France-Spain and England-Argentina headline a historic final four — here’s how both games could play out, and the internet’s funniest reactions to how we got here
The 2026 World Cup has reached its final four, and for the first time in tournament history, it’s the top four FIFA-ranked nations left standing: France, Argentina, Spain and England. Before Tuesday and Wednesday’s semifinals kick off in Texas and Georgia, here are our full World Cup semifinal predictions for both matches — plus a roundup of the internet’s best memes from a genuinely wild quarterfinal round.
Semifinal 1: France vs. Spain — Prediction
Tuesday’s meeting in Arlington is a rematch of Spain’s 2024 European Championship win over France, a game remembered largely for a stunning Lamine Yamal solo goal. This time, the stakes are considerably higher, and the form book leans firmly toward Didier Deschamps’ side. France have won all five matches so far, scoring 14 goals in the process, and Kylian Mbappé’s individual numbers — eight goals, three assists, and 20 career World Cup goals, one behind only Lionel Messi all-time — put him level with Messi atop the Golden Boot standings heading into the final four.
Spain, by contrast, have looked like the tournament’s most defensively watertight side, conceding nothing across their opening five matches, but their attack has been notably short of ruthless, needing a 90th-minute Mikel Merino strike just to see off Portugal in the Round of 16. Lamine Yamal’s continued lack of scoring form — just one goal through the knockout rounds so far, after entering the tournament managing a hamstring concern — remains the single biggest swing factor for La Roja’s attacking ceiling.
Prediction: France’s superior attacking depth, led by Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, should be enough to break down Spain’s defense at least once — but Spain’s structure and Unai Simón’s imperious form make this a genuine coin-flip. We’re calling it France 2-1, with Mbappé adding to his Golden Boot tally in the process.
Semifinal 2: England vs. Argentina — Prediction
Wednesday’s meeting in Atlanta carries its own significant historical weight — England’s first World Cup semifinal since 1966, against a defending champion Argentina side that has needed late drama in every single knockout match this tournament to advance. Jude Bellingham’s extra-time brace against Norway has made him the biggest storyline in the England camp, even amid a public difference of opinion with manager Thomas Tuchel over how convincingly the team actually played.
Argentina, meanwhile, remain built almost entirely around Messi’s continued brilliance, with his eight goals keeping him level with Mbappé at the top of the Golden Boot race. Julián Álvarez’s return to full fitness — evidenced by his extra-time golazo against Switzerland — gives Lionel Scaloni a genuine second attacking outlet for the first time in several matches, potentially easing the burden on his 39-year-old captain heading into the tournament’s most physically demanding remaining fixtures.
Prediction: This is the toughest semifinal to call on paper, given Argentina’s habit of finding late goals and England’s growing all-around confidence. Expect a tight, cagey affair that goes to extra time again — with Argentina’s superior knockout-stage experience narrowly edging it, 2-1.
The Best Memes From Quarterfinal Week
Beyond the on-pitch drama, this stretch of the tournament has produced some of its funniest social media moments yet.
“Tuchel’s Backhanded Compliment.” England manager Thomas Tuchel calling his own team’s extra-time win over Norway “lucky” and criticizing their “sloppy” tactics, mere minutes after Jude Bellingham’s match-winning brace, immediately became meme fodder, with fans photoshopping stern “disappointed dad” reaction images over Bellingham’s celebration photos.
“Bellingham’s Shrug Heard Round the World.” Bellingham’s understated response — “Yeah, well, whatever” — to Tuchel’s criticism spread just as quickly, turning into a stand-alone reaction meme used across football social media any time a player delivers on the pitch despite public criticism from their own manager.
“The All-Argentine Referee Theory.” When fans noticed the entire officiating crew for France’s quarterfinal against Morocco was Argentine, conspiracy-themed memes exploded across timelines — despite Argentina having no actual connection to that fixture — riffing on the idea that Argentina’s federation was somehow orchestrating the entire bracket in Messi’s favor.
“Neymar’s Poker Face.” Brazil’s early elimination courtesy of Norway produced one of the tournament’s more unexpected crossover moments, as Neymar’s decision to enter a $10,000 buy-in World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas spawned a wave of jokes about his “career pivot” going smoother than his national team’s World Cup campaign.
“Klopp Speedrunning a Job Change.” Jürgen Klopp’s sudden appointment as Germany’s new head coach, mere days after Julian Nagelsmann’s dismissal following the shootout loss to Paraguay, produced a flood of “he’s not even unemployed for a full week” jokes across German and English football social media alike.
“Haaland’s Chart-Topping Farewell.” Even in defeat, Norway’s Erling Haaland stayed at the center of the internet’s attention, with fans circulating clips of his viral rap song — which reportedly topped a streaming chart mid-tournament — as a kind of triumphant farewell soundtrack to his side’s historic, if ultimately unsuccessful, run to the quarterfinals.
What to Watch For Heading Into the Semifinals
Beyond the raw prediction math, a few storylines are worth tracking closely as the semifinals approach. The Golden Boot race between Messi and Mbappé, now deadlocked at eight goals apiece, could realistically be decided by which of Argentina or France advances further, given how direct a route each has to added minutes and chances. Yamal’s underwhelming personal scoring tally, despite Spain’s team success, remains one of the tournament’s more surprising subplots given the hype heading into his World Cup debut. And England’s Tuchel-Bellingham dynamic is worth monitoring purely as a psychological subplot — will public criticism from a manager galvanize or destabilize a team just two wins from a first World Cup final in 60 years?
Final Word
Two genuinely unpredictable semifinals, a Golden Boot race that’s now a straight duel between two of the sport’s biggest stars, and an entire week of social media chaos to match the drama on the pitch — this is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining stretches of any recent World Cup, both for neutral fans placing their predictions and for anyone just here for the memes.
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