The World Cup is down to its final eight teams, and the Quarterfinals feature a mix of traditional powers and surprise contenders. France, Spain, England, and Argentina all enter the round as favorites, but Morocco, Belgium, Norway, and Switzerland each have a true path to pulling off an upset.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane have all delivered for their respective teams, and 2010 champion Spain has yet to concede a goal. Three of the last four World Cup champions and the top contenders in the Golden Boot race are in the 2026 World Cup Quarterfinals.
Let’s dive into some World Cup predictions for the Quarterfinals that kick off beginning on Thursday, July 9, including PrizePicks Team Picks data for all four matches.
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2026 World Cup Quarterfinals Predictions, Picks, Schedule, Payouts for PrizePicks
Before jumping into the four World Cup Quarterfinals predictions, let’s glance at the full schedule for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, including to advance payouts and totals for each match via PrizePicks Team Picks. Plus, we'll look at each team's payouts to advance to the World Cup Final and win the 2026 World Cup.
France vs. Morocco: World Cup Quarterfinals
How to Watch: FOX (English) / Telemundo (Spanish)
Kickoff Time: Thursday, July 9, 4:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Gillette Stadium (Boston Stadium), Foxborough, Massachusetts
- To Advance Payout: France 1.23x | Morocco 3.84x
- Spread: France -1.5 (2.63x)
- Total Goals: Over 2.5 (1.96x) | Under 2.5 (1.78x)
Spain vs. Belgium: World Cup Quarterfinals
How to Watch Spain vs. Belgium: FOX (English) / Telemundo (Spanish)
Kickoff Time: Friday, July 10, 3:00 p.m. ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium (L.A. Stadium), Los Angeles, California
- To Advance Payout: Spain 1.29x | Belgium 3.33x
- Spread: Spain -1.5 (2.7x)
- Total Goals: Over 2.5 (1.75x) | Under 2.5 (2x)
Norway vs. England: World Cup Quarterfinals
How to Watch Norway vs. England: FOX (English) / Telemundo (Spanish)
Kickoff Time: Saturday, July 11, 5:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium), Miami Gardens, FL
- To Advance Payout: Norway 2.56x | England 1.47x
- Spread: England -1.5 (3.12x)
- Total Goals: Over 2.5 (1.69x) | Under 2.5 (2.08x)
Argentina vs. Switzerland: World Cup Quarterfinals
How to Watch Argentina vs. Switzerland: FOX (English) / Telemundo (Spanish)
Kickoff Time: Saturday, July 11, 9:00 p.m. ET
Venue: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (KC Stadium), Kansas City, Missouri
- To Advance Payout: Argentina 1.29x | Switzerland 3.22x
- Spread: Argentina -1.5 (3.03x)
- Total Goals: Over 2.5 (2.17x) | Under 2.5 (1.63x)
Here's a full look at each team's payout to advance to the World Cup Final and win the 2026 World Cup via PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states!
Make your World Cup Final predictions on PrizePicks Team Picks!
Team Picks markets are settled after full-time (90 minutes + stoppage). Extra time and penalties are not included.
Payouts show potential returns on correct Team Picks predictions. A 2x payout returns $200 on a $100 entry. Lower multipliers reflect outcomes users are picking as more likely. Payouts are live as of writing and subject to change.
France vs. Morocco Prediction for World Cup Quarterfinals
Just four years ago at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, France and Morocco met in the World Cup Semifinals, ending in a 2-0 France win that sent them to the Final vs. the Argentinian side that reigned supreme.
This year, the two meet for a berth in the 2026 World Cup Semifinal, traveling to the Northeast and the house that Tom Brady built at Gillette Stadium. It’s only fitting that one of the world’s best players, ST Kylian Mbappé, gets to attempt to build his legacy in the same building Tom Brady did.
The French superstar has 7 goals through five games, 1 behind ST Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot award. He’s currently the second favorite to win the Golden Boot, returning a 2.32x payout at PrizePicks Team Picks. Mbappé has the top FotMob rating at 8.92, per FotMob, and the highest expected goals on target at 5.8.
In 2022’s 2-0 victory over Morocco, the defending champion France squad set the tone early, scoring in the match’s 5th minute via the foot of LB Theo Hernández. Les Bleus held on despite Morocco logging a 61-39 advantage in possession and matching France with 3 shots on goal.
Much like four years ago, the question will be if the Atlas Lions can score on a France side that has only conceded 2 goals all tournament.
While scoring 10 times in five matches, Morocco’s expected goals are only 8.3, the worst of the eight remaining teams. The Atlas Lions also averaged just 5.0 shots on target per match, tied for the fewest of the quarterfinalists.
They go up against a France side that has one of the top offenses of the tournament — leading in shots on target per match (7.8), second in goals per match (2.8), third in big chances (21), and third in corners (36).
It’ll be a tall task for Morocco to get back to the semis by knocking off a France squad that has been to the last two World Cup Finals.
To Advance Payout: France 1.23x | Morocco 3.84x
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Spain vs. Belgium Prediction for World Cup Quarterfinals
There’s only one team in the 48-team World Cup field that has yet to concede a goal, and that’s the Spaniard team that plays Belgium in the World Cup Quarterfinals in Los Angeles.
