The round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup wrapped up on Tuesday, making way for the quarter-final round, with the last eight who have survived what has been a tumultuous tournament, featuring expected highlights, but riddled with extreme controversy and intense drama. And we are still seven games away from the final on July 19, so a lot more of the same is anticipated.

Forty-one nations have already made their exit, including all three tournament co-hosts, the United States, Canada and Mexico, and there was no shortage of pure miracles, questionable decisions, unhinged reactions, off-colour rhetoric and instances of complete kerfuffle, to take football’s showpiece to this pivotal point. That said, there are a few surprise appearances at this stage, and one whose appearance, though expected, being a JustBet pre-tournament favourite, took a very adventurous route, and not only stirred, but seasoned the conspiracy pot way beyond acceptable taste.

First, the surprises.

After flirting with disaster in their opening Group G games, drawing 1-1 with Egypt and 0-0 with Iran, Belgium broadsided New Zealand 5-1 in their final group encounter, to win the group and advance to the Round-of-32. Miraculously, they got past Senegal 3-2 to advance to the Round-of-16, where they blanketed the US men’s national team 4-1, but that does very little to make up for the lackluster performances they had put together in the tournament previously.

Belgium, despite the wealth of talent in their locker room, is nothing if not inconsistent, and they will tackle Spain this afternoon, in a clash of European powerhouses. Spain, after being held to a goalless draw in their opening Group H match by the sweethearts of this tournament, Cape Verde, have upped their game since, bettering Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, 4-0 and 1-0, respectively, to win the group, then dispatched Austria 3-0, before getting a late, extra-time winner to oust Portugal in the round of 16.

“La Roja”, Spain, will now face their third-straight European opponent in the knockout stage as the “Red Devils”, Belgium, look to repeat their nation’s famous 1986 quarter-final win against these same opponents. This clash with Spain is Belgium’s third quarter-final in four World Cups and fourth overall. They beat Spain at this stage in 1986 and Brazil in 2018, sandwiching a loss to Argentina in 2014. For Spain, the quarter-finals have not often been a good stage, as they have only passed the last eight twice, making it to the final group stage in 1950 and beating Paraguay on their way to lifting the trophy in South Africa 60 years later, in 2010. Spain is heavy JustBet favourites and the bookmaker may have it right, but this one should be interesting.

Next are the Norwegians, who have reached the quarter-finals after a 28-year tournament absence, which in itself is an incredible achievement. They can feel accomplished if they take their final bow at any point now, especially considering star striker Erling Haaland thought his side only had a “very small” chance of beating five-time world champion Brazil in the round of 16. They got to their first-ever World Cup quarter-final after finishing second in Group I, beating Iraq 4-1 in their opening encounter, nudging past Senegal 3-2, before being humbled by the eventual group winner France, 4-1.

Norway muscled past the Ivory Coast 2-1 in the round of 32, before dispatching Brazil with a similar score line in the round-of-16, a result that left jaws agape and Norway rowing into the quarterfinal round. The reward for their efforts, a matchup against England, who had their own unbridled path to the elite last eight. “The Three Lions”, England, won their opening encounter against Croatia 4-2, had a frustrating goalless draw with Ghana, then moved past Panama 2-0, to win Group L. Their exploits led them to the round of 32 where, after a battle royal, got the better of the DR Congo 2-1 and qualified for the round of 16, for a visit to the feared Azteca Stadium, to take on co-host Mexico. What transpired was arguably the game of the tournament, which drew a staggering 9.1 million viewers for the BBC in England, a record television audience for a live UK broadcast at a start time of 2:00 am, local time.

The Englishmen prevailed over their hosts 3-2, following a blistering game, that swung from end to end, and if the expectation is anything close for the Norway matchup tomorrow afternoon, buckle up and hold on for a wild ride. England is a slight JustBet favourite over Norway, but Haaland already has seven goals for the tournament and is not showing any visible sign of slowing down.

Inarguably, the biggest surprise at this stage is Switzerland, a historically mediocre team on the World Cup stage, yet have rewritten that narrative in this tournament. The “Nati”, Switzerland, won Group B after a 1-1 draw with Qatar in their opening encounter, dismantling Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 in their second game, and beating co-host Canada 2-1, to close the group stage. They then brushed off Algeria 2-0 in the round of 32, to enter the round of 16 against Colombia where, after a scoreless draw through extra time, defeated the South American powerhouse 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out, to earn a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1954.

Their next outing is tomorrow, Saturday, against title holders Argentina, who must be close to exhausting their allotted share of miracles. “La Albiceleste”, Argentina, dusted Algeria 3-1 in their opening game, bettered Austria 2-0 in their second outing, and pushed passed Jordan 3-1, to win Group J, finishing the group stage as one of only three team to go undefeated in the first round — The others being Mexico and France. Argentina very narrowly got past Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32, then once again pulled off a miracle against Egypt in the round of 16. With 12 minutes left, and trailing 0-2, like a plot from a movie, the Argentinians scored three unanswered goals to walk away with victory at the final whistle, while generating more scrutiny than the Watergate scandal.

Argentina, for their sake, should take the lessons from their last two game seriously, as despite making it this far, it was more adventurous than they would prefer it to be. Switzerland are heavy JustBet underdogs, but so were Cape Verde and Egypt, and the defending champions are here just by the skin of their proverbial teeth. These two teams have faced each other twice at the World Cup, with the Swiss losing both encounters — first at the 1966 World Cup in England and then again at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. Argentina should win but, if even for the drama, this should be a good watch.

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