to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, Morocco advanced in penalty kicks as it’ll now take on France in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
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No. 4 England
The debate shifted as the panel examined the top four teams, starting with a close comparison between England at No. 4 and the third-ranked team on this list.
“Our decision between number three and number four was tough, because I think England has also shown championship quality, and so I think there’s a small separation between the one and two teams and the three and four teams,” Kljestan said.
Edu pointed to England’s recent performance with its 3-2 win over Mexico to show how close the margin was between the two sides.
“The biggest to me, between Argentina and England, because I was at that game in Mexico City, England were impressive to be able to do what hadn’t been done since 2013 in a competitive match at the Azteca, which is to win, there was impressive,” Edu said. “Their stars showed up, Jude Bellingham gets a brace, Harry Kane gets a goal, and assists in that one as well.”
No. 3 Argentina
Despite England’s heroic performance, the crew gave Argentina the edge at No. 3 due to its tournament history and tournament management.
“What separates Argentina? Obviously, it’s Messi, but it’s that they’ve done it already,” Edu said.
“They come in here as a defending champion, so they know that winning pedigree, they know what it takes, and when you’re talking about their last couple games against Cape Verde, and then today against Egypt, yeah, they were nerve-wrenching.
“If you’re a Messi fan, if you’re an Argentine fan, you’re sitting there sweating, you’re nervous, but there’s a certain character that this group possesses, the manager as well, because they’ve crossed that line already at the last World Cup.”
Argentina has won all five matches it’s played at this World Cup. However, its last two victories were dramatic. It needed extr
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a time to take down Cape Verde in the round of 32 before having to comeback from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Egypt in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
“You guys, they’ve, they’ve made the fans suffer, they’ve made football fans suffer, but they’ve always come through,” Ortiz said.
Guzan added that it has “been the Messi show,” and indicated that the rest of the roster must contribute more as the tournament progresses.
“They’re going to need some help from others,” Guzan said. “There’s other guys on that team, they’re going to have to step up.”
No. 2 Spain
Spain secured the No. 2 spot in the power rankings, largely due to its defensive efficiency throughout the competition.
“I think Spain has been incredible,” Edu said. “There’s still more, there’s still more to be seen from this team, but they’ve been incredibly efficient. The fact that they’re in a quarterfinal without having conceded a goal, that’s where [I say] that is spectacular.”
As Spain hasn’t conceded a purpose but on this match, it is outscored its opponents 9-0 on this match.
No. 1 France
France took the No. 1 spot on the board, sustaining its standing as match favorites.
“They usually’ve lived as much as the expectations that everyone’s placed on them,” Kljestan mentioned. “They had been the odds-on favourite. They had been the group that each one of us, I imagine, at this little spherical desk has picked to win the match, and so they’ve been the most effective attacking group. So, they’re No. 1 — greatest attacking group, quantity two, greatest defending group on this match.”
Identical to Argentina, France has received all 5 matches it has performed on this match as nicely. It needed to grind out a 1-0 win over Paraguay within the spherical of 16, however France has outscored its opponents 14-2 on this match.
With the rankings set, the analysts mentioned whether or not any of the lower-ranked groups may problem the highest 4 for the title. Kljestan expressed skepticism in regards to the decrease tier’s probabilities of sustaining success by means of the remaining rounds.
“I personally do not assume that any of the groups outdoors the highest 4 can win this World Cup,” Kljestan mentioned. “It’s a must to win three extra video games from this level on, and I do not see any of these groups knocking off any of the highest 4 groups, not to mention knocking them off as soon as after which having to do two extra.”
Guzan agreed, emphasizing the issue of placing collectively a number of consecutive wins in opposition to elite opponents.
“That is what I used to be simply gonna say, I feel there’s potential for doing it as soon as, doing it two and thrice,” Guzan mentioned. “I feel it turns into actually, actually difficult while you’re going up in opposition to these prime 4 groups within the high quality that they possess.”
