The World Cup Semis Are About To Feature An Unprecedented Level Of Starpower

In each of the two epic quarterfinals we witnessed on Saturday — England’s extra-time win over Norway, Argentina’s extra-time victory against Switzerland — there were long stretches where the underdog seemed destined to pull off the upsets and advance to this week’s semis. Norway led the Three Lions. The Swiss equalized and had the momentum with just over 20 of the regular 90 minutes remaining. Both losers understandably felt aggrieved; the Norwegian players insisted that England’s first goal shouldn’t have counted, and had what could’ve been its own game-winner nullified after an intervention by the video assistant referee. VAR reduced Switzerland to 10 men vs. Lionel Messi and the rest of the defending World Cup champions, rendering the outcome inevitable. However it happened, here we are: with FIFA’s four top-ranked teams — No. 1 France, followed by Argentina, Spain and England — in the semifinals for the first time in tournament history. It’s a remarkable statistic when you think about it. Only eight nations have won the World Cup over 22 editions since the inaugural 1930 competition. The decisive match is almost always a meeting between past winners; just three of the 14 finalists since 2002 hadn’t previously lifted the trophy: Belgium and Croatia in 2018, and Spain eight years earlier. Yet in the semis, chaos has long reigned. Non-traditional powers have littered the World Cup’s last four this century. Unlike the final, the semis are not normally a roll-call of the usual suspects. The Croats also got to the semis in Qatar in 2022. Morocco’s Cinderella run four years ago made them the first African nation and the first from the Arab world to get that far. Portugal, South Korea and Türkiye have also reached the semifinal stage this century. By contrast, all four countries still alive at this World Cup are anything but upstarts. The list includes current holders (Argentina), current runner-up (France), and the titlists from 2018 (France) and 2010 (Spain). England, which is hoping to end its 60-year World Cup drought this summer, was a semifinalist in 2018 and reached the last two European Championship finals. Each of the semifinalists features at least one legitimate global superstar. There’s living legend Messi, the GOAT, who at age 39 has scored eight goals and is tied atop the Golden Boot race with Le Bleus ace Kylian Mbappé. Three Lions duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have six goals apiece, with Bellingham scoring four of those in England’s last two matches. Meantime, La Roja boasts teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, the player widely considered as the heir apparent to Messi and Mbappé as soccer’s best, if he isn’t better already. Though Yamal has had a quiet World Cup so far, the biggest game(s) yet await. The match-ups could hardly be better, either. Tuesday’s France-Spain contest (kickoff at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One) in Dallas is a rematch of the Euro 2024 semi, when Yamal’s golazo helped La Roja best its cross-border rival. England and Argentina will reignite an even more contentious rivalry on Wednesday (kickoff at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and FOX One) in Atlanta; the Albiceleste are 2-0 against England in World Cup knockout games all-time. There are more irresistible storylines. Can Messi lead Argentina to consecutive World Cup triumphs, which nobody has done since Pele’s Brazil repeated in 1962? Will Mbappé reach a third straight final, or will Yamal play for the most coveted prize in sports next Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium, just six days after celebrating his 19th birthday? Could this finally be the year it’s coming home to England for what would be the first time in most of their supporters’ lifetimes? In what was already the biggest and best World Cup ever staged, it’s shaping up as a fitting last week. History is about to be written, and we all have a front-row seat.