For the first time in World Cup history, the four highest-ranked teams in the world have all reached the semi-finals, after Argentina became the last of the quartet to book their place with a 3-1 extra-time win over Switzerland on 12 July.
France, ranked third in the world, were the first through, beating Morocco 2-0 on 9 July courtesy of goals from Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele. Spain, ranked second, followed a day later with a 2-1 win over Belgium settled by Mikel Merino. England, ranked fourth, then saw off Norway 2-1 in Miami on 11 July thanks to a Jude Bellingham brace, including an extra-time winner, before world number one Argentina completed the lineup later that day with Lautaro Martinez among the scorers in extra time.
The achievement owes much to a change FIFA introduced for this tournament, placing the top four ranked sides in separate quadrants of the draw so they could not meet before the last four, provided each won its group, which all four did. The configuration meant Spain and Argentina were kept apart until a possible final, while England and France were positioned on the opposite side of the bracket, guaranteeing that if all four advanced they would only meet Spain or Argentina at the semi-final stage.
FIFA described the move as a way of preserving competitive balance by creating two separate pathways to the last four, following the model already used at Wimbledon and in the revamped Champions League, where seeded teams are kept apart in pairs. The governing body had been open about its thinking, aiming to prevent marquee sides being eliminated by each other too early in an expanded 48-team format that made such meetings far more likely than in previous tournaments. Before this year, two top-four ranked sides had not met before the semi-finals since 2010, when the Netherlands beat Brazil in the quarter-finals, but this year’s last-16 alone produced three such early clashes, between the United States and Belgium, England and Mexico, and Switzerland and Colombia.
The semi-finals will see France take on Spain in Dallas on Tuesday, 14 July, followed by England against Argentina in Atlanta the following day.
The lineup also carries historical weight beyond the rankings. This is only the third time in World Cup history that all four semi-finalists are former champions, matching the feats of 1970 and 1990. For Argentina, it marks a third semi-final appearance in the last four editions of the tournament, following 2014 and 2022, having failed to reach this stage at all between 1990 and 2014. Coach Lionel Scaloni also extended his remarkable record against European opposition, remaining unbeaten in ten matches against UEFA nations.
