Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic appDay 27 of the World Cup witnessed a tearful Lionel Messi, a jubilant Switzerland and confirmation of the final teams to reach the World Cup quarterfinals.Messi’s emotions came at the end of an extraordinary comeback win for Argentina over Egypt before the Swiss won on penalties against Colombia to take the final place in the last eight.Today we ask: Will a change to how the bracket works guarantee a legendary finish to an already remarkable tournament? What did Messi’s rare show of emotions say about Argentina’s prospects? And how far can a team of no stars go?Here Michael Cox explains.Matchday 27 results
Argentina 3 Egypt 2
Switzerland 0 Colombia 0 (4-3 on pens)Is the World Cup destined for a high-class finish?The lineup for the quarterfinals is now set, and features all four sides ‘seeded’ to reach this stage without bumping into one another. France, Spain, England and Argentina all start as favourites for their matches against Morocco, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland respectively.The surprises, really, have been that none of these sides have to face the likes of Brazil, Germany or the Netherlands, all eliminated without meeting one of the true favorites. Spain was forced to face rival Portugal in the round of 16, and that will probably prove trickier than its quarterfinal against Belgium.The four pre-tournament favorites have, in various ways, impressed so far. France is more attacking than usual, Spain has produced some wonderful passing moves and scored some lovely goals, England overcame the challenge of Mexico City remarkably impressively, while Argentina has wobbled a couple of times but continues to progress through the tournament.Seeding the four favorites was slightly unpopular with those who favour some randomness in the latter stages, but there was some logic to it in a tournament in which the bracket was unpredictable due to some third-placed sides going through. It’s worth remembering that the best sides at Euro 2024 seemed to be Spain and Germany, and they met rather too early in the quarterfinal. That was probably the highlight of the tournament, which isn’t quite how things are meant to work.At World Cup 2026, though, we seem on course for some genuinely legendary matches at the business end of the competition.What did Messi’s emotions reveal?If there’s one last thing that you could vaguely accuse Lionel Messi of lacking, it is emotion. At times Messi has come across as almost too calm, too unhurried, almost robotic in his ability to rise above chaos and produce moments of clarity. So when you saw Argentina’s captain bawling his eyes out at the end of Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt, you knew it had been a sensational encounter.Messi was uncharacteristically overcome with emotion after the defeat of Egypt (Thomas COEX / AFP via Getty Images)Every day it feels like there’s a contender for ‘match of the tournament’. Argentina and Egypt both contributed heavily to this one, with the underdogs going 2-0 up before collapsing late on. After 70 minutes it felt like Egypt had played the situation perfectly. It took a shock lead with a header in the aftermath of a set-piece situation from center-back, Yasser Ibrahim, and then seemed to retreat into a deep defensive state too early. But in the second half Egypt put together some lovely counterattacks, and although one goal was disallowed due to a foul at the start of the move, Mostafa Ziko made it 2-0. Egypt was going through.But Argentina responded calmly. Lionel Scaloni had already made a double change before that second goal, with Lautaro Martinez and Nicolas Gonzalez replacing Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolas Tagliafico. The only subsequent change was a straight swap at right-back. Argentina knew its approach in case of an emergency like this one, and stuck to it.Unlike other South American sides which have gone behind in this tournament, Argentina didn’t panic, didn’t get wound up.Messi, a little pedestrian for much of this game, suddenly stepped up. This is what 2026 Messi is about: bursts. He crossed for Cristian Romero’s header, and Egypt started to panic. Then he smashed in a superb half-volleyed equalizer. And, to its credit, Egypt ultimately lost the game because it was actually trying to win it — it had the ball in the opposition box shortly before Argentina counter-attacked, and Enzo Fernandez, exhausted but somehow still going, arrived at the right time to head home a cross.Argentina did not play well, and was far from convincing. But it has been through so many games like this, both at the last World Cup and indeed in its 3-2 win over Cape Verde, that it remains calm in these situations. It saves its emotions for after the match.How far can the team of no stars go?World Cup 2026 has been the tournament of star attackers: Messi, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland. The Golden Boot race to be top goalscorer reads like a list of the most established names in world football.Amid all that, there is Switzerland. And Switzerland is the complete opposite of all this. Switzerland has no superstar attackers, and routinely turns up to tournaments with the same players from two years ago, who are a bunch of footballers you barely ever notice at club level.Switzerland eliminated Colombia on penalties at the end of unquestionably the least exciting of the eight round of 16 matches; a game that felt destined to be a goalless draw from about 20 minutes in.Switzerland players rush to Ruben Vargas after his winning penalty in the shootout (Photo: Luke Hales/Getty Images)It would be easy to criticize both sides for being risk-averse and playing for penalties. In reality that wasn’t truly the case. Both teams tried to win it. Colombia’s DNA is all about attacking football and it pushed forward aggressively in extra time, while Switzerland threw on a second striker in search of a winner that never seemed likely to come. In truth, both sides are simply lacking genuine top-class quality in the final third. Luis Diaz of Colombia, the outstanding attacker, was unusually quiet.Switzerland doesn’t have anyone in his class, but this is a team which constantly punched above its weight at international tournaments, perennially progressing one round further than you expect. It eliminated France in Euro 2020 and Italy in Euro 2024. It hasn’t failed to progress from the group stage since Euro 2012 — when it didn’t qualify at all — a run only France can match. Switzerland is — ironically — hardly the neutral’s favourite. But clean sheets go a long way at international tournaments.In fairness, Switzerland has played only Qatar, Bosnia, Canada, Algeria and Colombia. Keeping out Messi is a very different task.What to know about the quarterfinalsAfter nearly four weeks of constant action — anywhere between one and six matches per day — Wednesday is the first rest day of World Cup 2026. Do we want a break from an all-round tremendous tournament? No! Do we need one? Maybe. Use your free day wisely.The quarterfinals start on Thursday, with a meeting between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium. This is a repeat of the semifinal from 2022, when France won 2-0 thanks to goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani, but it was a tight, tense contest that France never looked entirely comfortable in, particularly after Morocco had eliminated two other big European sides, Portugal and Spain.The sense was that Morocco was a little too defensive in that game, abandoning a 4-5-1 system and shifting to a 5-4-1. When it reverted to the usual system, Morocco competed better. The positive is that Morocco is a considerably more proactive, attack-minded side under Mohamed Ouahbi.Didier Deschamps’ France, meanwhile, has been delightfully positive throughout this competition, but there’s always a suspicion that Deschamps will, at some stage, withdraw one of his four attackers and bring in an extra midfielder. For the sake of entertainment, let’s hope not.Spain v Belgium follows on Friday, and then — don’t be caught out — there are two quarter-finals on Saturday: England v Norway and Argentina v Switzerland.Quarterfinal fixturesJuly 9