There are many ways to prevent a team from scoring, and not giving them the ball is one of them. Spain has dominated possession to the tune of 65.6% of matches, by far the highest of the remaining teams, and only second to Türkiye in the event.
Spain is back in the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the World Cup in 2010, not making it out of the group stage in the defense in 2014, and losing in the Round of 16 in the last two Cups.
After a shocking 0-0 draw to open the event vs. Cape Verde, La Roja has dominated the pitch, outscoring Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Austria, and Portugal 9-0. The 9.7 expected goals are tied for sixth-best, and when combined with a defense that gives up nothing, that creates one of the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup.
ST Mikel Oyarzabal has 4 of Spain's 9 goals, scoring 2 each against Austria and Saudi Arabia. Oyarzabal’s 2.9 expected goals is 13th among all players. He will face a Belgian defense that has allowed at least 1 goal in four of its five matches.
As good as Belgium looked in dominating the USA, it took 3.5 matches to get there as they struggled in the group stage with draws against Egypt and Iran before beating an eliminated New Zealand squad.
In the Round of 32, the Red Devils trailed 2-0 before a rally got them through to the USA match. Belgium has controlled possession for 54.9% of the five matches, the seventh lowest of the eight remaining teams.
In the Round of 16 match vs. the Americans, Belgium manager Rudi García mixed things up, sitting LW Jérémy Doku, AM Kevin De Bruyne, and all-time top scorer ST Romelu Lukaku to match up against the American side. The changes worked to perfection as they dominated the USMNT, 4-1.
Will more changes come to try and do something no one else has done by scoring on Spain? That’s the only chance Belgium has at getting back to the World Cup Semifinals it played in eight years ago.
To Advance Payout: Spain 1.29x | Belgium 3.33x
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England vs. Norway Prediction for World Cup Quarterfinals
This match will be firepower vs. firepower and star vs. star in a Quarterfinal matchup in Miami between England and Norway. England ST Harry Kane and Norway ST Erling Haaland highlight a matchup that will decide who goes to Atlanta for the second of two World Cup Semifinals.
Norway has been one of the better stories of the tournament, going an undefeated 8-0 in UEFA qualifying, then dominating Iraq and Senegal before dropping the group finale to France. After getting by Ivory Coast, the Norwegians dominated Brazil in a 2-0 win to get to the Quarterfinals for the first time in their four World Cup appearances.
Haaland has been the show, scoring 7 goals in the four matches (sat out vs. France), including braces vs. Iraq, Senegal, and Brazil. The Manchester City star is second among all players with 4.3 expected goals and expected goals per 90 (1.08), and he carries an 8.71 FotMob rating, only trailing Kylian Mbappé.
England has firepower of their own with Harry Kane and AM Jude Bellingham, who have combined for 10 of the squad’s 11 goals in the tournament.
After sleepwalking through the group stage with a goalless draw vs. Ghana, a less-than-impressive win vs. Panama, and needing late goals to get by DR Congo in the Round of 32, expectations were not high for the trip to Azteca vs. Mexico.
However, manager Thomas Tuchel’s side delivered one of the best wins of the World Cup in the 3-2 victory in Mexico City. Keeping that form will be crucial if England is to hold off a feisty underdog team in Norway that has the potential to win it all.
To Advance Payout: England 1.47x | Norway 2.56x
Make your England vs. Norway prediction on PrizePicks for Saturday's match.
Argentina vs. Switzerland Prediction for World Cup Quarterfinals
Argentina has looked like the team with nine lives. After surviving an inspired Cape Verde team in the Round of 16, the defending World Cup champs trailed 2-0 to Egypt with 10 minutes remaining before it was “Messi Time.”
The all-time goal scorer in World Cup history tallied his tournament-leading eighth goal of the tournament to level the match before AM Enzo Fernández took care of the winning goal.
The never-say-die La Albiceleste are back in the Quarterfinals, where most expected them to be, but they have not looked impressive. Despite having a striker who has scored goals in nine straight World Cup games, Argentina lets teams hang around and needed heroics in back-to-back games.
A powerful Argentinian offense, which is tied with France at 2.8 goals per match and second with 10.8 expected goals per match, will face a tough Swiss defense that has only conceded 3 goals all tournament and held Colombia scoreless in the Round of 16.
Switzerland's success could be determined by MF Denis Zakaria and RB Remo Freuler against the Argentine midfield of Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández. Switzerland needs to aim to deny Argentina the space to play through the lines and feed Messi as they tend to do.
The Swiss denied Colombia all match as well as Algeria in the Round of 32 and Canada in the Group B finale. It's unlikely the Switzerland offense wins this one, as they are 14th with 1.8 goals per match, and the defense that has gotten it this far is facing its toughest test yet.
To Advance Payout: Argentina 1.29x| Switzerland 3.22x
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Make World Cup Quarterfinals Predictions on PrizePicks
Messi, Mbappé, and Haaland vs. Kane. The World Cup Quarterfinals have all the stars, but only four teams will advance to next week’s Semifinals in Atlanta and Arlington. Will Messi magic continue for the defending champs? Will Norway’s Haaland knock off England with an upset?
Don’t wait until lock — make your World Cup Quarterfinals predictions on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right on every World Cup game.
With Team Picks, you can make predictions on World Cup match winners, spreads, over/unders, and futures, now available in 35 states. Plus, you can pick World Cup players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right on Player Picks!
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