World Cup: France v. Spain

Here's what has happened in the World Cup since the Round of 16:

Round of 16:

Paraguay 0 - 1 France

Canada 0 - 3 Morocco

Portugal 0 - 1 Spain

United States 1 - 4 Belgium

Brazil 1 - 2 Norway

Mexico 2 - 3 England

Argentina 3 - 2 Egypt

Switzerland 0 - 0 Colombia (Switzerland win 4-3 on penalty kicks)

Quarter-Finals:

France 2 - 0 Morocco

Spain 2 - 1 Belgium

Norway 1 - 2 England (after extra time)

Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland (after extra time)

And that gives us the following semi-finals:

France v. Spain

England v. Argentina

France (who won the World Cup in 1998 and 2018) will play Spain (who won the World Cup in 2010) at 2 PM Central today at JerryWorld in Arlington, Texas.  France (who went to the final of the World Cup in 2022) and Spain (who won the Championship of Europe in 2024) have been the two best teams in the Tournament, and whoever wins today will be favored to win the Final on Sunday.

Spain and France met in the semifinal of the 2024 European Championships, and Spain won that game 2-1.  But France has looked sharper in this tournament, and so they are slightly favored today.  Here are the odds on the moneyline:

France:  +135

Spain:  +210

Draw (pays off if the game goes to Penalty Kicks):  +210

It's a huge game in the relationship between France and Spain.  If Spain wins this World Cup, they and France will both have two World Cups.  But if France wins the World Cup, then they would have three World Cups and Spain would only have one.

World Cup: The Iberian Derby

We're down to the Round of 16 in the World Cup, and it's been downright thrilling so far.  The first half of the Round of 16 was played over the weekend, and here are the results:

July 4:

Canada 0 - 3 Morocco

Paraguay 0 - 1 France

Morocco and France will meet in the quarterfinals on July 9

July 5:

Brazil 1 - 2 Norway

Mexico 2 - 3 England

Norway and England will meet in the quarterfinals on July 11.

Today we have these matchups:

2 P.M. Central:  Portugal v. Spain (the Iberian Derby!)

7 P.M. Central:  United States v. Belgium

I have nothing to say about the politics of the USA/Belgium game, but that was a stupid and unjustified red card, and I'm glad it got overturned.

Here are the lineups for the Iberian Derby.  These are two big-time teams:

PORTUGAL:

GK:  Diogo Costa, Porto (POR)

DF:  Joao Cancelo, Barcelona (ESP)

DF:  Ruben Dias, Manchester City (ENG)
DF:  Renato Veiga, Villareal (ESP)

DF:  Nuno Mendes, Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

MF:  Joao Neves, Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)

MF:  Vitinha, Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
FW:  Pedro Neto, Chelsea (ENG)

MF:  Bruno Fernandes, Manchester Utd (ENG)
FW:  Joao Felix, Al-Nassr (KSA)
FW:  Cristiano Ronaldo (Captain), Al-Nassr (KSA)

SPAIN:

GK:  Unai Simon, Athletic Bilbao (ESP)

DF:  Pedro Porro, Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
DF:  Pau Cubarsi, Barcelona (ESP)

DF:  Aymeric Laporte, Athletic Bilbao (ESP)

DF:  Marc Cucurella, Real Madrid (ESP)

MF:  Pedri, Barcelona (ESP)

MF:  Rodri (Captain), Manchester City (ENG)

FW:  Lamine Yamal, Barcelona (ESP)

MF:  Dani Olmo, Barcelona (ESP)

MF:  Alex Baena, Atletico Madrid (ESP)

FW:  Mikel Oyarzabal, Real Socieadad (ESP)

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World Cup: England v. Dem. Rep. of the Congo

This game kicked off at 11 A.M. Central, and England promptly fell behind 1-0 after only seven minutes.  The English defense fell completely asleep, and a DRC player was left with an easy shot that he blasted past the goalkeeper.  England have been chasing the game ever since.  They have outshot the DRC 10 to 3, but the DRC have had 43 percent of the possession, so the traffic has not all gone one way.  We are now in the 62d minute, and my guess is that England are probably going out.  Which will be a humiliating result for England, but on the other hand they weren't ever getting past Mexico in the next round anyway.  They just aren't good enough.

Anyway, there are about 30 minutes left in England's 2026 World Cup campaign, and they should be entertaining.

World Cup: Ivory Coast v. Norway

Last night, Morocco wrapped up thrilling day with a win in penalty kicks over the Netherlands.  So two of the sport's biggest traditional powers -- Germany and the Netherlands -- will not make the round of 16.  Another great power -- Italy -- didn't even qualify for the tournament.

Today's action kicks off with the Ivory Coast and Norway.  Whoever wins this match will face Brazil in the Round of 16.  Africa started with 10 teams in this tournament, and eight of them are still dancing.