Now, with Lionel Messi leading the defending champions and England searching for their first World Cup final appearance since 1966, another historic encounter awaits.
Argentina are bidding to become only the third nation after Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962) to successfully defend the FIFA World Cup title
Lionel Messi supplied his 10th World Cup assist, but Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez struck deep in extra time as Argentina beat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 to set up a semi-final against England
France superstar Kylian Mbappe currently sits at the top of the leaderboard with eight goals and three assists, showcasing his consistency on the biggest stage.
Goals from Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez in extra time made sure the defending champions keep their title defense alive.
For Argentina, victory would move them within two wins of retaining the World Cup, while Switzerland are chasing history as they look to reach their first-ever World Cup semifinal
Morocco and Norway script upsets, England, France and Spain edge through tense encounters, while Belgium and Argentina survive to complete the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final line-up
Argentina vs Egypt HIGHLIGHTS: The defending champions keep their title defence alive and will now face the winner of Colombia vs Switzerland in the last eight.
Unlike Messi Maradona lived a life of excess - glorious highs shadowed by criticism and controversy
The winner of the Argentina and Cabo Verde round-of-32 match will take on the winner of the Australia vs Egypt match, which is set to take place earlier on Friday
Portugal held by Colombia to a goalless draw as they will now face Croatia in the next round. Messi scored his 6th goal as Argentina won 3-1 against Jordan.
Panama vs England (2:30 am), Croatia vs Ghana (2:30 am), Colombia vs Portugal (5:00 am), DR Congo vs Uzbekistan (5:00 am), Algeria vs Austria (7:30 am), Jordan vs Argentina (7:30 am).
Messi and Mbappe, after scoring five and four goals respectively in their first two games of the FIFA World Cup 2026, are now the two highest goal-scorers in the tournament's history
The Argentina captain became the outright highest scorer in FIFA World Cup history before adding another goal in a 2-0 win over Austria in Dallas
Argentina vs Austria HIGHLIGHTS: Messi now has 18 World Cup goals to his name, making him the top goal scorer in the tournament's history
Miguel Almiron became the first player sent off under FIFA's new mouth-covering rule during Paraguay vs Turkiye on Saturday
Mexico became the first team to reach the round of 32, while Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe stole the spotlight during the opening week of the FIFA World Cup 2026
Lionel Messi's hattrick against Algeria takes him to 16 World Cup goals, equalling with Miroslav Klose's all-time record as Kylian Mbappe remains firmly in the race.
Lionel Messi became the second player to score in five World Cups, giving defending champion Argentina an early 1-0 lead over Algeria on Tuesday night. Making his record sixth appearance in the tournament, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner found a crease in the Algerian defence and easily beat goalkeeper Luca Zidane for his 14th World Cup goal, sending a blue-and-white-clad crowd packed inside Arrowhead Stadium into delirium. Moments earlier, Messi had a goal disallowed for offsides. Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal as the only players with goals in five World Cups. Ronaldo became the first in 2022 and is set to play in his sixth World Cup on Wednesday. Miroslav Klose of Germany holds the record for World Cup goals with 16, one ahead of Brazil great Ronaldo. Messi's latest highlight pulled him into a tie for third on the career list with Kylian Mbappe - who scored two goals in France's 3-1 win over Senegal earlier Tuesday - and Gerd Muller of West Germany. The goal came 2
Messi's hat-trick against Algeria took the 38-year-old's World Cup tally to 16 goals, drawing level with Miroslav Klose's all-time record set across four tournaments between 2002 and 2014.