Three decisive quarterfinal matches will take place this weekend as part of the FIFA World Cup, determining the remaining three spots in the semi-finals, besides the winner of the game played on Thursday between Morocco and France.
Three decisive quarterfinal matches will take place this weekend as part of the FIFA World Cup, determining the remaining three spots in the semi-finals, besides the winner of the game played on Thursday between Morocco and France.
The start of the busy football weekend is scheduled for Friday, when Belgium and Spain will play at the Los Angeles Stadium at 9:00 PM. On Saturday, Norway and England will meet at the Miami Stadium at 11:00 PM. The round will conclude with a Sunday match between Argentina and Switzerland at 3:00 AM in the Kansas City Stadium.
Spain demonstrates strong qualities thanks to young talents such as the trio from Barcelona: Lamine Yamal (18 years old), Gavi (21 years old), and Pedri (23 years old). These players are performing brightly in the tournament, showing the potential of future world football. Under the guidance of coach Luis de la Fuente, the young players successfully combine explosive abilities with a winning mentality, building on their success at Euro 2024.
However, Spain's ambition to win the World Cup title faces a serious obstacle in the form of the Belgian team, which intends to try one last time to achieve an international trophy for its 'Golden Generation'. Stars Romelu Lukaku (33 years old), Kevin De Bruyne (35 years old), and Thibaut Courtois (34 years old) are likely to participate in this match, possibly in their last World Cup after successfully passing previous stages.
Norway has impressively returned to the world stage by reaching the quarterfinals, maintaining their undefeated momentum from the qualifiers. The main figure of the Norwegian team is striker Erling Haaland, who leads attacks with exceptional efficiency. After an impressive performance in the previous round, Haaland will seek to face England—the country where his club, Manchester City, is based.
To secure a spot in the final four and keep hopes alive of 'bringing football home', England needs to strengthen its vulnerable defense. At the same time, captain Harry Kane must maintain high scoring output to break a 60-year trophy drought.
Defending champions Argentina are focused on retaining their title, using a tactic based on the freedom of captain Lionel Messi. The 38-year-old master brilliantly justified this tactical gamble, continuing to set records as the top scorer and playmaker of the World Cup.
Although Messi must maintain his sharpness, his team must remain resilient. Switzerland enters the game as a clear underdog, but they are known for their incredible defensive solidity. The Swiss know that if they can see out the game until the late minutes, any outcome is possible, as they aim to create the biggest surprise of the tournament.
This Sunday, July 5th, Brazil and Norway will compete in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. The match is scheduled to start at 5 PM Brasília time at MetLife Stadium, located in New Jersey, United States.
The broadcast of this duel between Brazil and Norway will be available on several channels. On open television, the game will be shown by Globo and SBT. For closed channels, coverage will be provided by SporTV and N Sports, in addition to being available via ge TV and CazéTV on YouTube.
The probable lineups have been released, indicating that the coach for Brazil will be Carlo Ancelotti. The Brazilian team is expected to feature players such as Alisson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Douglas Santos, Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães, Martinelli, Vinicius Júnior, Matheus Cunha, and Rayan. Norway will have Stale Solbakken as their coach, with athletes including Nyland, Pedersen, Kristoffer Ajer, Heggem, David Wolfe, Sander Berge, Patrick Berg, Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa, Sørloth, and Erling Haaland.
It is important to note that the definitive team formations will be announced approximately one hour before the start of the match.
Regarding the World Cup, Brazil advanced as the first-place team from Group C, accumulating two victories and one draw during the group stage. In the Round of 16, the Brazilian national team managed to overcome Japan with a score of 2 to 1.
For its part, Norway secured second place in Group I, finishing behind France. In the final round of the group, Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2 to 1.
